Synopsis "how to act (in English)"
Have you always wanted to act? Do you daydream? Do you have a vivid imagination? When you were a child, did you like to make believe? When you are happy, are you very happy? When you are angry, do you get very angry? When a theatrical performance is funny, do you laugh easily? When it is sad, do you choke up? Do you have strong desires? At times, do you get very blue when you are alone? Do you sometimes get very happy when you are alone? Do you ever get lonely in a large crowd? Do you ever feel unusually friendly in a large crowd? Do you have faith in yourself? If your answer to most of these questions is yes, there's a fairly good chance that your emotional scale is flexible, and potentially broad; that you have some of the basic material to put into an acting career. You want to know what to do about it and how to go about doing it. You want to know how to develop for yourself a dependable set of actor's tools, and how to use them. How to develop your natural advantages and how to put them to work for you. How to become a good craftsman, and how to develop that craftsmanship to a point of artistry, and make a living while doing it Although directed to actors, anyone who is ever called upon to "stand up and say a few words" can profitably adapt this book to his uses. Much of the material vitally concerns the needs of every singer, entertainer, lecturer, teacher, business or professional man, everyone, in fact, who ever has to face the public. "All the world's a stage. . . ." Let's find out something about how to act on it, or any other stage. This is a book about acting, not actors. The incidental use of names well known on the stage, in motion pictures or television is simply to underscore a point about acting.
