Mind Hacks: Tips & Tricks for Using Your Brain (Hacks)

Book Description

The brain is a fearsomely complex information-processing environment--one that often eludes our ability to understand it. At any given time, the brain is collecting, filtering, and analyzing information and, in response, performing countless intricate processes, some of which are automatic, some voluntary, some conscious, and some unconscious. Cognitive neuroscience is one of the ways we have to understand the workings of our minds. It's the study of the brain biology behind our mental functions: a collection of methods--like brain scanning and computational modeling--combined with a way of looking at psychological phenomena and discovering where, why, and how the brain makes them happen. Want to know more? Mind Hacks is a collection of probes into the moment-by-moment works of the brain. Using cognitive neuroscience, these experiments, tricks, and tips related to vision, motor skills, attention, cognition, subliminal perception, and more throw light on how the human brain works. Each hack examines specific operations of the brain. By seeing how the brain responds, we pick up clues about the architecture and design of the brain, learning a little bit more about how the brain is put together. Mind Hacks begins your exploration of the mind with a look inside the brain itself, using hacks such as "Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: Turn On and Off Bits of the Brain" and "Tour the Cortex and the Four Lobes." Also among the 100 hacks in this book, you'll find:

Release Eye Fixations for Faster Reactions
See Movement When All is Still
Feel the Presence and Loss of Attention
Detect Sounds on the Margins of Certainty
Mold Your Body Schema
Test Your Handedness
See a Person in Moving Lights
Make Events Understandable as Cause-and-Effect
Boost Memory by Using Context
Understand Detail and the Limits of Attention

Steven Johnson, author of "Mind Wide Open" writes in his foreword to the book, "These hacks amaze because they reveal the brain's hidden logic; they shed light on the cheats and shortcuts and latent assumptions our brains make about the world." If you want to know more about what's going on in your head, then Mind Hacks is the key--let yourself play with the interface between you and the world.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting but disappointed.......2007-07-02

Learning about the mind is okay, but I didn't learn anything that I hadn't seen in Psych 101, and a few interesting articles later on.

Calling it a "hacks" book is false advertising, at best. Should it make it to another printing, I would hope O'Reilly would rename it.

The information seemed accurate, so I'll give it that.

Mind hacks.......2007-02-13

This is a really great book. More novelty than improvement, but still great. If you're looking for something that will be useful as well as attention grabbing then look for the second edition; "Mind Performance Hacks"

Not really a "hacks" book.......2006-11-02

I was sorely disappointed in this book--I checked it out from the local library and hoped that it would actually live up to the subtitle of including tips and tools for using my brain. It didn't; the few "tips" included were those that are found in virtually every other discussion of how to improve memory.

This book is more geared toward folks who are designing user interfaces--it talks about how the brain processes information (and thus describes ways to improve information conveyance).

Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using Your Brain.......2006-07-25

It's a book very interested about language in mind and speech comprehension. I read a short comment in BBC Focus magazine and I wish to read because it's very easy to learn the misteries of mind in cognitive science applied to language and psichology.

A fun book.......2006-04-30

It is not a typical "hacks" book in that it does not tell you how to utilize you brain more effectively or do neat things. It *does* have a lot of exercises that show you cool things on how your brain works with sections describing how your brain works - and a number of experiments (blind spot, Magnet interaction with the brain, word parsing in the the mind, and so on). This book goes very well with a recent title called _Mind Wide Open_ by Steven Johnson.

If you want traditional "hacks" the book "Mind Performance Hacks" just came out, and is chock full of those sorts of experiments, while less informative, does do things like memory tricks, meath calculation, creativity enhancement and so on.

I view "Mind Hacks" as more informative, though, so would recommend this as the first one to get, though the next purchase in this should be the "Mind Performance Hacks."

Average customer rating:

Lots to learn in Auditon 2
. . . for the cautious
EXASPERATING BUT INDISPENSIBLE

Adobe Audition 2.0 Classroom in a Book
Adobe Creative Team
Manufacturer: Adobe Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321385500

Book Description

The most comprehensive way to learn Adobe Audition 2.0!

Classroom in a Book, the best-selling series of hands-on software training workbooks, helps you learn the features of Adobe software quickly and easily. Classroom in a Book offers what no other book or training program does--an official training series from Adobe Systems Incorporated, developed with the support of Adobe product experts.

