Stella Adler - The Art of Acting: preface by Marlon Brando compiled and edited by Howard Kissel (Applause Acting Series)

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Type: Book
Studio: Applause Books
Stella Adler was one of the 20th Century's greatest figures. She is arguably the most important teacher of acting in American history. Over her long career, both in New York and Hollywood, she offered her vast acting knowledge to generations of actors, including Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty, and Robert De Niro. The great voice finally ended in the early Nineties, but her decades of experience and teaching have been brilliantly caught and encapsulated by Howard Kissel in the twenty-two lessons in this book.

she is amazing
i got this book to help me in my acting classes. I started reading it and i had a highlighter whith which i was planning to underline all the important stuff. Well i ccould not stop highlighting; every single paragraph in this book is pure genius. I already started developing as an actress more efficiently and faster than i used to, i wish i met her before she died...

the only criticism...she is too abrupt. She is harsh with you. even if she does not kknow you personally, she stil attacks the young actor. this can be rude, but her directions are always right. If u are an actor, you NEED this book. Acting teachers should read it too. I had some horrible teachers in my life

Not Just For Actors
This is one of the best books I read in 2006. It was recommended to me by a professional speaker who promised that the insights in the book were useful to not just professional actors, but rang true for any profession. He was right, this is a must read for business professionals, as well as the actors.

I read it with vigor and was thrilled to see the wisdom in each paragraph. I have recommended this book to friends who have thanked me for linking them up with this amazing publication.

If you are considering reading this book, just do it.

An amazing book about an amazing woman. A++++
This is going to the top of the "books my kids must read" when they are going off to college or leaving home. This book is a supposedly a series of Stella Adler's lectures about acting, but it is also very inspirational as a series of lectures about how to live.

Addler says that "The whole thing about acting is to give. The actor must above everything be generous. He doesn't hoard his riches...But before you can be giving and magnanimous, you must have something to give. Ideas don't come from your legs. They don't come from your voice. They come from your mind. The theatre is built on developing your mind. It's an education for your mind."

She works on critical seeing, self-awareness, discipline, self-control - skills that are important to everyone, not just actors. She discusses the importance of developing your imagination, "Eventually your imaginative reach will extend to other things, until you can say, I know how it feels to be in mourning, how it feels to be isolated, what it means to be abandoned, what it's like to be engaged or to be married." She means this in the context of acting on stage, but for the non-actor, it translates into becoming truly empathetic, to being able to truly understand and communicate with others.

Every page is full of memorable comments:

"You must be aware that even a subject of profound importance can be trivialized and degraded if you haven't the energy and interest to match it."

"Sometimes, when a husband and a wife go on a trip together, he might say, "My God! Do you know what that is? Why that's Notre Dame!" and she replies, "Yes I know. I can see it." They are seeing in Notre Dame something entirely different. As actors you must make everything you see come alive."

"You will fail. That's great. Here's a secret for you - that's the only way you can learn. Learning has to cost you something."

And on and on and on! She must have been such a strong, amazing woman, so completely different from anyone in my own solidly suburban middle class life. It is profoundly uplifting to hear her voice through the pages of this book. I highly, highly recommend this book.

The ultimate Guide to a successful Life!
This book was recommended to me by my mentor and coach Bob Proctor (watch DVD "The Secret"!!!) as an inspiring read for living the life I want.
Receiving the book and spending an hour disappearing in it, leaning with my partner (it was her birthday gift) over the kitchen counter forgetting time while being totally absorbed by the Truth these pages contain.
A must have in every serious library!
Acting? Yeah, learn to ACT! Right action is what propels us forward in life. Why not learn from a pro?!!

Essential
Stella Adler was considered one of the best (perhaps the best) acting teachers of all time. This books give concrete ways to become a better actor and, I believe, at the same time become a more fully developed human being. It is an inspiring book full of wisdom and thought provoking ideas. Definitely worthwhile.