The Actor in You: Sixteen Simple Steps to Understanding the Art of Acting

The Actor in You serves as an introduction to beginning acting by helping students realize that they already possess the basic skills of an actor. This text enhances the student's appreciation of the art of acting by helping them realize that they already possess, in principle, the following skills: the ability to play a role, the ability to fulfill the sense of drama and to structure dramatic scenes, and the capacity to express emotion. Without losing its simplicity, directness, and enjoyable writing style, this revised and enlarged edition has benefited from helpful suggestions by teachers who have used it successfully in the classroom. Drawing exercises and examples from students' everyday lives and from well-known films and television programs, Benedetti succeeds in deducing dramatic principles from those experiences and then applying them to everyday life for artistic purpose. Still organized in sixteen steps meant to correspond to the weeks of a typical semester or school year, The Actor in You provides a direct, concise presentation and explanation of fundamentals for beginning students.

This book unveils to readers their own innate acting abilities by showing them that they already possess the basic skills of the actor -- the ability to play a role, the ability to fulfill the sense of drama and the structure of dramatic scenes and the capacity to express emotion. Drawing upon everyday life experience, the author provides a fun, non-threatening introductory experience to what it feels like to apply the dramatic principles of daily life for the artistic purpose of acting. This clear and accessible book approaches the fundamentals of acting by drawing exercises and examples from students' everyday lives and from popular culture. Balancing theory and practical application, the author organizes his sixteen step program into three main parts: Part One uses daily life experiences to explain the basic principles of acting; Part Two offers enjoyable exercises to prepare for creative group work; and Part Three offers a step-by-step approach to a role. The book provides balanced coverage of acting for both stage and camera, and advocates an appreciation of a variety of styles, techniques and approaches. Actors, aspiring actors, and acting teachers.