Top picks from Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022
Many Methuen Drama authors will be premiering new work and reviving recent classics throughout this Fringe. Here is a run-down to help ensure you don’t miss your next festival-favourite!
Acting
Introducing… Performing for Motion Capture
The first all-encompassing guide for the next generation of performers working specifically for motion capture, featuring contributions from practitioners working across the globe.
The key principles of hip hop
An essential guide to the new, explosive synthesis of hip hop and theatre which covers vocal technique, use of equipment, mixing, looping, sampling, working with venues and dealing with creative challenges.
Introducing… Inside the Rehearsal Room
A practical guide that ultimately demystifies the rehearsal process and challenges how the rehearsal room should be run in the 21st century, drawing on professional practice and underpinned by theory.
How to master your Shakespeare audition
Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday this year with an excerpt from Mastering the Shakespeare Audition, which shows performers how to make the most of their rehearsal time in the lead up to an audition.
Introducing… The Vocal Arts Workbook
For over 10 years, performers and practitioners have used The Vocal Arts Workbook to develop vocal power, range, and flexibility through through structured and informed methods.
Nancy Bishop on auditioning for film and TV post #MeToo
Legendary casting director Nancy Bishop offers actionable advice on audition technique, scene analysis, and online casting, as well as aiding actors in landing the part.
Annie Morrison on The Moment of Speech
Legendary voice instructor and creator of the Morrison Bone Prop, Annie Morrison, has put her modernising practice to paper, sharing her transformative process in The Moment of Speech: Creative Articulation for Actors.
An interview with Cherrelle Skeete, from the Actors’ & Performers’ Yearbook 2022
In this exclusive interview, actress Joan Iyiola talks to Cherrelle Skeete, co-founder and Artistic Director of Blacktress UK, a network that supports Black womxn creatives by providing them with a community.
Anne Bogart on The Art of Resonance
In this exclusive extract, Anne Bogart breaks down the art of ‘resonance’: defining what it is, highlighting why it matters, and explaining how the ‘global situation’ of 2020 spurred her into writing.
Introducing… 30 Monologues and Duologues for South Asian Actors
The Kali Theatre celebrates 30 years of producing art with 30 monologues and duologues written by South Asian women.
Introducing… Voiceover Narration
Dian Perry uses decades of experience to offer simple exercises for great narrators and voiceover artists.
Introducing… the Arden Performance Companions
A new series of practical guides to performing Shakespeare’s plays for actors, directors, teachers and students.
An extract from Clown: The Physical Comedian – introducing The Look
Read this Extract from Clown: The Physical Comedian, Introduction, The Word and The Look
Extract from Voice into Acting, Chapter One: The Organic Acting Approach and the Voice
Read this Extract from Voice Into Acting, Chapter One: The Organic Acting Approach and the Voice
Extract from Actors’ and Performers’ Yearbook 2021
Read this interview from the Actors’ and Performers’ Yearbook 2021 with David Mumeni on levelling the playing field for actors from working- and benefit- class backgrounds.
Extract from the introduction of Di and Viv and Rose by Elizabeth Kuti
Read this extract from the introduction of Di and Viv and Rose by Elizabeth Kuti, from Methuen Drama’s Modern Classics series.
“The Passport Thing” – a monologue from My White Best Friend
Read this monologue The Passport Thing by Iman Qureshi, taken from My White Best Friend, a collection of letters from some of the most exciting voices in the UK and beyond, edited by Rachel De-lahay.
An extract from Movement Directors in Contemporary Theatre: Conversations on Craft by Ayse Tashkiran
Read extracts from Ann Yee’s conversation with Ayse Tashkiran, author of Movement Directors in Contemporary Theatre: Conversations on Craft
Different Actors, Different Bodies – extract from Rethinking the Actor’s Body: Dialogues with Neuroscience
Read an extract from Rethinking the Actor’s Body: Dialogues with Neuroscience by Dick McCaw, published by Methuen Drama earlier this year.
Find Your Next Audition Piece: Modern Plays with Original Monologues
We’ve put together a selection of recent hit plays that all include fantastic new monologues for actors. Many can be used by actors of any age or gender and others are more specific.
Is there anybody there?: Working without the other actors
Read an extract from Screen Acting Skills by Roger Wooster and Paul Conway about how to work without other actors and develop skills for a screen career.
Surviving Actors Conference 2020
Methuen Drama attends Surviving Actors Conference 2020 featuring a special guest panel by Julie Hesmondhalgh, talking about life as an actor.
Acting Essentials: Introduction to the Alexander Technique
Read an extract from Bill Connington’s new book in Methuen Drama’s Acting Essential Series introducing actors to the Alexander Technique through practical study.
Ten Steps to Launch Your Acting Career
Actor Rob Ostlere offers essential advice from his book The Actor’s Career Bible for any actors launching their career.
The Opera Singer’s Acting Toolkit
Read an extract from Martin Constantine’s new book The Opera Singer’s Acting Toolkit which offers opera singers an essential guide to creating a role on stage.
A Beginners Guide to Devising Theatre
Read about the Methuen Drama plays and authors performing at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe including Baby Reindeer by Richard Gadd.
Working Towards Success: Rob Ostlere, The Actor’s Career Bible
Actor Rob Ostlere offers helpful advice from his new book The Actor’s Career Bible
Acting Exercises for 8-18 Year Olds
Read sample exercises from Samantha Marsden’s new book 100 Acting Exercises for 8-18 year olds to inspire classroom and drama club participation.
Surviving Actors 2019
Methuen Drama attend the Surviving Actors 2019 conference in London. Read about our day and seminar with Daniel Dresner.
‘If in Doubt’ Rules For Letter and Email Writing
As with most things in the acting world there is no ‘right way’ when it comes to putting a letter or email together. The following advice comes from interviews I’ve carried out with various actors, casting directors, agents and other industry experts; basic rules you can fall back on when in doubt, that will leave you something professional and effective.
10 Tips from the Master of Impro!
For the last 2 weeks of June 2014, I was in Calgary working with Keith Johnstone (as his Literary Executor) preparing and packing his personal archive (or a portion of it) for shipment to Stanford University where The Keith Johnstone Papers will be permanently housed.
The Similarities Between Acting on Stage and Acting on Camera
Film and stage are quite similar in that they both are looking for truthful behavior within imaginary circumstances, or to quote Stanislavski, “Actors must live privately in public” regardless of medium.
