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The Craft of Comedy
"a work on the art and craft of comedy as important in its own way as works by Stanislavski and Chekhov" – Oxford Theatre Companion In 1939, a young, inexperienced actor wrote to a famous actress of his acquaintance, asking for advice on playing comedy. She responded enthusiastically, and they corresponded variously over the next year. The Craft of Comedy , a record of these exchanges, soon emerged as one of the few classic texts in the field of comedy acting. This major new edition takes a brilliant book and makes it better. Editor Robert Barton has devised extensive supplementary material, Seyler’s lucid guidance, and Barton’s scrupulous editorship, ensure this legendary work’s rightful status is as one of the great practical guides to the craft of comedy, and an essential resource for actors and students of acting.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 23, 2024
Loved it. Lovely, charming, wise, interesting, useful, thought-provoking.
"[T]his business of whether one is to be a great, an utterly self-absorbed actor, or whether one can allow oneself to lead a fairly normal life, with the wider spheres of interest which can develop one's personality beyond mere egoism. Although I desire the wealth and success and the satisfaction of achievement I resent the narrowing down of one's mental development which seems to be the price of these things. As I hate doing things half-heartedly I have often decided to leave the stage and earn my living in some other way rather than endure this perpetual struggle between self-development and self-advertisement. What has prevented me has been the ever-increasing fascination which the art of the theatre exercises over me, and the sheer ambition of achieving perfection in this art - a hopeless ambition since we all know that no true artist ever believes he has achieved perfection. There is also the comradeship of the theatre: it is a unique one and a very precious compensation for the difficulties we encounter."
"[T]his business of whether one is to be a great, an utterly self-absorbed actor, or whether one can allow oneself to lead a fairly normal life, with the wider spheres of interest which can develop one's personality beyond mere egoism. Although I desire the wealth and success and the satisfaction of achievement I resent the narrowing down of one's mental development which seems to be the price of these things. As I hate doing things half-heartedly I have often decided to leave the stage and earn my living in some other way rather than endure this perpetual struggle between self-development and self-advertisement. What has prevented me has been the ever-increasing fascination which the art of the theatre exercises over me, and the sheer ambition of achieving perfection in this art - a hopeless ambition since we all know that no true artist ever believes he has achieved perfection. There is also the comradeship of the theatre: it is a unique one and a very precious compensation for the difficulties we encounter."
January 8, 2019
Absolutely fantastic book on the roots of comedy with delightful advice to the actor.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews