The Actor's Landscape

Gateways Books & Tapes
Cynthia Henderson
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Whimsical yet sincere, this practical guide inspires students of theatrical arts to delve into their own inner reserves of memories, feelings, and dreams to find strong grounding for the characters they wish to convey. Broken into three sections of practice—centering and meditation, partnering, and working with scripts—a wide range of activities are explored, including sitting with a candle; variations on mirroring; statue games; and working with dialog, inflection, improvisation, and interpretation. Reflecting on such classic approaches to acting as the Stanislavski and Meisner techniques, the concise and accessible manual is ideal for classroom or group settings and appeals to both beginning and advanced actors. Illustrative photographs allow for easy understanding of the games and a short bibliography and reading list is included to encourage continued study.

Contributor Bio

Cynthia Henderson

teaches acting in the department of theatre arts at Ithaca College in New York. She is a Fulbright Scholar, who has acted in professional and University theatres, in television plays and commercials, and off broadway. She lives in Ithaca, New York.