Text In Action: A Definitive Guide To Exploring Text In Rehearsal For Actors And Directors by Cicely Berry

by Cicely Berry O.B.E.

"Following on from the widely acclaimed The Actor and the Text, Cicely Berry draws on her group work to emphasise how actors and directors can use the rehearsal process to heighten their collective awareness of language." "Our first acquaintance with a play is from reading it, either alone or as part of a group. During this process we concentrate on making sense of it, which can prevent us from listening to what the sound and texture of the language are telling us. The world of a play is created by its language; the imagery, rhythm and speech structures all contribute to its representation of reality." Focusing primarily on Shakespeare, but with techniques that can be applied to modern texts too, Text in Action sets out language work that can be done by the whole group to uncover different layers of meaning within the text. It opens up new interpretations and possible reactions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Shakespeare, Theatre

Paperback

First published February 22, 2001

Reviews

[Claudio Yáñez Valenzuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un trabajo (y un manual) interesante. Merece la pena leerlo.

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, found it really helpful in preparation for shows.

[Indu Muralidharan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for playwrights, actors and indeed anyone interested in drama, on how an actor communicates the text of a play to the audience while expressing it on the stage. The examples are mainly drawn from Shakespeare's plays and a section of contemporary drama. There are a number of exercises that bring out the various nuances of the text expressed by the actors - the language itself, punctuation, pauses, tone, modulation and emoting, which bring out fresh insights into familiar plays. For a writer, this book provides a wealth of awareness about the effect of language in the text, and valuable guidance on how to effectively play with it in their own work.