The Curtain Up Players have been in existence for eight years. We are a group of people in the over-50's age group who enjoy coming together to improvise scenes, sketches and plays that include serious topics, such as dementia and family relationships, as well as Christmas pantomimes. Our founder, Dr. Ron Wiener, is a world-renowned sociodramatist, and a community theatre director. We work with: Kirklees Council SSD, Huddersfield University, Kirklees Dementia Action Alliance, Age U.K., and community organisations such as luncheon clubs, care homes and different disability groups. "This book offers some of the scenarios and scripts created by the Curtain Up Players ... They will be useful as starting points for amateur theatre groups as well as school, college and university sessions and group workers of many persuasions." Franc Chamberlain, Professor of Drama, Theatre and Performance, University of Huddersfield

Ernie Johnson Jr. has been in the game a long time. With one of the most recognized voices in sports broadcasting, he is a tireless perfectionist when it comes to preparing and delivering his commentary. Yet he knows that some of sports' greatest triumphs--and life's greatest rewards--come from those unscripted moments you never anticipated. In this heartfelt, gripping autobiography, the three-time Sports Emmy Award-winner and popular host of TNT's Inside the NBA provides a remarkably candid look at his life both on and off the screen. From his relationship with his sportscaster father to his own rise to the top of sports broadcasting, from battling cancer to raising six children with his wife, Cheryl, including a special needs child adopted from Romania, Ernie has taken the important lessons he learned from his father and passed them on to his own children. This is the untold story, the one Ernie has lived after the lights are turned off and the cameras stop rolling. Sports fans, cancer survivors, fathers and sons, adoptive parents, those whose lives have been touched by a person with special needs, anyone who loves stories about handling life's surprises with grace--Unscripted is for all of these.

The Improv Handbook is the most comprehensive, smart, helpful and inspiring guide to improv available today. Applicable to comedians, actors, public speakers and anyone who needs to think on their toes, it features a range of games, interviews, descriptions and exercises that illuminate and illustrate the exciting world of improvised performance. First published in 2008, this second edition features a new foreword by comedian Mike McShane, as well as new exercises on endings, managing blind offers and master-servant games, plus new and expanded interviews with Keith Johnstone, Neil Mullarkey, Jeffrey Sweet and Paul Rogan. The Improv Handbook is a one-stop guide to the exciting world of improvisation. Whether you're a beginner, an expert, or would just love to try it if you weren't too scared, The Improv Handbook will guide you every step of the way.

Foreword by Skip Cohen Translating the chaos of the real world into a breathtakingly simple, beautiful photograph can often seem like an impossible task. With busy, cluttered backgrounds and subjects who don’t know how to pose, how can you take control and get a great shot no matter the situation? In Picture Perfect Practice, photographer Roberto Valenzuela breaks down the craft of photography into three key elements–locations, poses, and execution–that you can use to unlock the photographic opportunities lying beneath every challenging situation. Valenzuela stresses the need for photographers to actively practice their craft every day–just like you would practice a musical instrument–in order to master the art of making great images. With chapters that offer practice exercises to strengthen your photographic abilities, you’ll learn how to approach a scene, break it down, and see your way to a great photograph. The Location section features chapters that cover symmetry, balance, framing, color elements, textures, and much more. The Posing section includes the Five Key Posing Techniques that Valenzuela uses every time he’s shooting people, as well as a complete list of poses and how to achieve, customize, and perfect them. The Execution portion, with sections like “Lighting through Direction” and “Simplicity through Subtraction,” reveals Valenzuela’s overall approach to getting the shot. The book also includes an inspiring and helpful chapter on deliberate practice techniques, where Valenzuela describes his system for practicing and analyzing his work, which leads to constant improvement as a photographer. If you’ve been frustrated and overwhelmed by the challenges of real-world locations, posing your subjects, or executing a great image–or if you simply want to become a better shooter but don’t know where to start– Picture Perfect Practice gives you the tools and information you need to finally become the kind of photographer you’ve always wanted to be: the kind who can confidently walk into any location, under any lighting condition, with any subject, and know that you can create astonishing photographs that have a timeless impact.

The Essential Dictionary for Every School, College, Office, and Home—With More Than 16 Million Copies In Print! Inside The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary you’ll find more features than any other pocket dictionary, including: • Boxed inserts on etymologies and language usage • Pronunciation key on each page • Current phrases, slang, and scientific terms • Special notes on word origins • World gazetteer PLUS • Tables of weights and measurements • Languages and language families • Tables of signs and symbols • Forms of address • Comprehensive listing of abbreviations ...AND MORE! With highly readable type, clear, precise definitions, and easy-to-follow advice on correct usage and grammar, this handy dictionary is the world’s most authoritative tool for mastering the English language.

'A New History of German Literature' offers some 200 essays on events in German literary history.