performing

WICKED: THE GRIMMERIE, A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL

Wicked is not just a musical, it is a phenomenon. Every week 15,000 people pack New Yorks Gershwin Theatre to see the show. The most successful musical on Broadway in 2004, Wicked is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. It tells the story of Elphaba, the headstrong Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the good witch, growing up in the Land of Oz. The show has cast a spell on fans, many of whom return for second and third viewings. In 2005, the show begins an extensive tour across the United States and Canada, hitting major cities such as Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and many more. This beautifully packaged, whimsical keepsake is designed to resemble the Grimmerie, an ancient book of spells that Elphaba uses in the show. Wicked: The Grimmerie offers fans a behind-the-curtains peek at the musical, profiles of the cast and creative team, and inside stories, with full-color photographs throughout. Some of the irresistible special features include an Ozian glossary, spells, the shows libretto, an illustrated family tree, and a step-by-step look at how Elphaba gets green before each showeverything fans need to relive the Broadway experience day after day.

Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library)

Each edition includes:

• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
• Scene-by-scene plot summaries
• A key to famous lines and phrases
• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.

Film Directing: Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions)

Film Directing Shot by Shot offers a good introduction to the rudiments of film production. Steven D. Katz walks his readers through the various stages of moviemaking, advising them at every turn to visualize the films they wish to produce. Katz believes that one of the chief tasks of filmmaking is to negotiate between our three-dimensional reality and the two-dimensionality of the screen. He covers the number of technical options filmmakers can use to create a satisfying flow of shots, a continuity that will make sense to viewers and aptly tell the film's story. Katz provides in-depth coverage of production design, storyboarding, spatial connections, editing, scene staging, depth of frame, camera angles, point of view, and the various types of stable compositions and moving camera shots.

International best-seller filled with visual techniques for filmmakers and screenwriters.

How Does the Show Go On: An Introduction to the Theater

The Twilight Zone Companion

The Twilight Zone Companion is one of the finest examinations of a television series. Author Marc Scott Zicree spent five years researching and writing what is without a doubt the definitive look at this classic horror-fantasy-science fiction show. (The series originally ran from 1959 to 1965, but is still seen in syndication around the world.) Not only is the book an exhaustive episode-by-episode guide, but the author apparently interviewed every living soul who was ever associated with the show. It's quite likely that creator Rod Serling, who died before the book saw publication in 1982, would have been suitably impressed by the respect and dedication that clearly went into this labor of love. Zicree later revised and expanded The Twilight Zone Companion for a second edition in 1989, and discusses both the briefly revived series and the feature film based on the show. --Stanley Wiater

Anything Goes

Sanford Meisner on Acting

Sanford Meisner has been called "the theater's best-kept secret," and Sanford Meisner on Acting by Dennis Longwell gives some insight into what techniques the hugely influential drama teacher used in his 50-plus years of work. One of the founding members of the Actors Studio (with Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Harold Clurman), Meisner developed his own special lessons based upon his understandings of the great Russian teacher Stanislavsky. Turning away from the sense-memory exercises common among his colleagues, his training focused instead on a realistic approach to imagination and creativity. Unlike many other educators associated with "the Method," Meisner had little tolerance for self-absorption or striving after strong emotional effect, instead preaching that clarity of purpose and efficient use of the psyche are the actor's greatest tools. Longwell's book follows a class of eight men and eight women through one of Meisner's 15-month courses at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, with extensive transcripts taken directly from Meisner's notes to the students on the basis of their exercises. With an introduction by director Sydney Pollack, one of the many influential artists who studied with Meisner (the book includes accolades from Maureen Stapleton, Arthur Miller, Gregory Peck, and Eli Wallach), this is an excellent introduction that helps to demystify the work of a great theatrical teacher. --John Longenbaugh

This book, written in collaboration with Dennis Longwell, follows an acting class of eight men and eight women for fifteen months, beginning with the most rudimentary exercises and ending with affecting and polished scenes from contemporary American plays. Throughout these pages Meisner is delight--always empathizing with his students and urging them onward, provoking emotion, laughter, and growing technical mastery from his charges. With an introduction by Sydney Pollack, director of "Out of Africa" and "Tootsie," who worked with Meisner for five years.



"This book should be read by anyone who wants to act or even appreciate what acting involves. Like Meisner's way of teaching, it is the straight goods."--Arthur Miller


"If there is a key to good acting, this one is it, above all others. Actors, young and not so young, will find inspiration and excitement in this book."--Gregory Peck

No Exit and Three Other Plays

4 plays about an existential portrayal of Hell, the reworking of the Electra-Orestes story, the conflict of a young intellectual torn between theory and conflict and an arresting attack on American racism.

Inside Inside

A REVEALING BEHIND-THE-SCENES PORTRAIT OF THE AWARD-WINNING TV SHOW INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO– AND ITS CREATOR AND HOST JAMES LIPTON

Each week Inside the Actors Studio takes the unique insights and intimate revelations of its celebrated guests into 84 million homes on the Bravo network and 125 countries. Now, with Inside Inside, James Lipton, the 2007 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Emmy, is handing every one of us a backstage pass.

You will witness in unprecedented close-up the wit, wisdom and candor of a galaxy of stars, from Paul Newman to Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Clint Eastwood, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Ellen Burstyn, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Martin Scorsese, Sharon Stone and many, many more, and marvel at the comic inventions of Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle – and Will Ferrell as James Lipton on the Inside stage.

With the same candor he demands of his guests, James Lipton reveals a life that began under the tutelage of a poet, his father, and a teacher, his mother; continued in the orbit of three theatrical giants, Stella Adler, Harold Clurman and Robert Lewis; and, as writer and producer, took him to the White House with two presidents, the Great Wall of China with Bob Hope, and a wild flight at the controls of an Alaskan bush plane, on his journey to Inside the Actors Studio.

Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television

This is essential reading for anyone interested in directing or acting. Judith Weston's brilliance is to recognize that directors, actors, writers, and technicians are involved in a process that is at essence a collaboration. In order for them to have the best shot at creating something true and meaningful, they must share a language and a method of exchange that fosters creative cooperation. Weston rightly sees the director as the central figure in inspiring the energy of a production's harmony. She advises the prospective director on every aspect of a stage or film production, showing how the director can draw the best performances possible from actors.

Demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, what directors do wrong and more.