The Actor in You

The Actor in You enhances the reader’s appreciation of the art of acting by helping them realize that they already possess, in principle, the following skills: the ability to play a role, the ability to fulfill the sense of drama and to structure dramatic scenes, and the capacity to express emotion. Without losing its simplicity, directness, and enjoyable writing style, this revised and enlarged edition has benefited from helpful suggestions by teachers who have used it successfully in the classroom. Drawing exercises and examples from readers’ everyday lives and from well-known films and television programs, Benedetti succeeds in deducing dramatic principles from those experiences and then applying them to everyday life for artistic purpose.

The Actor in Youserves as an introduction to beginning acting by helping students realize that they already possess the basic skills of an actor.

This text enhances the student’s appreciation of the art of acting by helping them realize that they already possess, in principle, the following skills: the ability to play a role, the ability to fulfill the sense of drama and to structure dramatic scenes, and the capacity to express emotion. Without losing its simplicity, directness, and enjoyable writing style, this revised and enlarged edition has benefited from helpful suggestions by teachers who have used it successfully in the classroom. Drawing exercises and examples from students’ everyday lives and from well-known films and television programs, Benedetti succeeds in deducing dramatic principles from those experiences and then applying them to everyday life for artistic purpose. Still organized in sixteen steps meant to correspond to the weeks of a typical semester or school year, The Actor in You provides a direct, concise presentation and explanation of fundamentals for beginning students.

Features

• Includes both individual and group exercises throughout to help students realize and experience the basic skills of acting.
• Provides balanced coverage of acting for both stage and camera by drawing on principles from film and television and extending them to the stage.
• Advocates an appreciation of a variety of styles, techniques, and approaches.
• Includes practical and helpful exercises at the conclusion of each chapter.
• Fits any liberal arts education program with its clarity, accessibility, and synthesis of current acting theories.
• Uses well-organized, clear, and concise writing to make it very user-friendly.

About the Author

A multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning film producer and distinguished teacher of acting, Robert Benedetti received his PhD from Northwestern University. He was an early member of Chicago’s Second City Theatre, and then taught acting for over thirty years at schools such as Carnegie-Mellon University, The National Theatre School of Canada, and the University of California. He has directed at many regional theatres, including the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre and the Melbourne Theatre Company, and at various Shakespeare festivals.

As President of Ted Danson’s Anasazi Productions, he won Emmys for producing Miss Evers’ Boys and A Lesson Before Dying for HBO. Benedetti has written six books on acting and film production, including THE ACTOR AT WORK and ACTION! Acting for Film and Television. He was Chairman of Theatre at York University in Toronto, Head of Acting Program at the Yale Drama School, and Dean of Theatre at The California Institute of the Arts. He is now on the faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Most recently Professor Benedetti was honored with the Lifetime Career Achievement Award for 2005 from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

Praise for The Actor in You

Mr. Benedetti’s text is concise and inspiring. Students will see it as an invaluable guide second only to their instructor.

- Kimberly M. Chin, Bakersfield College

The writing style is clear and to the point. Many acting texts…inundate the reader with anecdotes. My students like the fact that Benedetti gets to the point quickly and has practical exercises at the end of each chapter. 

- Bob Wagner, Barton College