Acting with Adler (Limelight)

Essencial para quem trabalha com cinema e teatro.

While I have great affection for any book written by or about Stella Adler and have read them all, this is my favorite. This book above all others lays out the step-by-step process by which Ms. Adler trained her actors in her famous 2 1/2 year conservatory program, which makes it useful not only to students of her approach and professionals, but to teachers as well. While The Technique Of Acting, Ms. Adler's first offering in 1988, is full of nuggets and offers a taste of her clarity and authority, it is a bit of a mess structurally and doesn't make much sense to those unfamiliar with her approach. Howard Kissel's offering, The Art Of Acting, acknowledges the first books shortcomings and tries to improve upon them by offering more chapters, more quotes from Stella (always a good thing) and a clearer, more linear structure. It manages to work very well almost as a desk reference to the Adler technique, yet still doesn't capture the flow of her training and how each lesson and its principles build on the prior one. And of course the two books taken from her script classes relating to her ideas on the great playwrights and their plays are wonderful, yet offer few clues as to how to work on them.Ms. Rotte's book captures not just the Adler technique but the Adler training in a way no other book manages to. It is clear and practicable, and inspiring as well. It provides a glimpse into Ms. Adler's ideas about action, justification, physicalization and creating character, which are very nuanced aspects of actor training and difficult to capture in print. Ms. Rotte toggles back and forth very effectively between quoting Ms. Adler while offering her own commentary on the lessons and ideas laid forth. She balances the technical and the personal in a way that gives you a feeling what it might be like to be there in Stella's studio.I've read this book multiple times and return to it often for insight and inspiration. For those of us who love Stella's work and feel nourished by her clarity and unique take on acting craft, you won't find better than this.

A really clearly written book. Has explained the working method of Ms Adler in a very structured way.

This is an absolutely brilliant book. I have had this for about 2 years already, and I am re-reading it now. As I grow and learn, the principles of Stella Adler's work only becomes clearer and more profound. It is simply one of the best books to outline Adler's inspiring and eclectic teachings. If you are serious about acting, the theatre, or literature, this is one book you must have. I also find it a great companion to Stella's own book "The Art of Acting". My only wish is that it was a a bit longer. But what Rotte does with the book is wonderful, and you truly to come away with a strong sense of studying with the great Adler. You realize the breadth and depth of her teachings, and how she not only bred actors, but she bred individuals who could really think and elevate life and art. Brilliant!

Great book...thrilled with this....arrived well ahead of specified time, was well packeged.....many thanks, great product and will most certainly purchase more...