Adobe Audition 2.0 Classroom in a Book contains thirteen lessons and a bonus CD with lesson files. The book covers the basics of learning Adobe Audition, and countless tips and techniques to help you quickly become an Audition expert. You'll learn how to work and edit in a multitrack mixing environment, create audio effects and original soundtracks with loops, restore poor-quality audio, export to CD and MP3, and more. You'll also learn about Audition 2.0's new features, including low-latency mixing with unlimited tracks, ASIO support, audible scrubbing, analog-modeled Multiband Compressor, recordable parameter automation with external hardware support, and more. You can follow the book from start to finish or choose only those lessons that interest you.

Customer Reviews:

Lots to learn in Auditon 2.......2007-03-09

A great book and cd of data. Because of not the greatest help files and no tutorials that came with Audition 2.0 this program while very powerful can be quite intimidatiing. Classroom in a book is very helpful in getting started and learning how to use the program.

. . . for the cautious.......2007-02-18

Could be considered a waste of time by many who are more experienced with applications of this sort. The difficult part is sticking to the tutorials and not wandering off on your own. Everything covered here can be accessed via the help files and user guide. Adobe might want to consider putting a little more effort into features such as a midi sequencer than reiterating itself.

EXASPERATING BUT INDISPENSIBLE.......2006-09-21

Above all, make sure the version of Audition 2.0 Classroom in a Book IS FOR YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM. Also understand that you must have the program to make sense of the manual.

Classroom in a Book is a good guide, but it has two omissions.

Anyone is in their rights to expect that a guide of this sort would have at least a few passages about live recording---but there is exactly one passing sentence in the entire manual about live recording. In Multitrack View the tracks have a panel wherein (among a great many other virtual dials and buttons and such) there is an "M" button, a "S" button, and an "R" button. "M" is for mute, which is explained more than once (even more than twice over the course of the book). "S" is for "Solo", which is also explained to its death over and over again. But as for the "R" button there is only one sentence regarding it.

"R" is "Armed for Record".

Now, maybe someone with a background in audio-editing software knows full well what "Armed for Record" means. Even for a rank beginner like me it wasn't that hard to figure out, I'll admit, but still for a book to go on and on about the other two buttons and to just mention the third term without any further comment seems to me a fundamental lapse. In my case it made for the beginning of a series of exasperating stumbles.

Going at it blind, I simply clicked on "R" and got a message informing me that the best recording was achieved by switching to ASIO. I knew that ASIO meant "Audio Stream In/Out" and had something to do with the new sound card that I had installed. The old sound card that had originally come with the computer was still in there, but apparently from what the message said I would only get mediocre results if I didn't switch by going to Edit and clicking on Audio Hardware Set-Up and following instructions from there on. Needless to say, this was easily done, and in seconds I had switched the program to my new audio card, which any intermediate or advanced user would have known to do from the get-go. Why install the card and not make sure the program was set to it? Ordinarily I would not even admit to anybody that I had to be told to do this; it's embarrassing; but still Audition is a very involved program; there's a lot to learn; and I was just very new to this whole business.

Anyway, I switched, and that should have been the end of it, but sadly the minute I switched my "R" buttons went gray and became inoperable! What's that? Maybe there's no problem on a Mac; I wouldn't know. All I know is that I'm a Windows XP Home Edition guy as I write this; and I lost my "R" buttons!

To say this upset me and got me mad is an understatement. The next morning I was in a better frame of mind and logically went over the steps and saw that there was a pattern to what was happening. For some reason switching to ASIO will gray out the "R" buttons, but if you close the program and go back to it you'll have your "R" buttons back and still be in ASIO.

It's that simple, but there's no mention of it in the book.

Of course, "Armed for Record" must be followed up by clicking on the circular red button on what is called the "Transport Panel" at the bottom of the screen. You're left to guess this, but anyone who has operated a ghetto blaster or a VCR knows what that red circle is; but still it would nice for Adobe to spell this out for us intimidated newbies.

The other big omission gets back to the same lapse as the other one. The book does not bother to point out that switching to ASIO in Multitrack View will not carry over to Edit View. It may not seem like a big deal, but I freaked out when my stuff sounded so weak in Edit View. I couldn't figure it out. The louder I got it in Edit View the more obnoxiously deafening it became in Multitrack View because the two "views" were coming at me through two entirely different sound cards!

