Acting For Singers: Creating Believable Singing Characters

Description: Written to meet the needs of thousands of students and pre-professional singers participating in production workshops and classes in opera and musical theater, Acting for Singers leads singing performers step by step from the studio or classroom through audition and rehearsals to a successful performance. Using a clear, systematic, positive approach, this practical guide explains how to analyze a script or libretto, shows how to develop a character building on material in the score, and gives the singing performer the tools to act believably. More than just a "how-to" acting book, however, Acting for Singers also addresses the problems of concentration, trust, projection, communication, and the self-doubt that often afflicts performers pursuing the goal of believable performance. Part I establishes the basic principles of acting and singing together, and teaches the reader how to improvise as a key tool to explore and develop characters. Part II teaches the singer how to analyze theatrical work for rehearsing, and performing. Using concrete examples from Carmen and West Side Story, and imaginative exercises following each chapter, this text teaches all singers how to be effective singing actors.

Review: "[The book] has a great deal to offer to young professionals, as well as college and serious high school students and I highly recommend it to both teachers and students." --Carol Madill, Vocal Music Instructor and Fine Arts Department Head, Wyalusing Valley High School"A fine text book...This is a well-designed systematic approach which clarifies a sequence of steps one can follow to develop convincing characters and interpretations in opera, musical theater, art songs and auditions." --Sarah Oppenheim-Beggs, Mezzo soprano, voice teacher, and choral director on Maui"Singers and their teachers will benefit from this useful text that details the process of bringing believable characters to the stage." --Journal of Singing





Author Biography: David Ostwald teaches and directs at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute. He has taught at SUNY Purchase (where for ten years he headed the Opera Program), The Juilliard School, Queens College, New York, and the University of California, Berkeley.