The Actor's Secret: Techniques for Transforming Habitual Patterns and Improving Performance
“The Actor’s Secretcontributes to the actor’s awareness of his or her body and voice—an approach to conditioning that awakens possibilities.”—Olympia Dukakis, Academy Award– and Golden Globe–winning actress,MoonstruckandSteel Magnolias “I have worked with many fine Alexander Technique teachers over the years and Betsy Polatin is far and away one of the finest. Her touch, her instincts, and her knowledge are miraculous.”—André Gregory, actor,My Dinner with André,and director,The Master Builder“This is an indispensable book for people seriously interested in acting and is the most important book on acting I have read in a long time. The details and techniques discussed are very impressive and essential for the serious actor.”—Stewart F. Lane, acclaimed five-time Tony Award–winning Broadway producer,War HorseandTop Hat “I have often puzzled at what makes an actor believable; what really lets you enter into their character’s world. Here inThe Actor’s Secret,some of those very secrets are made tangible and accessible in clear descriptive prose. By learning to become embodied—in breath, in posture, and in movement—these powerful techniques are revealed, not only to the actor, but to all of us in how we live our everyday roles—whether awkwardly and inefficiently, or comfortably with grace and flow.”—Peter A. Levine, PhD, best-selling author ofIn an Unspoken Voice: How the BodyReleases Trauma and Restores GoodnessandWaking the Tiger: Healing Trauma“[The Actor’s Secret]skillfully blends three disciplines in laying out a path to enhanced wellbeing and professional efficacy: the Alexander Technique, the focus of which, simplistically stated, is body alignment, Breathing Coordination, and Somatic Experiencing, which involves working through traumatic experiences to restore and enhance physical and mental health. … Polatin delves deeply beyond the familiar jargon of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘being in the moment’ with elaborate explanations of and methods of achieving these essential states. … The approach set forth inThe Actor’s Secretis in my opinion the most comprehensive, straight forward, non-mystical, and, therefore, most likely to produce good results. … The book is extremely well presented.”—Gordon Osmond, award-winning playwright and reviewer for bookpleasures.com