Finally I realized what the problem was. Duh . . .

On the positive side in the last analysis it's actually very nice that the two windows can have different settings to let me know how the same file will sound on different computers. My thing with this will be podcasting, and podcasting is about posting on the Net, so one should be aiming at a happy medium that accommodates ordinary cards and quality cards alike. I'm getting better and better at it. The quality will never be a sound stage level thing, but I'm fast approaching the same smoothness of an FM radio commercial.

So go with this book, yes, but keep my comments in mind as you go.

Average customer rating:

Not what I was hoping for
Invaluable for Auditions and Beyond
If you are ever going to audition, get this book now!
before you go on an audition, read this book..
6 stars really

Audition
Michael Shurtleff
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553272950
Release Date: 1979-12-02

Book Description

Michael Shurtleff has been casting director for Broadway shows like Chicago and Becket and for films like The Graduate and Jesus Christ Superstar. His legendary course on auditioning has launched hundreds of successful careers. Now in this book he tells the all-important HOW for all aspiring actors, from the beginning student of acting to the proven talent trying out for that chance-in-a-million role!

Customer Reviews:

Not what I was hoping for.......2007-06-26

This book deals with theatre, and I was going into it thinking it would help me audition for movies. I did not learn anything from it. But...if you are into the theatre, you will find it very helpful.

Invaluable for Auditions and Beyond.......2007-03-23

Considering the low price, I can't imagine a more valuable book for the actor. Michael Shurtleff is a luminary of theatre, and this book reads like a private class with him. Remember, this is a guy who basically launched the careers of DeNiro, Streisand, Redford, Vereen, Tomlin, Midler, and Hoffman. His wonderful career included both Broadway and film casting. He knows a lot, and in this book, he shares it with you.

This book may be called "Audition", but the discussions go way beyond the audition. Granted, the opening chapter (Practical Aspects of the Audition) contains sage advice applicable only to the audition. What follows in the book are the "12 Guideposts", the bible of scene study and character development. Following the very readable discussion of the "Guideposts", Shurtleff writes essays on topics such as musical theatre, comedy, pace, and monologues. I know that my copy will become well-worn as I refer back to it again and again.

I am currently in two shows, and I'm putting the "Guideposts" to work for me. I've not had an audition since buying the book, but I am looking forward to using Shurtleff's advice the next time I read for a part.

This is a must-read for actors and directors. Highly recommended.

If you are ever going to audition, get this book now!.......2007-03-08

This is a fantastic book with extremely helpful information to any young actor aspiring to become a professional actor. Every actor needs this book so they can improve their auditioning skills and get the part they want! Break a leg!

before you go on an audition, read this book.. .......2007-03-06

you are probaly brilliant, original and on your way to superstardom BUT before you go out on an audition read this book and be prepared to reread it several times in your career..and when you move to NYC to LA then back again, you will probaly still have this book with you..it is indispensable in a straight forward, manner..it will teach you what mistakes to avoid, what to bring of yourself, what is expected of you..after being in thousands of auditions and conducting several and watching people, this book rings so true..people will make the same mistake so often..people will eliminate themselves just by the way they walk into the room..you think your audition starts when you begin your great acting or singing?..nope..it starts the moment you enter that room and come face to face with the casting people..and the most important thing...they want you to succeed almost as much as you want to..never forget that..they want you to succeed..they want you to make their decision for them..they want to discover that next superstar..

6 stars really.......2007-02-24

If you are an actor, amateur or pro, you MUST have this in your library. It's positively brilliant.

The Complete Professional Audition: A Commonsense Guide To Auditioning For Musicals and Plays

Average customer rating:

Very much worth the money
Best book on auditioning
Simply invaluable
If you plan on a career in theatre
great tool for auditioning

The Complete Professional Audition: A Commonsense Guide To Auditioning For Musicals and Plays
Daren Cohen , and Michael Perilstein
Manufacturer: Back Stage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0823076830

Customer Reviews:

Very much worth the money.......2007-02-24

As a student of Music Theatre, this book is a fantastic guide to the well rounded audition. This book even landed me the audition! This book is well worth a read for ANYONE who is autioning in Acting, Singing and Musical Theatre.

Best book on auditioning.......2006-07-29

My son plans a career in musical theatre and this is the fourth book that I have read on the topic. The others included the book by Shurtleff and the one by Silver. They were all good but I liked this one best because it covered all of the practical aspects of performing songs and monologues for auditions. It guides one through all of the details. Since this is the most current of all the books the frames of reference are more appropriate.

