How to Stop Acting

by Harold Guskin

Book Overview

"The Great Guskin" (John Lahr, The New Yorker) shares the approach he uses to help actors land roles, develop them, and keep them alive

Harold Guskin is an "acting doctor" whose clients include Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, James Gandolfini, Bridget Fonda, and dozens more. In How to Stop Acting, Guskin reveals the insights and techniques that have worked wonders for beginners as well as stars. Instead of yet another "method,"...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571199992
• ISBN13: 9780571199990
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Essential book for actors

This is an insightful, simple, and easy way to approach acting in the moment. If you're bogged down with stanislavsky based text work, or even if you're a new actor, this is a fresh, new way to approach your work and make it more dynamic. I found the work especially helpful in film and tv, but it can also be used for the stage. Yes, the author does name drop, but I think he needed to in order to get his own name out there, and who can fault him for that. I found these-celebrity example- selections in the book to be the least informative for me. The real meat and potatoes likes in Harold's unique and valuable technique. A must have for any actor. Harold is also great to work with one on one-if you can afford it!

Best book on acting I've ever read!

I've read Strasberg, Adler, Meisner, Suzuki, Morris, Mamet, Chekov and several other acting books by lesser-known authors. Without question, Guskin's book is the best, most immediately usable method I have ever encountered. Guskin gives so many useful exercises to undertake his innovative approach along with a great deal of advice for solving a myriad of problems and issues actors face. When I began reading Guskin's book I was intrigued but skeptical. The approach seemed like it just might be extraordinary, but I had questions as to whether it would work within certain contexts I faced as an actor. For example, what do I do when I'm in the middle of an audition and I freeze and nothing is coming to me? What good is Guskin's approach then? Much to my delight, Guskin addresses this question in a thorough and satisfying way. In fact, Guskin answered all of my practical acting questions and gives simple, usable solutions which all fall within the context of his unique acting approach. Just like any acting approach, ultimate success comes with undertaking his advice and practicing, practicing, practicing his approach. Do this and you will reap great rewards. My one slight reservation, which doesn't diminish the power of the book, is that casting directors for film and television often want you to come into an auditon situation with a 'final performance' for the audition. They do not want you to 'play' or 'discover' various versions of your performance during your audition. Casting directors for film and TV want you to give them the character as it is stated in the written character breakdown that they give you. Yes, this 'final performance' too, can be accomplished using Guskin's technique, but one needs to go into such audition situations very well-rehearsed beforehand. Indeed, Guskin is correct in asserting that this very preconceived notion of character required by film and TV casting directors is far less prevalent in the theater and in theater auditions. This is not a caveat, just some additional info. Truly the finest, most simple, practical and usable acting book I've ever read.

Just Get Real!

Harold Guskin's approach is brilliant in its simplicity. He takes you away from "techniques" and back to the reality of being in the moment. When I practice his approach I'm able to truly listen and dialogue with the other actors on a deeper level, and to respond to their words and mine from an internally, gut-motivated, truly living and experiencing in the moment place. From the stage or the audience the result is more exciting, more alive, and much more meaningful. I never have to try to memorize lines when I work from this angle either. The words take on a life of their own and take up residence, flowing freely when the time comes. The result is a fresher and more alive characterization too -- not "overstudied". Mr. Guskin's approach is refreshing. I urge every actor to buy this book, get real, and stop acting.

Liberating

I'm updating my review, because I think the first draft was skimpy, and I feel like I have a better view of this book now that more time has passed since my first reading. The crux of the book is Guskin's concept of "taking it off the page." This was extremely valuable to me, and it turned cold readings from being scary to being my favorite part of the acting process! "Taking it off the page" is applicable to rehearsals, too, though, and to freshening up ongoing performances. The book lightly touches on a lot of different types of acting: Auditions, Rehearsals, Sit-Coms, Serials, Small Roles, Big Roles, Touring, Film Acting. I think Guskin wants to explain briefly what you need to do differently for each of these situations. The book is too short to teach all details for any of these, though, so you will need other sources. The book is very important to me, and my first experience with it was that I read it, and my very next rehearsal was the best rehearsal I had ever had. I felt so free, it was amazing. That is his main objective, to free you up to enjoy and explore.

Even a beginner can benefit from this book.

After taking an acting class for the past two months, I have had various highs and lows both on stage and off. This book prepares you to accept those accidents of creativity and freedom that make good acting. The author is not exponent of any particular school of thought or ideology. Rather he uses his real world experience as an acting coach to such players as Kevin Kline, Matt Dillon, Bridget Fonda, Glenn Close and many others to show how vulnerability and "taking words off the page" rather than memorizing them will contribute to unexpected and startling performances.His advice for conquering fear, relaxing and "going with the flow" is unconventional, but delightfully intelligent. The author speaks out on auditions, being on stage, and his biggest push is for actors to "be themselves" and let the words in the script speak for themselves. To stop acting, is to start being real, to finding the truth--and if I sound like I'm spouting gibberish, I assure that his writing is clear, concise, logical and well reasoned--and will lead to a deeper and more thoughtful understanding of acting.