About the Book:

Courageous and compelling, An Acrobat of the Heart is a guide to the Jerzy Grotowski Technique. It is an invaluable resource for actors, directors, and teachers alike.

In October 1967, Stephen Wangh took part in famed Polish director Jerzy Grotowski's first American workshop, a four-week-long instructional lab at New York University. "The actor will do, in public, what is considered impossible." When the renowned Polish director Jerzy Grotowski began his workshop with these words, his students were stunned. But within four weeks they themselves had experienced the "impossible."

This is a "class in a book" that provides a solid foundation in the Jerzy Grotowski Technique, which is an organic approach to acting using the body as source, initiated by Jerzy Grotowski in the 1960’s and further developed by Stephen Wangh. In An Acrobat of the Heart, which describes how a group of actors encounter this work, master teacher Stephen Wangh reveals how Jerzy Grotowski's physical exercises can open a pathway to the actor's inner creativity. The layout of the book follows that of a year in the work. Drawing on Grotowski's insights and on the work of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and others, Wangh bridges the gap between rigorous physical training and work on stage and between practical scene and character technique in the classroom and the performer working on her own. Wangh's students give candid descriptions of their struggles and breakthroughs, demonstrating how to transform these remarkable lessons into a personal journey of artistic growth.

What people say:

"Wonderful… Stephen Wangh walks you through his remarkable grasp of Grotowski's teaching and thoughtfully places it in the context of Delsarte, Stanislavski, Meyerhold, and the American tradition. Best of all, the book is a useful guide for an actor's daily work in the studio." — Anne Bogart, director

"A master teacher who understands the most important discoveries of the twentieth century about the art of acting, Stephen Wangh takes the powerful work of Jerzy Grotowski and makes it accessible to American actors. An indispensable book for anyone studying modern theatre." — Moisés Kaufman, playwright

"Wangh bridges the gap between Grotowski's teaching methods and the world of rehearsing and performing, so that actors may put what they've learned to the test." — Publisher's Weekly

"Wangh never preaches, but gently guides his students to reach heights they never thought possible.... Every actor, director and teacher will learn something from An Acrobat of the Heart." — The Bloomsbury Review

About the Author:

Stephen Wangh is an American actor, playwright, author, director, and teacher of acting. Since studying with Polish director Jerzy Grotowski in 1967, he has taught physically-based acting for forty years. His book, An Acrobat of the Heart, a physical approach to acting inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotowski, has become widely used by acting teachers in the United States, Asia and Europe. For twenty years, he taught at New York University where he is now Arts Professor Emeritus.