Simply invaluable.......2005-12-03

Actors, whether seasoned or new, who regularly audition for musicals and plays should not omit taking at least a peek at the advice in The Complete Professional Audition: A Commonsense Guide To Auditioning For Musicals And Plays: it's a 'must' for would-be pros and provides an edge over the competition in both musical theater and regular play auditions, from locating the right music or monologue to demonstrating unique talents in a mere 2 minutes. An added bonus: chapters which discuss the realities of a working actor's life beyond the audition, from union regulations and the roles of agents to further reference tips, including web sites. Simply invaluable.

If you plan on a career in theatre.......2005-09-02

If you plan on a career in theatre, this book is a must. Not owning it, is like a hairstylist not owning scissors. It is a necessary item in really owning and excercising one's craft. I have had the pleasure to work with Darren Cohen personally, and can only describe it as an actor's dream. This book is the next best thing. Everything is simple and down to terms that agree with an actor's mind and allow us to understand the delicate creature that is "the audition." I only wish this was around when I was still in college. A Must!!!!

great tool for auditioning.......2005-08-27

I have read a few books on auditioning and Darren Cohen's book is by far the most informative and gives you the most effective tools for great auditions. Since reading it my auditions have gotten so much better and I am much more comfortable in the audition room. This book is a must for any actor or musical theatre person!!

The Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues: More Than 150 Monologues from More Than 70 Playwrights

Average customer rating:

Great Monologue Book
Not Spectacular
A great resource for student and recently graduated actors
Useful and entertaining collection
Great Selection

The Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues: More Than 150 Monologues from More Than 70 Playwrights

Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140096493

Customer Reviews:

Great Monologue Book.......2006-03-10

I love the reference chart in the back. It's organized by sex, then age, then emotion portrayed. It also gives a quick description of each character, so you don't have to read through all of the monologues. Some great choices, too! Great picks from little-known dramas as well as popular ones.

Not Spectacular.......2006-02-17

Good monologues are hard to come by. Don't waste your time with this one.

A great resource for student and recently graduated actors.......2005-08-16

this book is well organized and has a plethera of wonderful monologues from actual plays. It is not just a monolgue book but a reference to find awesome plays as well!

Useful and entertaining collection.......2005-07-21

Some wonderful contemporary monologues! Well-chosen and edited. Great source material for auditions or just developing acting skills. I'll be using one for an audition this week!

Great Selection.......2004-11-15

This book is great for acting students. I've used several of the monologues from this book with great success. There are some classics as well as some more obscure monologues. I would recommend adding this book to your collection of monologues or to use in the classroom for students who are having trouble finding material.

The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook: An Actor's Guide to over 1000 Monologues and Dialogues from More Than 300 Contemporary Plays

Average customer rating:

A Must For Every Actor
This is a resource, not a book of scenes/monologues...
Not what I expected but might come in handy!
good source of reference but not what i was looking for
The ULTIMATE way to find Monologues

The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook: An Actor's Guide to over 1000 Monologues and Dialogues from More Than 300 Contemporary Plays
Ed Hooks
Manufacturer: Back Stage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0823077713

Customer Reviews:

A Must For Every Actor.......2007-09-28

As noted already this is not a collection of monologues but a resource on info on monologues and where to find them. As an actor I find this extremely helpful. Many books only have the specific monologue. To get a good sense of any monologue it is imperative that the actor know where the speech comes within the context of the play. This book, though suggesting monolgues, requires the actor get the whole play ... with that in hand, reading the play in its entirety should be the first step the actor takes..

NOTE: A new edition of this book is due out soon.

This is a resource, not a book of scenes/monologues..........2004-07-21

Be aware that this book tells you WHERE to get the scenes/monologues. It doesn't actually contain any theatrical content!

But, knowing that, it's a great resource. It gives a lot of info about each scene/monologue, and tells you exactly where you can find it.

So, if this is the sort of book you're looking for, it's exactly what you want. If you're looking for a book that contains monologues and scenes, then this isn't it.

