Style: Acting in High Comedy

by Maria Aitken

This book isn't a critical examination of high comedy. Rather, it's a collection of suggestions for the the actors who have to catch the comic spark from the playwright and pass it on to the audience. The effort involved must be one has to acquire the cleverness, the articulacy, the febrility of the characters – and then make the whole laborious exercise seem like swimming through silk...The characters in high comedies don't find verbal sophistication difficult or unfamiliar; they enjoy it as you might enjoy slang.

162 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1996

Reviews

[Amy]

Great resource for teachers and actors with lots of it wonderful examples!

Wonderful way of thinking about Style and an entertaining read with lots of examples from famous plays! Great resource for teachers looking for acting exercises, for actors looking to understand their characters in a larger context, and for directors looking to guide actors in comedy and other genres!