Shakespeare knew more than any other playwright about the art of acting and the art of theater; practitioners affirm this. While creating superhuman characters and setting them in situations that stretch the imagination to its limits, he also provided his actors with the keys to playing them. A Shakespearean Actor Prepares reveals these keys. There is no general consensus about how Shakespeare "should" be played: there are no rules. This book is not concerned with arriving, but with setting out. It will point out the sources of energy in his plays, which, if tapped, will galvanize an actor's fantasy and liberate his talent. For centuries, actors have known what the American hoi polloi, through the efforts of Kenneth Branagh, films like Shakespeare in Love, and eminent critic Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (LJ 10/1/98), is now acknowledging: Shakespeare is cool. The venerable dramatic publisher Smith & Kraus, of course, has known this for years and contributes to their fine stable of theatrical thoroughbreds with a fine work from esteemed actor York and European actor, director, and teacher Brine. Geared to actors studying and performing Shakespeare, the instructional and conversational text is also appropriate for nonactor Shakespearean fans. Both Brine and York smoothly blend together their considerable experience and expertise through practical commentaries on language, verse, and soliloquies and an intriguing chapter on Stanislavsky, from whose seminal acting text, An Actor Prepares, the title is taken. Appendixes include a brief "Who's Who" and a Shakespearean biography, chronology of plays, and reading list. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. In the course of over thirty years as an actor, director and teacher, Adrian Brine has played and directed in more than twenty of Shakespeare's plays, both in England and in Europe. In 1975 he was the first in Belgium to stage Shakespeares in a relica of the Elizabethan playhouse. Working principally in Europe, he is chiefly associated with the Compangie du Rideny, Brussels, and was for six years artistic consultant at the Belgian National Theatre. For his services to the theatre in Belgium, he was decorated Chevalier de L'Ordre de la Covronne. Mr. Brine has taught theatre throughout Europe, including London, Brusells, and Amsterdam. Michael York first acted in a Shakespeare play at school, and later with Britian's National Youth Theatre and at Oxford University. A professional actor for thirty years, he has performed the Bard on both stage and screen, notably in Franco Zeffirelli's films The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet. He is involved in the rebuilding of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London and has recently lectured extensively on Shakespeare and the theatre. Although living in Los Angeles where he is Chairman of the California Youth Theatre, he continue to find that all the world's a stage. Used Book in Good Condition