Not what I expected but might come in handy!.......2004-05-05

I thought this book actually had 1000 monologues but it does not. The book has a snippet analysis of over a 1000 monologues so if you like the analysis given then you can go find/buy the monologue. I think it will definitely come in handy when my son needs a specific monologue based on character and/or setting and this book will allow for him to narrow down his search of which monologues fit the requirements of an audition and will save him time. I would recommend the book for saving an actor time in searching for a monologue but again the book does not contain the actual monologues as I originally thought that it would.

good source of reference but not what i was looking for.......2003-04-28

For an actor auditioning for drama school in Britain and looking for a range of monologue material, I didn't realise that the majority of auditons in this book would be American. A great deal of them require a New York accent for example which isn't appropriate when the audition panel do not want to hear any accent other than your own.
I believe this to be a good book and can see why others would find it useful but if I had known then what I know now I personally wouldn't have purchased it...a warning to any other Brits looking for audition material is to search around for books with more monologues from closer to home.
I too just want to reciprocate what one other reviewer mentioned and that is that there are no full examples of monologues within the book. It gives you the characters age, a brief description and the start and finish lines but not the monologue in full. Also there may be 1000 monologues inside but but many are from the same play i.e The Cherry Orchard (1M) (2F) (1M&F)...so actually the number of plays used is 300 in total. Also, many of the parts are for an older playing range - 30s-60s - i didn't feel there were enough parts for those of us in our 20s.

The ULTIMATE way to find Monologues.......2002-10-25

This is unquestionably the best book an actor can use to find monologues. While many people have complained about the fact the monologues aren't included in the book, this is actually a very good thing. The book gives a synopsis of the scene or monologue in the play, and tells you what publisher you can get the play from. Many young actors when they find a monologue in a collection memorize and perform it, without understanding the subtext behind the scene. This book forces the actor to read the play and get a strong concept of the character they plan to play. The book also mentions a few monologues and scenes which are heavily performed in professional auditions and should be avoided if at all possible. This book is a valuable resource if for nothing else then to get you looking at some new plays and authors, many of them relatively obscure compared to Arthur Miller and Neil Simon. With 300 plays featured, this book can keep a dedicated actor very well occupied.

Average customer rating:

Would be better without flaws
A sound training investment.
Cookie-cutter experience
Not Great, but definitely Good
Great book!

Adobe Audition 1.5 Classroom in a Book
Adobe Creative Team
Manufacturer: Adobe Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321267931

Book Description

When Adobe acquired Syntrillium Software's digital audio editing software Cool Edit Pro, gave it a new name (Audition), and added content-sharing capabilities for Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, it filled a big void in its home-studio software lineup. Here, to get you using Audition to create and edit audio tracks for your film, video, and DVD projects, is a self-paced guide from the instructional design experts at Adobe. Through a series of hands-on lessons, this comprehensive volume takes you step by step through Audition's enormous feature set, including its capabilities for recording, mixing, analyzing, looping, editing, and mastering audio. Each lesson builds on the last and includes a project you can create using the files on the accompanying CD. Review questions reinforce what you've learned so that by the end of the volume, you should have a solid mastery of Audition's noise reduction and audio restoration features, sophisticated spectrum and phase--analysis tools, extensive sound-editing capabilities, high-quality effects, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Would be better without flaws.......2006-07-09

When following lessons to the letter I found that some of the results expected are not achieved due to the book differing from the actual sample files on the accompanying CD. Truly these are errors in publication (I found similar errors in the Photoshop Classroom In A Book and got those confirmed by Adobe and the book publisher).

Publishing an instructional guide with errors is quite frustrating when wanting to take the time to learn the product. I don't know if they corrected these in the 2.0 release, just be forewarned....

A sound training investment........2006-03-30

An excellent book for getting up to speed with this program. I had never used this program before and this Classroom in a Book series walked me through the main features in a very logical step by step fashion that was both easy to follow and understand. I'm sure that there are other books that may cover this program in a more in-depth manner, but you need to get a good handle on the core features and this book does exactly that.

Cookie-cutter experience.......2006-02-12

This is an uninteresting paint-by-the-numbers experience of clicking the the mouse to make things happen to canned material, without empowering you to use the software with your own projects. Well written and illustrated, but of little value.

