True and False

EVERY ACTOR - or anyone serious about acting - or anyone with a block - or anyone going through a dry spell - or anyone who is a director or anyone who is a producer - or anyone who is a writer - READ THIS DAMN BOOK - AND NOW!!! I cant even sing its praises enough! Such an interesting and brutally frank point of view. Cuts through a LOT of nonsense you hear regularly. And there is a lot of nonsense. Or at least a lot of good stuff that perhaps becomes nonsense in how it becomes theory. Either way - Great Great Great material!! Cuts through crap like CiLLit bang cuts through Grease! (ha) but really - GREAT book

I've worked professionally as an actor for years but have only recently got round to reading this book - I wish someone had handed it to me sooner. It's a really insightful view into the practicalities of living and working as an actor and it strips back so many of those frustrating and pretentious ideas that are so often bandied around the theatre world. Down to earth and refreshing. If you perform, write or direct please read this.

First you think Mamet is just too angry and wants to appropriate the craft of theatre from the actor and put everything in the writer's hands but on a closer look, Mamet is a writer who (finally) takes responsibility for the play and frees the actor to do her job. He is a playwright who understands that actors can never rescue bad writing. It is too late. He cuts through a lot of crap and true to promise, tells the truth, invents nothing, denies nothing.

Mamet has some great points. He is a bit shouty at times and idealistic about the life of an artist but mostly he's probably right.

Brilliant book for any stage practitioner. Great intro to practical asthetics.

I would like to apologise for my previous review. This book did arrive and I’m very pleased with it. I apologise once again. And thank you

A book which was hightly recommended to read by a lecture, as a training actor i found it useful to read and will be rereading it through out my life. Some of it i felt was contradictory to what we are learning but makes sense when looked at on a bigger picture. arrived on time and the condition was good.

Interesting book for actors wanting to expend their acting range

An interesting critique of the method school of acting, and wonderful insight into the world of drama. I came to know of Mamet through his infamous letter to the writers of the Unit, and this book carries that same voice and pursuit of drama as the ultimate goal of all in the world of entertainment. He has a very thorough and persuasive perspective on the attitude and approach to acting, from its foundation in theater to the abstract in bringing the unreal to life on stage. The criticism I've read of this, such as Mamet not giving concrete advice towards casting or auditioning sessions, does seem contradictory given the back cover's advertisement of 'how to undertake auditions and rehearsals' but I found this book a treatise on the art and science of the actor's profession and an attitude to take towards the 'business' side of show business. Even for those who remain persuaded by Stanislavsky or the Method should find this an interesting and invigorating dialogue on their profession. Highly recommend to all in, and those fascinated by, the arts and the stage.

A diferencia de otros maestros de la interpretación, como el consabido método Stanislawski o Chéjov, Mamet pone el foco en la importancia de cómo el personaje está escrito y en el conjunto de la obra, más que en la construcción propia o "egoísta" del actor. De esta forma, alivia la carga de dicho actor, dándole más importancia a la acción del mismo personaje que al mundo interior, que, en su opinión, llega a lastrar tanto la propia actuación, como el conjunto de la obra teatral a representar. Interesante planteamiento para reivindicar la importancia del diálogo y la expresión de la trama.

Amazing, reading David Mamet is always a gift for the artists

This is basically 150 pages of rant about all the "acting philosophies". Having read and being taught most of the acting techniques Mamet refers to, it felt almost infuriating to read this book. However, in a good way! Being a curious person by nature, I never fell victim to one of the almost religious standpoints about acting techniques, and Mamet reinforces just that! Mamet puts acting in a nutshell, what it's really about. Not being overly intellectual, not trying to be smarter than the scene and not to put on a mask to hide yourself. So instead of telling you what to do, he tells you what NOT to do, eventually keeping it simple and personal, to invent nothing and deny nothing. If you want to act truthfully, this book is for you. It might not immediately "click" in your head but the aftereffects of it will be fruitful.

A great read. Insights can be applied to life in some ways.