An Actor's Companion: Tools for the Working Actor
“There is a muscularity, not to mention wisdom and truth, to Seth’s techniques. He is a wonderful teacher, and I know that having him as my first guide is one of the luckiest things to have happened to me in my career and life.” —Anne Hathaway, from her Foreword

“Seth Barrish has coached me on almost every TV project, film or audition I’ve done since we met ten years ago. When it comes to wisdom about acting, there’s no one I hold in higher regard.” —Mike Birbiglia, comedian, director, actor

“Seth’s approach and understanding is awesome. He makes it very easy to act by telling you not to act and be natural. It could be as simple as having something in your hand, creating business while you deliver a line to make it seem natural and comfortable. His book is amazing—it’s basically the actor’s blueprint.” —Jay Pharoah, actor, comedian

“In Seth’s class I often watch him transform a student’s good, yet average performance into a precise and exhilarating one, with just one simple adjustment. I am constantly blown away by how he does this. This book explains it.” —Sarita Choudhury, actor

“This book is truly unlike anything else I know—these pieces are haikus on specific elements of performance and character building.” —Philip Himberg, Sundance Theatre Institute

An Actor’s Companion is ideal for both seasoned professionals and beginning actors. The tips and exercises are simple and direct, and easy to apply in both rehearsal and performance.

Seth Barrish is an actor, director and co-founder of The Barrow Group, a theater company and acting school, in New York City. During his near forty-year career he has directed the award-winning My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Sleepwalk with Me, The Tricky Part, Pentecost, All the Rage and Old Wicked Songs.
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An Actor's Companion: Tools for the Working Actor
“There is a muscularity, not to mention wisdom and truth, to Seth’s techniques. He is a wonderful teacher, and I know that having him as my first guide is one of the luckiest things to have happened to me in my career and life.” —Anne Hathaway, from her Foreword

“Seth Barrish has coached me on almost every TV project, film or audition I’ve done since we met ten years ago. When it comes to wisdom about acting, there’s no one I hold in higher regard.” —Mike Birbiglia, comedian, director, actor

“Seth’s approach and understanding is awesome. He makes it very easy to act by telling you not to act and be natural. It could be as simple as having something in your hand, creating business while you deliver a line to make it seem natural and comfortable. His book is amazing—it’s basically the actor’s blueprint.” —Jay Pharoah, actor, comedian

“In Seth’s class I often watch him transform a student’s good, yet average performance into a precise and exhilarating one, with just one simple adjustment. I am constantly blown away by how he does this. This book explains it.” —Sarita Choudhury, actor

“This book is truly unlike anything else I know—these pieces are haikus on specific elements of performance and character building.” —Philip Himberg, Sundance Theatre Institute

An Actor’s Companion is ideal for both seasoned professionals and beginning actors. The tips and exercises are simple and direct, and easy to apply in both rehearsal and performance.

Seth Barrish is an actor, director and co-founder of The Barrow Group, a theater company and acting school, in New York City. During his near forty-year career he has directed the award-winning My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Sleepwalk with Me, The Tricky Part, Pentecost, All the Rage and Old Wicked Songs.
15.95 In Stock
An Actor's Companion: Tools for the Working Actor

An Actor's Companion: Tools for the Working Actor

An Actor's Companion: Tools for the Working Actor

An Actor's Companion: Tools for the Working Actor

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Overview

“There is a muscularity, not to mention wisdom and truth, to Seth’s techniques. He is a wonderful teacher, and I know that having him as my first guide is one of the luckiest things to have happened to me in my career and life.” —Anne Hathaway, from her Foreword

“Seth Barrish has coached me on almost every TV project, film or audition I’ve done since we met ten years ago. When it comes to wisdom about acting, there’s no one I hold in higher regard.” —Mike Birbiglia, comedian, director, actor

“Seth’s approach and understanding is awesome. He makes it very easy to act by telling you not to act and be natural. It could be as simple as having something in your hand, creating business while you deliver a line to make it seem natural and comfortable. His book is amazing—it’s basically the actor’s blueprint.” —Jay Pharoah, actor, comedian

“In Seth’s class I often watch him transform a student’s good, yet average performance into a precise and exhilarating one, with just one simple adjustment. I am constantly blown away by how he does this. This book explains it.” —Sarita Choudhury, actor

“This book is truly unlike anything else I know—these pieces are haikus on specific elements of performance and character building.” —Philip Himberg, Sundance Theatre Institute

An Actor’s Companion is ideal for both seasoned professionals and beginning actors. The tips and exercises are simple and direct, and easy to apply in both rehearsal and performance.

