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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
As a young aspiring actress I lived by this book. I carry lessons from it to this day.
This book goes into so much detail about how to improve your auditioning techniques. And since the author has discovered some pretty big names, he really knows what he's talking about. Though this is mostly discussing theatre, it can help for any type of audition and it's a terrific read to always keep with you!
There is a lot of good, helpful information in here. The one tip that stuck in my mind was to audition for everything--even if the role is for something you would never imagine you could get, even if it's for the opposite gender or an age several decades in the future or the past--just do it.
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced
This book is super helpful for actors at any stage in their career. There’s lots of great insight and I learned a lot, but Shurtleff’s arrogance, blatant disdain for Americans, and not so subtle sexism makes it hard to be open to receiving his advice.
Anyone who wants to be an actor needs to read this book. It is, by far, the best book on acting I've ever read.
It is filled with fantastic advice--some of it kind of obvious, much of it I've already been following for years, but still several good reminders of how to audition well. Of course, I've already read this twice since I bought it about a decade ago, so I shouldn't be too surprised that not much seemed new to me.
[a:Michael Shurtleff|23321|Michael Shurtleff|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] was a major Broadway and Hollywood casting director. He often worked with David Merrick and helped find such stars as Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler and Gregory Hines. He has worked with Bob Fosse (who wrote the meta-foreword) and Andrew Lloyd Webber and helped cast the films The Graduate and The Sound of Music. He seems to know his stuff having seen thousands (if not millions) of actors audition for various roles over the years.
The book has many interesting anecdotes from his years of experience, several classroom dialogues illustrating his different guideposts, a few leads on plays with good scenes and indispensable advice for anyone trying to land a role (whether in Hollywood or Hicksville). I wasted nearly half a pen re-highlighting this book (my yellow highlighter from 10+ years ago had almost completely disappeared on these yellowing pages), there's just that much good advice within.
It is filled with fantastic advice--some of it kind of obvious, much of it I've already been following for years, but still several good reminders of how to audition well. Of course, I've already read this twice since I bought it about a decade ago, so I shouldn't be too surprised that not much seemed new to me.
[a:Michael Shurtleff|23321|Michael Shurtleff|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] was a major Broadway and Hollywood casting director. He often worked with David Merrick and helped find such stars as Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler and Gregory Hines. He has worked with Bob Fosse (who wrote the meta-foreword) and Andrew Lloyd Webber and helped cast the films The Graduate and The Sound of Music. He seems to know his stuff having seen thousands (if not millions) of actors audition for various roles over the years.
The book has many interesting anecdotes from his years of experience, several classroom dialogues illustrating his different guideposts, a few leads on plays with good scenes and indispensable advice for anyone trying to land a role (whether in Hollywood or Hicksville). I wasted nearly half a pen re-highlighting this book (my yellow highlighter from 10+ years ago had almost completely disappeared on these yellowing pages), there's just that much good advice within.
Was reading for school and only needed to read that far. I was going to finish it anyways but I simply do not have time.
Some parts of this book are dated and could use some modern revisions or perspectives, but overall, this is truly the Bible of acting. Rereading it as a working professional compared to being in school was really fascinating. It gives me more of an appreciation and a confidence as well, since I found I have been implementing some parts of this book already in my practice. But it’s always good to stay sharp and brush off your cobwebs.
informative
slow-paced
informative
fast-paced