Letters to a Young Actor: A Universal Guide to Performance Book

An elegant guidebook for performers on every stage and screen, from the long-time mentor to many of today's biggest names in acting. "Letters to a Young Actor is full of Brustein's first-hand, hands-on wisdom combined with his wonderful good nature and generous spirit. This all-around man of the theater loves actors." (Christopher Walken) "Robert Brustein's writing on the theater has always combined an unabashed love of the subject with unblinking analytical clarity and an often fierce moral urgency. It is no surprise, then, that his Letters To A Young Actor is both passionate and cautionary: Brustein embraces the exhilaration of the actor's expression (and the attendant applause) while never losing sight of the great responsibility that goes with it. This is essential reading for all actors who are as serious about their craft as they are about their careers." (Rocco Landesman) The founder and director of the Yale Repertory Theater, as well as Harvard's American Repertory Theater, and the drama critic for The New Republic for going on thirty years, Robert Brustein is a living legend in theatrical circles. In Letters to a Young Actor, he not only seeks to inspire the multitudes of struggling dramatists out pounding the pavement, but also to reinvigorate the very state of the art of acting itself. Brustein is a man of strong opinions and formidable intellect. Stocked with a wealth of stories about the now rich and famous (he has at various points in his career cultivated such talent as actors Meryl Streep, Marisa Tomei, Cherry Jones, Debra Winger, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Walken, Tony Shalhoub, Henry Winkler, Christopher Lloyd, Claire Bloom, and many, many more), he brings both passion and a peerless authority to his subject. His telling anecdotes from decades of experience help explain how and why those who made it big are the successes they are today-and what struggles they faced along the way. From why Method acting is not the answer, to the critical importance of paying attention in English Lit. classes, Brustein's advice is clear, persuasive, and inspiring.Read More