Seth Barrish is an actor, director and co-founder of The Barrow Group, a theater company and acting school, in New York City. During his near forty-year career he has directed the award-winning My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Sleepwalk with Me, The Tricky Part, Pentecost, All the Rage and Old Wicked Songs.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781559367967
Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
Publication date: 06/09/2015
Pages: 216
Sales rank: 256,192
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Seth Barrish is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of The Barrow Group, a New York–based theater company and school. As a director, his credits include the award-winning shows All The Rage, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend (final performance at Carnegie Hall), Sleepwalk with Me, The Tricky Part, Pentecost, Old Wicked Songs and Good, as well as dozens of productions Off-Broadway and in theaters across the United States and around the world. He directed the Netflix comedy special Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, and was co-director for the feature film Sleepwalk with Me. He is a renowned professional acting and directing coach and teacher. As an actor, he appears regularly in film and on television. He is also a composer and songwriter (SESAC). He is most proud of his affiliation with his family: Lee Brock, Phillip and Rachel Barrish.

Table of Contents

Foreword Anne Hathaway xiii

Introduction Seth Barrish xviii

Tips 1

Do Stuff 3

Keep the Activity Going 4

Really Do It 5

The Conversation Exercise 6

Dovetail 9

Avoid Psychological Crosses 10

Look Before Crossing 11

Entrances and Exits 13

Ease into the Play 14

Confiding 15

Break Up the Line 16

Real-Life Models 18

Costumes Help 19

Look to the Response 21

Beware of Eyeballing 23

Stay in Touch 24

A Focus Trick 25

Loading 26

Time Deadlines 28

Get Caught in the Act 30

Explore the Contrary Impulse 31

Just Say It 33

Negative Choices Are a No-No 35

Don't Bring Coals to Newcastle 37

Be a Good Liar 38

Leave the Emotions Alone 39

Don't Deny 41

It's Okay to Laugh 43

Surprises 45

Break the Patterns 46

Releasing Pauses 48

Change the Circumstances 49

What's Going On? 51

One Thing at a Time 53

Make It Hot 54

Make It Unimportant 56

The Impulse Exercise 57

Transformation 59

Translate 61

Get Physical 63

Respect the Itch 65

Become a Director 67

Scenes Are Built Around Conflict 68

Add Up Your Lines 69

Get to It 70

Physicalize Your Intentions 71

Find the Main Event 73

Give Yourself Somewhere to Go 75

Maybe, Kinda, Sorta … 77

Interrogations 79

Similarities and Differences 80

Run Away from Confrontation 81

Don't Let the Neighbors Hear 82

Get It Over With 84

Are You Ahead of Yourself? 85

Blow It Out 87

Conventional Behavior 89

Connect the Dots 91

Stay Out of Your Head 94

Skip the Beginning 96

Flirting 98

Break the Mood 99

Follow Through 101

Stalling 102

Face-Offs 103

It's Called a Play 105

Get Off the Train 107

Join the Audience 108

Parallelism 110

Amplification 112

Easy or Difficult? 114

Flip-Flops 116

Rehearse in Public 118

The Silent Improv 119

Detail the Environment 123

It's a 3-D World 124

It's No Big Deal 125

Quick Bargains 126

Shut Us Out 127

Classical Text Tips 129

Know What You're Saying 131

Avoid Stressing Pronouns 133

Common Sense Works 135

Look for Lists 136

Find the Juju Word 138

What Did They Say? 141

Look for the Argument 143

Be Wary of Punctuation 146

Beware of Annotations 147

Vocal Range 148

It's All the Same 149

Round the Corner 151

Steal from Yourself 1 153

Are You Talkin' Funny? 156

Start Slowly 157

Are You Sure It's a Soliloquy? 158

Monologue Tips 161

Don't Eyeball the Wall 163

Start to Yourself 165

Set Up Off-Center 166

Eliminate the Prep 167

Words of Wisdom 169

Acting Maxims 171

Quick Reference 173

Tips at a Glance 175

Acknowledgments 187

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