A friend of mine who's a writer/director/actor recommended this book. He said that by knowing what an actor looks for in roles, a writer can better provide roles that actors want to play. So I picked it up recently as a treat to myself.
It's a great book. Shurtleff is a casting director for theatre and film and he wrote the book to help actors give the best possible auditions they could. In the book, he describes what he calls the Twelve Guideposts for giving a good performance on a quick reading (the average audition situation) and has lengthy conversations with actors so we can see how the actors choices affect their reading of a scene.
Of course, it was written 25 years ago, so those conversations come off a little dated (when one of the actors finally gets the point, he says "I dig it" ), but there are some really thought-provoking ideas in there.
Has anyone else read this book? Has it affected your writing for the better?
It's a great book. Shurtleff is a casting director for theatre and film and he wrote the book to help actors give the best possible auditions they could. In the book, he describes what he calls the Twelve Guideposts for giving a good performance on a quick reading (the average audition situation) and has lengthy conversations with actors so we can see how the actors choices affect their reading of a scene.
Of course, it was written 25 years ago, so those conversations come off a little dated (when one of the actors finally gets the point, he says "I dig it" ), but there are some really thought-provoking ideas in there.
Has anyone else read this book? Has it affected your writing for the better?
Comment