AddisonDeWitt
Posted November 3, 2008
I wonder what Adele Thane would think of Ms Batson's combination of psychotherapy and "laying on of hands"? (I was in Miss Thane's theatre too). Note Batson's stable of stars: Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Chris Rock, Madonna, and Sean Combs--among other worthies. Imagine any of them in a play? Try hard--people went to see Nicole Kidman take off her clothes on stage in "The Blue Room"; Sean Combs almost single-handed dragged down all the other performances in the stage revival of "Raisin in the Sun." Madonna in "Speed the Plow"? --if you sat beyond the second row you wouldn't have known she was in the scene. Ms Batson talks about the dreaded "personality"--hmm what do all of her charges have in common? Could they be Hollywood STARS? She retails the anecdote about the hours of "the work" she and Nicole Kidman put into a multi-page monologue during "Eyes Wide Shut." After the crew applauded, Kubrick said "great--wrong movie." In short, all that "work" was irrelevant to the performance. Not to Kidman, of course, to her it was vital. This sums up the speciousness of this whole approach. This self-indulgent, internalized, aesthetic masturbation matters only to the cult of true believers who write checks to their guru and then feel better about themselves-as-artists. Of course it also matters to the guru who cashes the checks and then reigns over the "artist." Really though, this is not much different from what a personal trainer does, or dietician, or any other of the hangers-on who latch on to movie folk. Batson claims that she is more necessary than ever because filmmakers have no time for rehearsal--that's because movie makers know what they are doing and what they are working with--a product made by an industry. Stop and think dear reader: this is a disquisition on the art of acting from a coach who prides herself on having helped Chris Rock achieve his performance in "I Love My Wife." I do not mean to imply that it is easy to perform such roles or to say that these performers do not do good work. I only ask that we recognize that there are only two things that matter in a performance: can the audience see it and can they hear it. To talk about any kind of internal craft with screen acting is nonsense. Pudovkin demonstrated that in the first and to date only valid study of film acting technique--back in the silent era. He famously demonstrated that an actor's facial expression could be made irrelevant when the director cuts away from the actor and contextualizes the actor's emoting. Batson's own proud rehearsal of Nicole Kidman's "work" on her monologue in "Eyes Wide Shut" demonstrates Pudovkin's point too. One doesn't have to bring up Shakespeare or Sophocles to reveal the theatrical worthlessness of all this regurgitation of Strasberg. Read what David Mamet has to say about trying to perform a "role" as if it were a person. A playwright does not create a human being; a playwright creates a function of the play's plot or theme. Madonna no doubt felt wonderful after she was "putty" in Batson's hands and that is wonderful for Madonna. It means nothing to the script she was performing or the audience who had to watch her. Batson's book is irrelevant to the theatre and to art, but rates FIVE-STARS as a self-esteem manual.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 19, 2007
Susan Batson's book 'Truth' is amazing! It is the best book on acting available today. Ms. Batson follows a long line of prodigious acting teachers, Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, breaching today's world with an amazing grasp of the technique of acting and its history. Her mastery of the craft of acting is genius. She is the ONE modern teacher to follow if your dream is to work in the world today as an actor. This book is a revelation on the craft of acting and creating characters. Susan is a master teacher with a firm hold on the jugular of today's film world. Susan is behind some of modern cinema's most truthful performances. She is the creative force behind a power house acting studio, Black Nexxus, located in LA and New York. Buy it and change your life!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 14, 2007
Susan Batson's book 'Truth' is amazing! It is the best book on acting available today. Ms. Batson follows a long line of prodigious acting teachers, Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, breaching today's world with an amazing grasp of the technique of acting and its history. Her mastery of the craft of acting is genius. She is the ONE modern teacher to follow if your dream is to work in the world today as an actor. This book is a revelation on the craft of acting and creating characters. Susan is a master teacher with a firm hold on the jugular of today's film world. Susan is behind some of modern cinema's most truthful performances. She is the creative force behind a power house acting studio, Black Nexxus, located in LA and New York. Buy it and change your life!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 8, 2007
This book written by the master of the acting craft is a true work of art in itself. Susan Batson, in her extraordinary brilliance and insight clearly and boldly breaks down her deep, intimate, and powerful process that can guide readers to the highest levels of the craft and most truthful performance possible. IT IS A MUST FOR ALL AS IT HAS BEEN FOR COUNTLESS CELEBRITIES-- LEADING THEM TO THE OSCAR PODIUM! Susan's wisdom radically enlightens the spirit and subsequently enables a depth and richness unimaginable in your acting work.
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Posted February 5, 2007
Finally a book on acting that emphasizes finding truth in your work based on an inward journey and discovery of the human condition and emotional spectrum. The focus here is on detailed preparation and knowledge about one's self, the foundations of building a character and not purely 'acting' on stage or on film, but of bringing life to your work! This book encompasses how to go about finding every aspect of what you, the actor, can bring to the table, along with easy to follow yet detailed guidelines for building a real life character and dissecting a script. Susan Batson has provided anyone concerned with the human condition an irreplaceable addition to their bookshelf.
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More About This Textbook
Overview
In Truth, the most sought after acting guru in Hollywood and on Broadway distills her half century's experience as an actor, teacher, and personal coach into a step by step process for creating a character from first read–through to final performance.
Debunking a century's worth of myths about "method acting," Batson identifies the unifying forces of Need, Public Persona, and Tragic Flaw to unite the actor with his or her character. Need is the primal, unfulfilled desire that a character's Public Persona hides. Tragic Flaw is the confrontational dramatic behavior that erupts when the character's Need and Public Persona clash. Truth shows how actively defining and understanding these three principals leads to the most truthful performances possible.
A must-read for beginning actors, a wake-up call for working actors, and an indispensable reference for writers, Truth reveals the inner game of telling stories and creating vivid, three–dimensional life out of words.
Product Details
Related Subjects
Meet the Author
As a coach, Susan Batson has consulted with actors Nicole Kidman, Juliet Binoche, Tom Cruise, Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Connolly, Liv Tyler, and director Spike Lee. She was a producer of the hugely successful Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun, starring Sean Combs.
Susan Batson was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts and now makes her home in Manhattan.
Table of Contents
Introduction Nicole Kidman
Prologue
The Need, Public Persona, and Tragic Flaw
The Circle 01
The Face 09
The Public Persona 13
The Need 17
The Tragic Flaw 21
The Actor
The Instrument 32
Child's Play 45
The Journey of the Need 51
Sense Memory 75
Personalization 85
The Sensory Condition 95
The Fourth Wall 101
Objects: Lost and Found 115
The Private Moment 121
The Character
The Character History 131
The Character Private Moment 143
The Character Phone Call 151
The Animal 159
Place of Defeat 169
The Character Interview 179
The Script
The "Classic CS" 193
The Script Breakdown 207
The Sides 215
The Life
On Improvisation 233
The Real World 237
Gold Dust 245
Ex-Er Actor 257