Movement for Actors

In this thoroughly updated rich resource for actors, renowned movement teachers and directors reveal the physical skills needed for the stage and the screen. These diverse experts not only explain how each discipline came into being and why the skills involved are invaluable to performers, but also provide ready-to-use exercises and approaches. Readers will gain remarkable insights into the physical skills, techniques, and styles developed and used in modern performance. Included in this thoroughly updated new edition are chapters covering:

Dance study for actor training
Contact improvisation
Stage combat
Yoga
Martial arts
Body-mind centering
Suzuki Method
Movement in mediated performance
Movement and disability

Those who want to pursue serious training will be able to consult the appendix for listings of the best teachers and schools in the country. This inspiring collection is a must read for all actors, directors, and teachers of theater looking for stimulation and new approaches.

Nicole Potter served as a senior editor at Allworth Press and as an adjunct professor in the theater department of Marymount Manhattan College. She edited numerous theater, film, and art publications and wrote for film magazines, includingFilms in Review and The Perfect Vision. Her performance background included appearances in film and television, as well as ten years as a member of The Irondale Ensemble, during which time she had the leading roles in both premiere works and in productions of classics. She lived in the New York City area and died in 2013.

Mary Fleischer is a professor of theatre arts at Marymount Manhattan College. She holds a PhD in Theatre from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and her interdisciplinary interests have generated performance and scholarship projects, including her book Embodied Texts: Symbolist Playwright-Dancer Collaborations. She lives in New York City.

Barbara Adrian is a professor of theatre arts at Marymount Manhattan College, teaching voice, speech, and movement for the actor. She is an associate artist with the Off-Broadway theatre company New York Classical Theatre. She also coaches professional actors for television, film, and stage. She has coached productions directed by such notables as Robert Brustein, David Rabe, Elisabeth Swados, Tina Landau, and Stephen Burdman. She is the author ofActor Training the Laban Way: An Integrated Approach to Voice, Speech, and Movement (Allworth Press), holds an MFA in Acting from Brooklyn College and is a CMA in Laban Movement Analysis. She lives in New York City.