So Therefore...

A Practical Guide For Actors

Al Ruscio

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English

Routledge
25 June 2012

Acting techniques

‘Every scene or action or speech has a so therefore. It is the goal, the ultimate statement of the character. You should know the so therefore as you begin your scene ... The climax and the payoff is the so therefore.’ – from Al Ruscio’s Preface

When working through a scene with a student, renowned actor and acting teacher Al Ruscio will ask, ‘so therefore, what?’ to urge them to capture the specific actions and desires that define their character at that moment. So Therefore… interweaves tried-and-tested practical exercises with sound advice, and illustrative tales from Ruscio’s remarkable career, to form a training handbook as uniquely pragmatic as his favourite phrase. Breaking down his method into three broad focuses, Ruscio considers:

Warming Up – including relaxation, going ‘beneath the words’ and emotional recall;

Scene Work – ranging from character analysis to an exploration of action;

The Play – discovering its spine, progressing through rehearsals and sustaining a performance.

But So Therefore… also reflects wisely on such diverse subjects as Stage versus Film, and Stamina, Luck and Chutzpah. Enriching and generous, it is the culmination of a career that has taken in dozens of major motion pictures, and spans the entire history of television – as well as half a century spent training actors.

Al Ruscio graduated from the famed Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and has been teaching acting for five decades. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild and is a current voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

By: Al Ruscio
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 194g
ISBN: 9780415516723
ISBN 10: 0415516722
Pages: 168
Publication Date: 25 June 2012
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Further / Higher Education , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents Foreword by Martin Landau v Acknowledgments vii Preface ""So Therefore"" (a few words about my title) ix Part One: Warming Up Introduction x Relaxation x Concentration xx Imagination xx Beneath the Words xx Sensory Exercises xx Improvisations xx Animal Studies xx Life Studies xx Emotional Recall xx Part Two: Scene Work Character Analysis xx The Spine of the Play xx The Spine of the Character xx Your Objective in the Scene xx Actions in the Scene xx The As If xx Preparation xx Scenes xx Part Three: The Play Introduction xx Read the Play xx The Main Idea and Special Quality xx The Climax xx Character Analysis xx The Spine of your Character xx Rehearsals Begin xx Elements of Characterization xx The Use of Improvisations xx Blocking Sessions xx Detailed Work On Each Act xx Run-Throughs xx Dress Rehearsals xx Opening Night and Beyond xx Part Four: Stage versus Film Projecting versus Being xxx The Scene versus the Shot xxx Opposing Views xxx Part Five: Stamina, Luck, and Chutzpah, & Other Lessons Stamina, Luck, and Chutzpah xxx Remembering Lear xxx The Semi-Final Lesson xxx The Final Lesson xxx About the Author xxx References xxx

Al Ruscio graduated from the famed Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and has been teaching acting for five decades. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild and is a current voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Reviews for So Therefore...: A Practical Guide For Actors

'In this succinct guide, Ruscio draws on his successful 40-year career of film and stage experience and his professional acting training with Sandy Meisner at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse School. He provides a plethora of practical, thorough, realistic advice in 41 bite-size chapters organized into five parts. His goal is to provide experiences that will help actors find truth and depth in their characters at all times, and to offer useful information about scene work and rehearsal processes for beginning to intermediate actors. He breaks down the salient points about each element of acting with examples and exercises including stage versus film acting, and how stamina and luck play a part in actor's lives. Part 1, Warming Up, is foundational yet goes beyond other texts for beginning actors by including activities based on animal and life studies for character development. In part 2, Scene Work, Ruscio emphasizes emotional truth and the importance of finding the spine--or main force--driving the character and the play. Throughout, he shares fascinating, humorous, and inspirational anecdotes from his experiences working with actors and directors ranging from Laurence Olivier to Matt Damon. Summing Up: Highly recommended.' J. Tomalin, CHOICE