A guide to the acting profession by a leading American playwright. He advises aspiring actors on topics such as judging a role, approaching the part, working with the playwright, undertaking auditions, and the relationship with agents and the business in general.
To hell with Stanislavsky. To hell with the Method. "The actor is onstage to communicate the play to the audience," says David Mamet. "That is the beginning and the end of his and her job. To do so the actor needs a strong voice, superb diction, a supple, well-proportioned body and a rudimentary understanding of the play." Anything else--"becoming" one's part, "feeling" the character's emotions--devalues the practice of a noble craft and is useless to the play. "The 'work' you do 'on the script' will make no difference," he cautions. "That work has already been done by a person with a different job title than yours. That person is the author."
But True and False does not confine itself to the work done on the actual stage. Its brief essays contain sound advice on how an actor might apply himself or herself to the life of the actor: the proper consideration due the audition process, the selection of parts that one accepts, and so on. Mamet delivers these kernels of wisdom in the taut, no-nonsense prose for which he is justifiably famous, and, ultimately, his core principles are applicable beyond the theater. "Speak up, speak clearly, open yourself out, relax your body, find a simple objective," he instructs. "Practice in these goals is practice in respect for the audience, and without respect for the audience, there is no respect for the theater; there is only self-absorption." Substitute "others" for "the audience" and "life" for "the theater," and could any Taoist say it better? --Ron Hogan
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Good Read for Any Actor:
You should red this if you intend to be a part of the theatre world.
Book to read for up and coming actors:
This book was recommended to me by a successful actor and I really enjoyed reading it.
True to its title:
This book is both true and false. Mamet shares some brilliant insights and just when you are ready to drink the koolaid, he says something so unbelievably ridiculous and generalized that you literally throw the book down in disgust - or at least I did. In the end, however, the good outweighs the bad and the insights are worth the outrage.
Good stuff:
I read this to find ways to improve my performance as a magician. I got a great deal out of this book. However, I would rather go practice than spend time reviewing ! This book is a steal, buy it.
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