Congratulations! You got the part! Now what?
Many actors of all levels find it challenging to apply classroom and studio techniques to the rehearsal process. Rehearsing for a class is vastly different than a professional situation, and a consistent, practical, and constructive method is needed to truly bring to life vibrant and intricate characters.
Building a Performance: An Actor's Guide to Rehearsal provides tools and techniques through different stages of the rehearsal process to enable actors to make more dynamic choices, craft complex characters, and find an engaging and powerful level of performance.
John Basil and Dennis Schebetta bring decades of acting and teaching experience to help actors apply the skills they learned in the classroom directly to the professional rehearsal room or film/television set. They show how to glean distinct choices from early readings of the script, how to add dynamics to their physical and vocal decisions, how to explore interactions with other actors in rehearsal, and how to address specific challenges unique to each role.
While students will benefit from the practical applications and advice, intermediate and advanced actors will find exciting and new ways to engage with the material and with other actors at rehearsal. Actors of all levels will gain tips and techniques so that they can continue to discover more about their character. With these tools, actors will be inspired to dig into the text and build a dynamic performance.
Available February 2022 - Preorder Now!
Basil and Schebetta have created a blueprint for exercising technique that meets each actor in the middle of their process, wherever that may be. To know John and Dennis is to experience their considerable wisdom and generosity as acting teachers, creative artists, and fellow humans. To read this book is to have those gifts carefully curated and organized for every situation the contemporary actor may encounter. This is a book that will stay on the actor’s nightstand and become an invaluable reference beyond the first read. - Kim Shively, Assistant Professor, Elon University
Building a Performance: An Actor’s Guide to Rehearsal, offers actors a practical blueprint of how to craft a performance through a rehearsal period. There are so many talented actors who simply do not know how to ‘rehearse,’ how to build the performance through the rehearsal period. This book will answer those questions and offer the actor a practical, how-to guide for building and sculpting a multi-layered performance. It’s a must! - Barbara Tirrell, film and television actress, “Fiddler on the Roof” (Broadway), “Wicked” (Broadway), “Jessica Jones”, “FBI”, “Vinyl”, and “Boardwalk Empire”
AT LAST!!! In the sea of books about the craft of acting, Building a Performance is a life raft about the overlooked creative process of rehearsal. The author's practical words provide a comprehensive guide that should be on every performer's bookshelf and included in the curriculum of all acting classes. — Kenneth Noel Mitchell, professor of theatre practice, director of musical theatre, and co-head of undergraduate acting, University of Southern California
Preparation is key in film and TV and Building a Performance teaches actors how to bring an interesting and fully formed character to the set. With little opportunity for rehearsal, the actor must show up ready for “Opening Night” whenever they work on camera. - Linda Laundra, director/producer of TV including: “Another World”, “All My Children”, “Homicide”, “Life on the Street”, and numerous independent film projects
Building a Performance: An Actor’s Guide to Rehearsal, offers actors a practical blueprint of how to craft a performance through a rehearsal period. There are so many talented actors who simply do not know how to ‘rehearse,’ how to build the performance through the rehearsal period. This book will answer those questions and offer the actor a practical, how-to guide for building and sculpting a multi-layered performance. It’s a must! - Barbara Tirrell, film and television actress, “Fiddler on the Roof” (Broadway), “Wicked” (Broadway), “Jessica Jones”, “FBI”, “Vinyl”, and “Boardwalk Empire”
AT LAST!!! In the sea of books about the craft of acting, Building a Performance is a life raft about the overlooked creative process of rehearsal. The author's practical words provide a comprehensive guide that should be on every performer's bookshelf and included in the curriculum of all acting classes. — Kenneth Noel Mitchell, professor of theatre practice, director of musical theatre, and co-head of undergraduate acting, University of Southern California
Preparation is key in film and TV and Building a Performance teaches actors how to bring an interesting and fully formed character to the set. With little opportunity for rehearsal, the actor must show up ready for “Opening Night” whenever they work on camera. - Linda Laundra, director/producer of TV including: “Another World”, “All My Children”, “Homicide”, “Life on the Street”, and numerous independent film projects
Book Resources (Coming soon)
10 Steps Before First Rehearsal (Handout)
10 Steps For Early Rehearsal (Handout)
List of Exercises
Teaching Guide (Coming soon)
Read the play The Albatross by Dennis Schebetta
Read the short film script My Date with Adam by Dennis Schebetta
10 Steps For Early Rehearsal (Handout)
List of Exercises
Teaching Guide (Coming soon)
Read the play The Albatross by Dennis Schebetta
Read the short film script My Date with Adam by Dennis Schebetta