The Lee Strasberg Notes

by Cohen; Lola

• ISBN13: 9780415551861
• ISBN10: 0415551862
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2010-02-26
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Lee Strasberg Notes reproduces the original teachings of a unique voice in actor training, for the very first time. It is a stunning document in the history and ongoing practice of Strasberg's Method.Compiled and edited by Lola Cohen, the book is based on unpublished transcripts of Strasberg's own classes on acting, directing and Shakespeare. It recreates his theoretical approach, as well as the practical exercises used by his students, and brilliantly conveys his approach and personality.The book features Strasberg's teachings on:'¢ Training and exercises'¢ Characters and scenes'¢ Directing and the Method'¢ Shakespeare and Stanislavski'¢ The theater, acting and actors.Including a Preface by Anna Strasberg and a Foreword by Martin Sheen, this illuminating book brings the reader closer to Strasberg's own methods than any other, making it a phenomenal resource for students, actors, and directors.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Note from	p. xvii
Note from	p. xviii
Foreword	p. xix
Acknowledgements	p. xxi
Introduction	p. xxv
Training and exercises	p. 1
Lee Strasberg on training	p. 1
Lee Strasberg on relaxation and concentration	p. 5
Lee Strasberg on habits and conditioning	p. 6
Relaxation exercise	p. 7
Relaxing in the chair	p. 7
Releasing tension	p. 8
Use of sound	p. 11
Abstract or additional movement	p. 12
Sense memory exercises	p. 13
Lee Strasberg on sense memory	p. 14
Sequence of sense memory exercises	p. 16
Breakfast drink	p. 17
Mirror/make-up or shaving	p. 17
Three pieces of material	p. 18
Putting on and taking off shoes and socks or stockings	p. 19
Sunshine	p. 19
Sharp pain	p. 20
Sharp taste and sharp smell	p. 20
Overall sensations	p. 21
Personal objects	p. 22
Combinations of exercises	p. 23
Private moment exercise	p. 24
Emotional memory exercise	p. 26
Lee Strasberg on emotional memory	p. 26
Choosing the experience or event	p. 29
Performing the exercise	p. 31
The distinction between sense memory and emotional memory	p. 33
Animal exercise	p. 34
Song and dance exercise	p. 36
Song	p. 37
Dance	p. 39
Movement with sound exercise	p. 39
Voice exercises	p. 39
Voice exercise 1	p. 41
Voice exercise 2	p. 41
Voice exercise 3	p. 41
Characters and scenes	p. 43
Creating the character	p. 43
Given circumstances	p. 45
Creating imaginary realities with sense and emotional memory	p. 45
Words and lines	p. 47
Anticipation	p. 51
Speaking out	p. 51
Improvisation	p. 52
The problem of repetition	p. 55
Working with the director	p. 56
Scene critiques	p. 59
Directing and the Method	p. 81
Introduction	p. 81
Achieving your vision	p. 83
Working with the actor	p. 86
Casting	p. 91
The set	p. 96
Lighting	p. 103
Music	p. 104
The process of rehearsal	p. 107
Reading rehearsals	p. 109
Blocking and memorizing lines	p. 111
Line rehearsals and run throughs	p. 112
Dress rehearsal	p. 112
Opening nights	p. 113
Group/mass scenes	p. 113
Directors' work with amateur actors	p. 114
Directors' work with playwrights	p. 116
Directing in the cinema	p. 118
Lee Strasberg on great directors	p. 118
Eugene Vakhtangov	p. 118
Vsevolod Meyerhold	p. 121
David Belasco	p. 122
Lee Strasberg on film directors	p. 123
Avant-garde directors	p. 125
Directing dance	p. 127
Books on directing	p. 128
Lee Strasberg on Shakespeare and Stanislavski	p. 137
Shakespeare	p. 137
Stanislavski	p. 144
Lee Strasberg on the theater, acting, and actors	p. 157
The origin of the Method	p. 157
Historical controversy over Method acting	p. 158
The origin of the Method in American theater	p. 159
Edmund Kean	p. 160
William Macready	p. 160
Edwin Booth	p. 160
Henry Irving	p. 161
The Italians: Tommaso Salvini and Giovanni Grasso	p. 161
Eleanora Duse and Sarah Bernhardt	p. 163
Anton Chekhov	p. 165
Michael Chekhov	p. 166
Emil Jannings	p. 167
John Barrymore	p. 167
Louise Brooks	p. 168
Paul Muni	p. 168
Bertolt Brecht	p. 169
Kim Stanley	p. 170
Patricia Neal	p. 170
Recognition of talent in the theater	p. 171
Poetry	p. 173
Acting: cinema vs stage	p. 174
Courage in the theater	p. 175
Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute recommended reading on theater	p. 185
Index	p. 191
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