I Will Be Cleopatra: An Actress's Journey - Softcover

Caldwell, Zoe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393323609 ISBN 13: 9780393323603

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002

Synopsis

An affecting, inspiring memoir, I Will Be Cleopatra serves as an indispensable guide for any reader who wishes to gain a clearer insight into Shakespearean theater, and will be one of the most vital books for actors and theater lovers for years to come.

This is a riveting account of a determined yet modest woman who became one of the leading classical and Broadway actors of our time, working with such luminaries as Paul Robeson, Laurence Olivier, and Tennessee Williams. Born the daughter of a plumber and a taxi dancer in Australia at the height of the Great Depression, young Zoe Caldwell first appeared on the stage at the age of nine in Melbourne in Peter Pan. So dyslexic that acting was the only way she felt she could communicate, Caldwell became a tried and true professional by the age of fourteen, performing on the radio. Soon she was playing roles under the legendary Elsie Beyer, who sent her to Stratford-on-Avon where she began a Shakespearean career that would culminate in her portrayal of Cleopatra, the Bard's greatest female role. "The Best Theater Book of the Year...touching and wise―and very unpretentious."―New York Observer "Hers is a vision for not only actors to ponder but anyone longing for greatness in this ancient art."―Arthur Miller "[C]lean, direct and magnificent. This is a book anyone even remotely interested in the theatre will insist on reading."―Terrence McNally, author of Corpus Christi "Caldwell's] book, like her acting, holds your attention from first to last, and again and again rewards it."―New York Times Book Review    8 pages of b/w photographs

About this title

About the Author:

Zoe Caldwell has won four Tony Awards for her roles in Slapstick Tragedy, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Medea, and Master Class.

From Publishers Weekly:

British actress Dame Edith Evans radiated such emotional force onstage that John Gielgud once remarked: "Edith's energy is not too much trouble as long as someone throws a ball for her to retrieve for an hour before rehearsal." Evan's legendary energy must have infected Caldwell (who tells this story in her memoir), since the Australian performer's vigor and stamina to entertain audiences and elucidate her craft is boundless. This short record of her early life and career from birth into a lower-middle-class family in Melbourne in 1933 to her triumphant performance as Shakespeare's Cleopatra at Stratford, Ontario, in 1967 is a succinct, witty and illuminating exploration of the mind, intuitions and methods of a great actor. Writing in a colloquial tone the book is based on lectures she gave at the New York Public Library last year Caldwell is plainspoken and humble about her prodigious talent and accomplishments, always emphasizing that her success and fame are due to hard work, good directors and equally diligent co-performers. A sort of anti-prima donna, she is unstintingly and genuinely praiseful of her fellow thespians (with a few exceptions) and more than willing to confess her own faults: "I did... break one of my rules during that season. I had an explosive affair with an actor in the company, causing a lot of havoc and pain, for which I apologize." A cross between an autobiography and a primer for anyone entering the theater or who enjoys attending it, this theatrical memoir is made singular by its author's common sense, modesty and sharp powers of observation and articulation.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0393323609
• ISBN 13: 9780393323603
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 228