Exercises for Embodied Actors: Tools for Physical Actioning builds on the vocabulary of simple action verbs to generate an entire set of practical tools from first read to performance that harnesses modern knowledge about the integration of the mind and the rest of the body. Including over 50 innovative exercises, the book leads actors through a rigorous examination of their own habits, links those discoveries to creating characters, and offers dozens of exercises to explore in classrooms and with ensembles. The result is a modern toolkit that empowers actors to start from their own unique selves and delivers specific techniques to apply on stage and in front of the camera. This step-by-step guide can be used by actors working individually or by teachers crafting the arc of a course, ensuring that students explore in physically engaged and dynamic ways at every step of their process.

A pragmatic intervention in the study of how recent discoveries within cognitive science can and should be applied to performance. Drawing on his experience the author interrogates the key cognitive activities involved in performance inc non-verbal communication; thought, speech, and gesture relationships; empathy, imagination, and emotion.

"This book vividly captures vital and imaginative lessons from one of the most influential and joyous traditions of contemporary actor training. Any actor or teacher, who is devoted to the transformational power of the theatre, will want to return to these pages again and again, finding in them not only the work to be done, but also the inspiration to do it." James Bundy - Dean, Yale School of Drama; Artistic Director, Yale Repertory Theatre Movement training techniques allow actors to acquire the physical body language and non-verbal skills to clearly express the ideas and emotions of their characters. The techniques contained in this book help actors to develop awareness of their own natural posture, walk and rhythm, release the physical imagination and transform into the characters they are portraying, on stage, in film or on television. Movement Training for Actors provides a practical workbook approach to the core fundamentals of movement, fusing together the work of the key practitioners: Sigurd Leeder, Kurt Jooss, Rudolf Laban, Trish Arnold, Litz Pisk, F. M. Alexander, Moshé Feldenkrais, Jerzy Growtowski, Jacques Lecoq and Belinda Quirey. Chapters include Games, Pure Movement, Historical Dance, Acrobatics and Animal Study. The book is illustrated with photographs throughout and contains a DVD featuring over an hour of movement exercises further demonstrating the techniques. Movement Training for Actors is a masterclass on movement written by experienced coach, Jackie Snow and a culmination of her many years of teaching and coaching professionals. The highly practical approach will suit actors of all abilities as well as serving as an inspirational teaching guide.

‘A focus on the body, its actions, and its cognitive mechanisms identifies ... foundational principles of activity that link the three elements of theatre; Story, Space, and Time. The three meet in, are defined by, and expressed through the actor’s body.’ – from the Introduction Embodied Acting is an essential, pragmatic intervention in the study of how recent discoveries within cognitive science can – and should – be applied to performance. For too long, a conceptual separation of mind and body has dominated actor training in the West. Cognitive science has shown this binary to be illusory, shattering the traditional boundaries between mind and body, reason and emotion, knowledge and imagination. This revolutionary new volume explores the impact that a more holistic approach to the "bodymind" can have on the acting process. Drawing on his experience as an actor, director and scholar, Rick Kemp interrogates the key cognitive activities involved in performance, including: non-verbal communication the relationship between thought, speech, and gesture the relationship between self and character empathy, imagination, and emotion. New perspectives on the work of Stanislavski, Michael Chekhov, and Jacques Lecoq – as well as contemporary practitioners including Daniel Day-Lewis and Katie Mitchell – are explored through practical exercises and accessible explanations. Blending theory, practice, and cutting-edge neuroscience, Kemp presents a radical re-examination of the unconscious activities engaged in creating, and presenting, a role.

As an actor, awareness of your movement is the key to transformation. By making deliberate physical choices, you can fully and articulately embody different ways of being: you can become someone or something else. Laban's Efforts give you a way of identifying and making these choices. Working with them helps the actor to create wholly present and physically ambitious performances. This book outlines Ewan's practical process, which allows the actor to understand their own movement and that of others by exploring one key part of Laban's work: the 'Efforts of Action Drive'. This complete, stage-by-stage, working process has been developed through more than thirty years of work with actors in the studio. Clear instructions for practical exercises are woven throughout the book, as well as exciting ways to apply the work in rehearsal, performance and on set. This allows the actor to learn and apply Laban's Efforts for themselves. Full video and audio resources allow the reader to experience the practical work in action.

A primer in the highly effective "Whelan Tape Method" -- actors will learn how a simple tape recorder can take them to new levels of physical and emotional connection with their characters.

The Physical Actor is a comprehensive book of exercises for actors. It is carefully designed for the development of a strong and flexible physical body able to move with ease through space and interact instinctively on-stage. Annie Loui draws on her training with Etienne Decroux, Carolyn Carlson, and Jerzy Grotowski to bring Contact Improvisation into the theatrical sphere. She explains how it can be used to develop alert and embodied listening skills in the actor, and how to apply it to working with texts on stage. This book will guide the reader through a full course of movement skills, including: Partnering skills Spatial awareness for groups and individuals Fine motor control through mime Heightened co-ordination and sustained motion New for this edition are additional partnering exercises, in-depth applications of contact improvisation to monologues and scenes, and a chapter on devising physical theatre performances.