Training the Actor's Body

Starting with a break-down of the principles of actor training through exercises and theatre games, it teaches the actor about their own body and its possibilities including:

★ The different ways it can move

★ The space it occupies

★ Its rhythm, timing and pacing

With 64 exercises supported by diagrams and online video, Dick McCaw draws on his 20 years of teaching experience to coach the reader in the dynamics of movement education to achieve a responsive and articulate body

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Starting to Work
Educating the Body
Stance, Movement and Our Relation to the Ground
Breathing and Voice
Space
Rhythm
Situations and Strategies for Teaching and Learning

REVIEWS

"Based on his international pursuit of actor training, and expansive research in contemporary movement practice, Dick McCaw presents exercises, supporting theory and his own informed overview, with thoroughness and playful accessibility. A wonderful and deeply explored guide book to the actor's physical potential" ~ Professor Annie Loui, Clare Trevor School of the Arts, University of California , USA

"In this important and timely book, Dick McCaw [defines] the special nature of the actor's expressive instrument and how it can or should be trained [he] delves into the complex issue of "training for actors," and indeed "what is an actor?", through a wide-ranging, fully documented, meticulously referenced, cross-discipline and, in the end, quite fearless, investigation" ~ David Zinder, Professor Emeritus at Tel Aviv University, Israel

"This absorbing, useful and accessible book draws on a career of dedicated practice and theoretical research. McCaw's personal approach explores the puzzling process of actor training and offers a valuable collection of training exercises. As a former student of McCaw's, the book transported me back to the joy and challenge of his classroom: a place of possibility and experimentation. I still use what I learnt there in my work with actors today. This is a must-read text for all practitioners, directors, actor trainers, performers and students who use games and exercises in their work" ~ Poppy Corbett, Playwright

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