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On the Technique of Acting

by Michael Chekhov

Michael Chekhov’s expanded guide to imaginative acting practice

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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Michael Chekhov’s expanded guide to imaginative acting practice

This edition presents the complete manuscript behind Chekhov’s earlier book, To the Actor, framing acting as a discipline rooted in imagination and an actor’s relationship to a role. It lays out key elements of the Chekhov approach, including the Psychological Gesture and the distinction between inner and outer tempo, with fuller explanations than the earlier publication. Thirty additional exercises give the book a practical dimension, while a dedicated chapter addresses screen acting alongside its theater-based instruction. The volume also places Chekhov’s principles in the context of his work as an actor, director, and teacher, making it a substantial reference on his specific method rather than a general survey of performance techniques.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Actors seeking structured exercises within the Chekhov technique
  • Directors and theater students studying imagination, gesture, and tempo in performance
  • Performers interested in a chapter specifically devoted to screen acting

Themes

Acting techniqueImaginationPsychological GestureInner and outer tempoScreen acting

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Book overview

The most authoritative, authentic text of a classic guide to acting

In the four decades since its first publication, Michael Chekhov's To the Actor has become a standard text for students of the theater. But To the Actor is a shortened, heavily modified version of the great director/actor/teacher's original manuscript, and On the Technique of Acting is the first and only book ever to incorporate the complete text of that brilliant manuscript. Scholars and teachers of Chekhov's technique have hailed On the Technique of Acting as the clearest, most accurate presentation of the principles he taught Yul Brynner, Gregory Peck, Marilyn Monroe, Anthony Quinn, Beatrice Straight, and Mala Powers, among others.

This new, definitive edition of Chekhov's masterful work clarifies the principles outlined in To the Actor concerning the pivotal role of the imagination in actors' understanding of themselves and the roles they play. On the Technique of Acting also expands on Chekhov's previously published work with many unique features, including:

    Thirty additional exercisesA chapter devoted to screen actingMore thorough explanations of the Psychological Gesture, inner tempo vs. outer tempo, and other key concepts of Chekhov's approach

For actors, directors, and anyone interested in the theater, On the Technique of Acting is an essential handbook.

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