Actor training is arguably the central phenomenon of twentieth century theatre making. Here for the first time, the theories, training exercises and productions of fourteen directors are analysed in a single volume, each one written by a leading expert. Each chapter provides a unique account of specific training exercises and an analysis of their relationship to the practitioners theoretical and aesthetic concerns. The collection examines the relationship between actor training and production and considers how directly the actor training relates to performance.With detailed accounts of the principles, exercises and their application to many of the landmark productions of the past hundred years, this book will be invaluable to students, teachers, practitioners, and academics alike.

Richard Drain gathers together a uniquely wide-ranging selection of original writings on theatre by its most creative practitioners - directors, playwrights, performers and designers, from Jarry to Grotowski and Craig. These key texts span the twentieth century, from the onset of modernism to the present, providing direct access to the thinking behind much of the most stimulating theatre the century has had to offer, as well as guidelines to its present most adventurous developments.Setting theory beside practice, these writings bring alive a number of vital and continuing concerns, each of which is given full scope in five sections which explore the Modernist, Political, Inner and Global dimensions of twentieth century theatre