Not Great, but definitely Good.......2006-02-01

A good book for beginners. I found it helpful in most questions I had about the software. I think a better "Tips and Tricks" section would be the difference between 4 and 5 stars. Good book overall. Definitely worth the money. Ross at MountainWhispers.com Audiobooks

Great book!.......2005-02-18

There doesn't seem to be a lot out there for Audition to help Audition newbies like myself. Fortunately there is this book! It is well written and has taken a lot of the mystery out of the program. I'm sure that there is much more to learn, but this book does a good job of covering enough material to get one started with the program. A drawback would be the price -- it's not a large book, and seems pricey for the amount of material covered. The price of all Adobe Press materials are generally a little high in my opinion anyway. Amazon does offer a better price than most bookstores! This book has a "Getting Started" section, "Quick Tour", "Audition Basics", and 14 other chapters which cover just enough material to be easily absorbed. I like the approach this boook uses -- step by step detailed lessons. The book has a cd which contains lesson files to assist with the lessons. I have no complaints (other than the price). If you want to start learning Audition, this is a good book to consider!

Audition Monologues: Power Pieces for Kids and Teens

Average customer rating:

A Horrible Audition Monologue book
Good little Reference
Really liked this book!!!!
Excellent book!
Horrible! Totally inappropriate for kids!

Audition Monologues: Power Pieces for Kids and Teens
Deborah Maddox
Manufacturer: Lucid Solutions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0971682704

Book Description

This book has it all! Audition tested, industry approved! Audition Monologues: Power Pieces for Kids and Teens is a collection of comedic and dramatic monologues for males and females between the ages 4 to 17. The monologues represent how today's young person would say it. Expressively written in a way to enable the actor to project emotional range effectively and to experience the situation of the character, first hand. The content is powerful, includes surprising twists, and is appealing to both professional and amateur actors. Industry professionals such as casting directors, agents, acting coaches and actors have highly praised this book and actively recommend it to their colleagues and peers. Often casting decisions are made within one-minute's time, therefore, a two to four minute monologue can be lengthy and inappropriate. Audition Monologues: Power Pieces for Kids and Teens offers over 60 one-minute monologues with unlimited character choices. !

The audition tips are very helpful because they have been written from an Agent's point of view. The content is informative and actor friendly. Keep them on the edge of their seats with this entertaining monologue collection.

Customer Reviews:

A Horrible Audition Monologue book.......2007-03-25

The monologues in this book are bad. I am a winner of a number of Dramatic Interpretation sections of speech competitions and a young actor. I have no use for monologues like the ones in this book. They are not "power pieces". They are, with few exceptions, "let us display the most shocking and outrageous things that teens might get into, or that adults seem to think teens are always getting into" pieces. There is no art that one can bring to these monologues. I would also, in fact, warn people away from any acting class that would use a book like this. If I were to take an acting class, I would take it to learn how I could show the development of a character through a monologue, not how to be able to recite a one minute piece that doesn't allow for any development and does not even really exist in the context of a play.

Let us compare two monologues. The first one is one of my favorites, from St. Joan by Bernard Shaw, when the protagonist refuses to accept perpetual imprisonment over being burnt at stake. The second is titled something like, "My mother is gay" from Audition Monologues: Power Pieces for Kids and Teens. The first can be played in many different ways. My favorite way to start it is in anger. Joan has believed that she it to be let free, she is being disillusioned, and is angry at her captors. The only way to start "my mother is gay" is by being ashamed about something while talking to a friend. Back to St. Joan, I usually take the anger into sadness. If she is imprisoned forever, she will have to give up all that she loves. With "my mother is gay" the only way you can go is to continue to play the embarrased-about-something teen. Finally, I would end the St. Joan monologue with resolve. She knows what she must do, and why she has to do it, and the monologue has brought us to this conclusion. The end of "my mother is gay" comes with an 'amazing' realization. The only way to play this part of "my mother is gay" is by still being ashamed. The realization that you bring the audience to is the fact that he is ashamed that his mother is gay. Note, though, that it is hard to understand different parts of "my mother is gay" for a couple of reasons. The first is that there is only one thing being portrayed. The second is that the monologue is so short, it is hard to tell if there is a beginning or an end. The third reason is that the monologue is badly written, so how can you expect different parts to it?

If you are at all serious in any way about doing audition monologues, or intend to become serious at any point with monologues, stay away from this book. Instead, do one of a few things. 1) find a resource book that lists a large numbers of monologues, characters, and identities, and use that resource book to find the plays that the monologues you have chosen come out of. Then read those plays and actually understand the importance of the monologue to the action, and why the monologue is so important. