Seven Pillars Acting: A Comprehensive Technique for the Modern Actor

by Sonya Cooke

Overview

Cutting-edge, comprehensive, and effective, Seven Pillars Acting empowers the actor to transform into character with ease and authenticity. Inspired by the great acting teachers of the last century, Seven Pillars Acting is a modern method that provides a structured set of tools and a dependable process to access and cultivate talent. With many students of the technique now working in the entertainment industry, Seven Pillars Acting is changing the way actors approach the craft. Each pillar focuses in on a different aspect of acting; added together, they give the actor the complete skills necessary to book a callback, land the part, and deliver a performance that is both effortless and true. Young actors and seasoned performers alike not only gain a clear concept of acting, they also begin or reenergize their professional acting careers in film, television, and theater. It is the goal of Seven Pillars Acting to instill in actors a technique that they can practice for a lifetime, without needing a teacher or guru to handhold the artist. The first comprehensive technique in the past thirty years, Seven Pillars Acting is for the serious actor who seeks a personal, dependable, and thrilling approach to crafting character.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947856400
Publisher:	Rare Bird Books, A Vireo Book
Publication date:	01/09/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	273,915
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Sonya Cooke is the creator of Seven Pillars Acting, with branches in Southern California, the Actor’s Studio of Orange County and Seven Pillars Acting Studio in Los Angeles. She started her teaching career by coaching actors in New York in 2008 and launched a blog on acting technique. In addition, she has worked with many institutions all over the country as a teacher, curriculum writer, and program developer; these include the Relativity School in Los Angeles, University of California at Irvine, the Guthrie Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and more. She coaches privately in Los Angeles and Orange County as well as internationally through Skype. Sonya designs the Seven Pillars Acting curriculum, trains and certifies instructors, and is the master teacher at both schools.

Sonya Cooke is a working actress and director in Los Angeles. Originally from Texas, she has acted in TV, film, New York and regional theatre, as well as commercials, print, and voice-over media. Career highlights include Louie by Louie C.K., creating devised theatre at the Guthrie, and playing the title role in feature film, Lily Grace. She earned degrees from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts. She is passionate about acting technique and loves helping her students discover their talents.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

Contact 15

Pillar #1

Circumstance 61

Pillar #2

Meaning 119

Pillar #3

Emotional Life 137

Pillar #4

Objective 188

Pillar #5

Action 216

Pillar #6

Physical Life 243

Pillar #7

Applying Seven Pillars Acting 277

Cast to Credits: "Sammy" from You Can Count On Me by Kenneth Lonergan

The Circle is Complete 300

The Pillars In Summation

Bibliography 303

Acknowledgements 307

Editorial Reviews

"This is a practical handbook for solving acting problems. It's not just for entry level actors; it's helpful no matter what your experience is. Seven Pillars Acting was helpful to me."
Mike Starr, over 200 film/tv credits, including Goodfellas

"Seven Pillars Acting is comprehensive outline to the craft of acting. Its progression of exercises integrate many different approaches to acting, creating a step-by-step guide from listening and simple presence to camera-ready performance. Sonya Cooke‘s writing is very clear as she describes in detail the many elements an actor can use to make his work both truthful and dependable."
—Stephen Wangh, author of An Acrobat of the Heart and The Heart of Teaching

From the Publisher