Professional actor and teacher Brestoff surveys schools of acting from the ultranaturalistic 19th-century actor-director André Antoine, with a style indebted to the writing of Émile Zola, to the Viewpoints system of Anne Bogart, at the forefront of modern experimental theater. Brestoff effectively avoids losing the reader in discussions of abstract theories by reporting the circumstances of their development and implementation in a wonderfully urgent and visceral manner. Elia Kazan's feelings of inadequacy about his physical appearance; Uta Hagen's dissatisfaction with her early successes; and Michel Saint-Denis's oedipal competition with his legendary uncle, Jacques Copeau, are presented dramatically as essential to the development of their individual methods. The influence of early practitioners is shown to be both embraced and rejected by their successors. Brestoff also excels in portraying the different theories in practice. An account of his theater company's experiences with two different Viewpoints instructors is particularly illuminating.VERDICT This readable introduction to a wide range of seminal acting teachers will serve the needs of working actors looking for a survey of training methods.-John Frank, Los Angles P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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