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This book explores how theater artistry melds the forces of collaboration and leadership, igniting creativity from the first spark of an idea to the climactic curtain call.It throws the spotlight on the dynamic interplay of roles, covering the collaboration between producer, director, playwright, actor, designer, stage manager, dramaturg, and stage crew. Each chapter illuminates various strategies and insights, revealing how you can harness these transformative techniques on your own journey, crafting spellbinding productions through the power of collective creativity. In this new edition, Joel Veenstra builds upon, updates, and expands on Robert Cohen's original concepts in the following ways: - Updated case studies and examples drawn from the combined 75 years of professional theatre-making experience of Cohen and Veenstra, as well as insights from their extensive network of collaborators- Revised flow and scope to include the collaborator's worldview, specific practices for creating collaborative milieu from the start, and conflict resolution tools- Modernized with new research, perspectives, and insights from leadership experts like Brené Brown and Simon Sinek, and team-based organizations like Google and The Second City- Refreshed exercises to enhance practical understanding and application of the concepts- Expanded lens for applications beyond the realm of theatre-making to any collaboration- Revised appendices with recommended digital resources

This vital resource will steer you through the hugely competitive industry of stage, film and TV acting, offering wise advice on everything from writing an eye-catching résumé to finding an agent. It will give you a clear understanding of how acting careers are built and sustained, and how actors must position themselves in an environment overseen by directors, agents, casting directors and acting unions. Praised for its honest and critical understanding of the industry, the text has retained its status as the leading book in its field since the first edition published in 1972.Acclaimed industry professional authors Robert Cohen and James Calleri offer vast insight and experience as professors, directors, playwrights and casting directors, making the text essential reading for all students and lecturers of acting at universities, drama schools and conservatories, as well as anyone interested in pursuing and developing their career in acting.

In Shakespeare on Theatre, master acting teacher Robert Cohen brilliantly scrutinises Shakespeare's implicit theories of acting, paying close attention to the plays themselves and providing a wealth of fascinating historical evidence.What he finds will surprise scholars and actors alike – that Shakespeare's drama and his practice as an actor were founded on realism, though one clearly distinct from the realism later found in Stanislavski.Shakespeare on Acting is an extraordinary introduction to the way the plays articulate a profound understanding of performance and reflect the life and times of a uniquely talented theatre-maker.

‘Robert Cohen's book, Acting Power, follows the tradition of his other book, Acting One, and has been the veritable bible for acting teachers for the last quarter century.'– David Krasner, Emerson College‘This book, above all else, is an attempt to explore the qualities of acting power.... to suggest to you, the actor, an approach toward not merely good acting but powerful acting. Great actors display the power to frighten – and the power to seduce – and can shift between the one and the other like a violinist can her notes.'– From the PrefaceThe first edition of Acting Power was a groundbreaking work of acting theory which applied sociological and psychological principles to actor training. The book went on to influence a generation of theatre and performance studies students and academics, and was translated into five languages. This carefully revised 21st Century Edition (re)considers, in the context of today's field: questions such as ‘should actors act from the inside or the outside?'and ‘should the actor live the role or present the role?'; contemporary research into communication theory, cybernetics, and cognitive science; brilliantly illuminating and witty exercises for solo study and classroom use, and a through-line of useful references to classic plays; penetrating observations about the actor's art by more than 75 distinguished professional actors and directors. Cohen's elegant and rigorous updates emphasise the continuing relevance of his uniquely integrated and life-affirming approach to this field. The new edition draws on his extraordinarily rich career as teacher, scholar, director, translator and dramaturg. It is a recipe for thrilling theatre in any genre.