Wow! eBook
Back to the Body: Infusing Physical Life into Characters in Theatre and Film
Author(s): Jean-Louis Rodrigue (Author), Scott Weintraub (Author)
- Publisher: Jean-Louis Rodrigue and Scott Weintraub
- Publication Date: May 15, 2023
- Language: English
- Print length: 278 pages
- ISBN-10: B0C39MCM44
- ISBN-13: 9798218058951
Book Description
film acting, join forces to share their craft in this book. They take young actors, as well as
established professionals, through their disciplined and explicit instruction. The book contains explorations, exercises, and examples used in films and stage productions to illustrate their lessons. Their work is a vital and needed bridge between the training of artists in preparation and the current trends of the entertainment industry. Back to the Body: Infusing Physical Life into Characters in Theatre and Film
guides you to experience and use your body and its energy as a basic point of
departure for performance and expression. You will learn to apply your entire self in
acting with your voice, body, mind, and emotion. This integrated training is designed to
combine all these elements of yourself with your material, the environment, and other
actors through explorations and hands-on work, which you may do on your own and
with others. You will discover how to best fill the space, serve the story, and create a
unique, honest, and riveting character. When you implement the practices in Back to the
Body, your work will gain an enhanced level of performance and depth.
This book explores how actors can use their bodies, in concert with their voices and
their emotions, in a range of roles and characters in both theatre and film. This way of
working is not an abstraction, because our bodies always exist in relation to our emotions and environment.
Every story is told primarily through the use and expression of the actor’s body. Close
attention to physicality is essential to extraordinary performance, telling the story, and
dealing with a character’s conflicts in the most human way. The more the actor’s body
relates to the story, the more the audience is able to connect to the play or the film,
because overcoming conflicts is a universal and inevitable human necessity.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Now THIS is an amazingly comprehensive roadmap to creating a character. Scott Weintraub is a great actor, teacher, and author. Read this book and become a better actor!!!”
Jack Black
Actor and Musician
“The most subtle movements can characterize human behavior in a way even words can’t convey. Jean-Louis Rodrigue was instrumental in helping me bring to life three distinctly different ‘Waymonds’ in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Back to the Body will serve as an excellent resource for all actors.”
Ke Huy Quan
Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor
“Not only do I have a better understanding of the character, but I also have a better understanding of myself as a whole person, and I can begin to live and breathe the character. Back to the Body will prove to be an indispensable resource for all readers.”
Margot Robbie
Academy Award-Nominated Actress
Back to the Body contains excellent advice on character research and invaluable suggestions for going deep and specific through physicality. I’ve never seen the process laid out so clearly, so helpfully, and so entertainingly as Scott and Jean-Louis have done in this indispensable book. Potent secrets finally revealed!”
Jay Roach
Writer, Producer, and Director
” Back to the Body captures the energy, precision, and imagination of the actor’s training, bringing to life explorations of the actor’s use of body, space, environment, costumes, props, and, most importantly, imagination. Every actor, artist, and person with an interest in creativity should own a copy of this exciting new book.”
Jessica Wolf
Professor in the Practice of Acting
David Geffen School of Drama at Yale
About the Author
Scott Weintraub is an actor, director, and educator. Growing up first in New York and then in Santa Barbara, California, Scott knew at an early age that theatre was his passion. He studied with Bradford Dillman, then at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, with Michael Winters, Donovan Marley, and William Frankfather. Returning to New York, Scott played Berger in the National tour of Hair. He then became artist-in-residence at Theatre by the Sea in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Scott’s TV credits include Deadwood and Curb Your Enthusiasm. For the past 37 years, Scott has taught and directed theatre at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences inSanta Monica.
