About the Book:

The Actor's Wheel of Connection: How to Integrate Your Skills and Refine Your Performance uses the image of the wheel with six spokes to examine the craft of acting. These six spokes represent an actor's connection to self, others, circumstances, text, character, and audience. Each point of connection is examined and experienced through specific exercises, always keeping in mind that when the wheel is in motion, the spokes disappear, as all great acting must.

This exciting book by acting teacher Richard Brestoff is a breakthrough. It will change the way in which acting is discussed and taught in the future. Simply put, The Actor's Wheel of Connection puts together the craft of acting for the actor. You'll experience no more conflict between inner and outer technique; no more conflict between personal truth and character; no more barrier between actor and audience.

Using exercises, which for maximum benefit he recommends always doing in relation to text, not as standalone exercises, and a unique troubleshooting section after each chapter, The Actor's Wheel of Connection offers a complete, comprehensive, and graspable new approach to acting that includes the entire chain of performance – from personal truth to audience reception. Based on Stanislavsky but applicable to all styles, the actor's wheel is made up of six interconnected spokes. They are: connection to self, connection to others, connection to circumstances, connection to text, connection to character, and connection to audience. Each spoke is discussed in detail with new examinations of personalization, objectives, strategies, transitions, character, and that taboo subject, the audience. But though each spoke is looked at separately, the wisdom of the book lies in the knowledge that the wheel must be set in motion – that is when the spokes disappear, as they must in all great acting.

Richard Brestoff illustrates his points with brilliantly chosen examples from films and plays and with insights from Robert Lewis, Elia Kazan, Evgeny Vakhtangov, T.S. Eliot, Kevin Kline, and even Sir Isaac Newton! Fresh and wise, this fine book is a must for actors and teachers alike. The Actor's Wheel of Connection shows the actor how to put it all together, from connection between the actors, through circumstance, text, and character into the soul of an audience.

What people say:

"This excellent acting manual likens the craft to six spokes in a wheel ... he underlines the importance of working without preconceived ideas and not censoring first impulses. Also notable are Brestoff's suggestions about characterization and the need to observe people, to watch them eat, read, walk and talk, to see what they wear and how they stand. The author concludes with a heartening message to actors, reassuring them that what they bring to a performance is unique, and that their contributions matter." — Publishers Weekly

About the Author:

Richard Brestoff is a Professor of Drama in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine. He is an actor with credits on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theatre, and in film, television and radio.