Comedy Acting for Theatre: The Art and Craft of Performing in Comedies [Hardcover]

Analysing why we laugh and what we laugh at, and describing how performers can elicit this response from their audience, this book enables actors to create memorable  and hilarious  performances.
Rooted in performance and performance criticism, Sidney Homan and Brian Rhinehart provide a detailed explanation of how comedy works, along with advice on how to communicate comedy from the point of view of both the performer and the audience. Combining theory and performance, the authors analyse a variety of plays, both modern and classic. Playwrights featured include Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Christopher Durang, and Michael Frayn. Acting in Shakespeare's comedies is also covered in depth.

Sidney Homanis Professor of English at the University of Florida, USA, a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars and an actor and director in traditional and non-traditional theatres. The author of eleven books on Shakespeare and the modern theatre, his most recent books areThe Audience As Player: Interactive Theatre Over the YearsandHitler in the Movies: Finding Der F?hrer on Film.

Brian Rhinehartis an actor, director and Lecturer of Directing and Theatre History at The Actors Studio Drama School, Pace University, USA. He is Artistic Director of a theatre collective, Dog's Breakfast, and was awarded a 201213 Fulbright Grant to developDispersal: A Gentrification Story. He directed the award-winningButoh Medeaon Theatre Row in Manhattan, which also had productions in Warsaw and Edinburgh. He has performed in over fifty productions in New York City, Germany, and Florida.

Useful advice and practical tips are spread throughout the volume. Summing Up: Recommended. CHOICE

If dying is easy and comedy is hard, then Sidney Homan and Brian Rhinehart, accomplish a death-defying feat in bringing, with ease: the science, the practices and the dangers of being truly funny on stage. DexterlÃq