Description: "Screen Acting Skills offers up advice and practical screen acting exercises aimed at students seeking clear, practical exercises to aid them in their study. The book addresses the fact that many screen actors beginning their careers lack the necessary pre-shoot preparation and knowledge of studio protocols that are required of them, and aims to augment existing theoretical and academic studies by offering practical, focussed exercises that can be explored in low-tech workshop situations. Written in an informal, accessible, jargon-free and often humorous style, Screen Acting Skills enables creativity on the studio or workshop floor, allowing young actors to access their own talent, and to discover and hone their skills in preparation for future training and a career. Through the exercises and the overall approach, the reader is offered a fresh, low-tech and yet highly relevant professional approach to early screen acting training and studio work. The book is published alongside online videos of workshops with screen acting students"--
Brief description: Roger Wooster worked in theatre, radio and television during his career. In 1990 he moved into academia where he worked at FE and HE levels teaching performing arts including screen-acting modules. He gave papers at many international conferences and was widely published in a range of academic journals. His Contemporary Theatre in Education was published in 2006 and in 2016 a major study of educational theatre, Theatre in Education in Britain, was published by Methuen Drama.
Review Quotes:
"I think that the book sounds like an extremely useful addition to screen acting practice and would not hesitate in recommending it to the screen acting school at which I work. It seeks to contextualise screen acting and offers an intriguing methodology to explore ... As the authors rightly point out, although there are some notable competing titles, [this book] would address an important gap in the market. There isn't a single title that comes to mind which aims itself at those individuals looking to explore screen acting in their late teens and early twenties. Given the huge success of TV and film content streaming sites, and their particular accessibility to younger generations, I am sure that a screen acting book, targeted in part at them, should do well if it succeeds in its aims. I think the proposed book's strength lies in offering the trainee screen actor a consistent methodology, properly contextualised, and explained in a way that engages and excites the reader. Screen acting publications can sometimes be a little 'top-down' in their approach - offering the actor tricks and overly proscriptive directions in addressing challenges when working in front of camera. The authors certainly tick an important box in looking to provide a more bottom-up solution to the challenges faced by the camera actor, whilst hopefully providing the screen acting trainer with practical exercises to help actors understand the methodology and integrate it into their craft." --Philip Wolff (Head of Screen Acting at The International School of Screen Acting)
"I think this book is great! It is clear and flags up all the rules and business that we actors have to know and be aware of. I wish I'd had this book when I was starting out. I can't tell you how many times I was scared, puzzled and ignorant of all the do's and don'ts. To have this sensible guide would have been great." --Alison Steadman, Actor