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Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television

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A recommendation by kayzee

kayzee's recommendation

First to recommend

Judith Weston lives in L.A. and teaches script analysis. When she was in NYC, I took her excellent seminar called "Acting for Directors." Although this is a book about directing and acting, I used Weston's technique to give feedback on another writer's script that was giving me difficulty. The breakthrough came when I listed each character's personal images in their dialogue. What became clear was that the main character was speaking in directional words: up here, over there, look down there, etc. while other, more interesting characters had speech that was loaded with images on which an actor could build a performance. I was able to give constructive advice on rewriting the script.
This book has wonderful, practical advice on how to get the best from your actors, avoiding useless direction such as "make it edgier." Her techniques are simple, yet magically effective.