Foreward by David Mamet
Prologue
Bill’s Class
ONE — Begin Again — Empty Your Cup
TWO — The First Exercise — Did You Hear What He Said?
THREE — Repition Continues — Did You Really Hear What He Really
Said?
FOUR — Developing Concentration
FIVE — How to Justify Absolutely Anything
SIX — Don’t Gird Yourself to Act; Open Yourself to Receive
SEVEN — Objectives and Expectations: Be Careful What You Want
EIGHT — Action Problems: Awaken Your Inner Criminal
NINE — Scene Work: Private Conversations — Approach the Text and
Pick Up Your Impulses
TEN — Farewell to Repition: Don’t Do Anything Unless Something
Happens to Make You Do It
ELEVEN — Daydreams, Fantasies, and Your Inner Life: Emotional
Preparation
TWELVE — Relationships: I Know He’s Your Brother, but Who Is He
Really?
THIRTEEN — The Domestic Exercise: How Are Things At Home?
FOURTEEN — The Second Round of Scene Work: Go Deeper into the
Text
FIFTEEN — Final Questions: It’s a Wrap. Now Where Do We Go from
Here?
Acknowledgments
William Esper was a graduate of Western Reserve
University and the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New
York City. Bill trained as both actor and teacher under Sanford
Meisner. Bill and Sandy worked closely together for 17 years,
during which time Bill served as Associate Director of the
Playhouses's Acting Department (1973-1976). Bill founded the
William Esper Studio in 1965 and the Professional Actor Training
Program at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts in
1977. These two schools are renowned for routinely contributing
actors of the highest quality to the International stage and
screen. Bill died in 2019 at age 86.
Damon DiMarco earned his M.F.A. from the Rutgers University
Mason Gross School of the Arts under Bill Esper's tutelage. He acts
professionally on stage, screen, and TV, and teaches at Drew
University. Damon's other books include, Tower Stories: an Oral
History of 9/11; Heart of War: Soldiers' Voices from the Front
Lines of Iraq; and My Two Chinas: The Memoir of a Chinese
Counterrevolutionary with Baiqiao Tang, which features a foreword
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
"Utterly inspirational. . . . The best book on the craft of acting
that I have ever read." --Mary Steenburgen
"As far as I'm concerned, there is only way to learn the craft of
acting, and that is through the Meisner technique. And there is
only one person to learn that technique from, and that is William
Esper." --Patricia Heaton
"The essence of this book is like William Esper himself:
kind/clear, caring/generous, passionate/graceful,
brilliant/profound. Inspiring. Invaluable." --Jeff Goldblum
"A veritable magnum opus on acting from a Master Teacher."
--Olympia Dukakis
"Working with Bill Esper was an inspiring and unforgettable
experience. . . . Every serious actor who dreams of becoming a
first-rate artist must read this book!" --Calista Flockhart
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