Acting in Real Time

This title makes available in English Dutch director and acting teacher Paul Binnerts's concept of 'real-time theater'. Real-time theater offers a challenge to Stanislavski and Brecht, whose theories of stage realism dominated the 20th century. In providing a new way to consider the actor's presence on stage, Binnerts advocates breaking down the "fourth wall" that has been a central tenet of acting theories associated with realism. In real-time theater, actors forgo attempts to "become a character" and instead understand their function as storytellers who are fully present on stage and may engage the audience and their fellow actors directly. This level of involvement allows actors to deepen their grasp of the material and amplify their stage presence, resulting in more engaged and nuanced performances. Illuminated by practical examples from the author's experience, the book explains why realism has become the dominant theater and acting convention and how it can hinder the creation of real imaginative theater.

Paul Binnerts teaches at New York University and at the Amsterdam School of the Arts in the Netherlands. Acting in Real Time was originally published in 2002 in the Netherlands as Toneelspelen in de tegenwoordige tijd. Co-translator Stephen Wangh is an award-winning American playwright and author of An Acrobat of the Heart, a book on physical acting technique.

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