Mask Improvisation for Actor Training and Performance: The Compelling Image

by Sears Eldredge

Because mask improvisation work is relatively new in American theater training, this book is designed not only to acquaint readers with the theory of mask improvisation but to instruct them in the techniques of method as well.

Featuring dozens of improvisational exercises in the innovative spirit of Viola Spolin, and supplemented with practical appendices on mask design and construction, forms and checklists, and other classroom materials, this book is an invaluable tool for teacher and student alike, as well as compelling reading for anyone interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of masks as agents of transformation, creativity, and performance.

Genres: Theatre

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 1996

Reviews

[Rebecca Kuder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sears Eldredge was a wonderful, kind, imaginative scholar and teacher.
Not only about mask performance/study, this book would be a pleasure for anyone who is interested in character and the psyche, and shows an early awareness of what we now call somatics. A beautiful and rich resource.