About
the Book:
HARD TO FIND BOOK and CD Bundle, only a very limited
number of copies are still available.
The classic Edith Skinner method to speech for the stage! This bundled version contains the 75-minute audio CD and booklet that
is a companion to the paperback Speak With Distinction.
Widely recognized as the most complete and rigorous text of its
kind since it was first published in 1942, Speak With Distinction
is an invaluable resource. It presents a comprehensive study of the
sounds of Spoken English in their most important phonetic
environments. This most recent revision also adds much material for
comparisons of speech sounds; suggestions for accurate, efficient and
conversational ways of combining the sounds into connected utterance;
indications that foster a working knowledge of two dialects of speech
(General American and what voice coach Edith Skinner called
Good Speech for classic and elevated texts – an accent that is
'free from regional characteristics,' 'effortlessly articulated and
easily understood in the last rows of the theater'); and beginning
material to show application of the principles of Good Speech to
well-written texts.
Revised with new material added by Timothy Monich and Lilene
Mansell, some important additions to this edition of Speak With
Distinction are the extensive Glossary and Index; abundant guides
to pronunciations; new sections featuring such details as the
complete "Ask-List" of words; a program for the elimination
of glottal attacks of vowel and dipthong sounds; greatly expanded practice material of phrases and sentences; and an updated Chart
showing several levels of phonetic transcription and spelling
equivalents in current usage.
Speak With Distinction can be used in several ways: as a
primary educational textbook for both the beginning and advanced
actor; as a supplementary textbook for teachers and students who have
their own methods and agenda for study; and as a reference book for
teachers, speech coaches and directors.
What people say:
"Edith Skinner's
book is the best book on speech I have ever encountered. It was my
primer in school and is my reference book now. To the classical
actor, or for that matter any actor who wishes to be understood, this
method is a sure guide." — Kevin Kline
"Speak With Distinction
is unquestionably the finest book of its kind, by the greatest speech
teacher of our time." — Elizabeth Smith, Vocal
Consultant
"Edith Skinner
changed the sound of the American Theatre, and as a director of the
classical repertory, I am deeply grateful to her." —
Michael Kahn, Artistic Director, Shakespeare Theatre at the
Folger
"The methods of Edith
Skinner are among the most important elements in my
continuing development as an actor. They were certainly instrumental
in my winning the Academy Award." — F. Murray Abraham
"For anyone who believes that
acting is the art of communication, this book is a must." —
Perry Schneiderman, National Theatre School of Canada
"Speak With Distinction
is the single most important work on the actor's craft of stage
speech … an indispensable source book for all who aspire to act."
— Earle R. Gister, Yale School of Drama
"An essential element of any
curriculum for the training actor. The invaluable new edition will
serve every actor to develop his or her instrument to its full
potential." — William Hurt
"Speak With Distinction
is the most comprehensive and accessible speech book available for
teachers and students of speech." — Joan Washington,
RSC, Royal Court and Royal National Theatre
About the Author:
Edith Skinner (1902-1981) was a
Canadian elocutionist and the foremost teacher of Good Speech for the
stage in North America. She was the go-to speech expert in Hollywood
and has been credited with inventing the "Mid-Atlantic"
accent popularized by such actors as Katherine Hepburn and Cary
Grant. She was for many years a professor of drama at Carnegie-Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, at the Juilliard School (where she was the
first instructor recruited by John Houseman for the Drama
Institute), and at the University of Wisconsin.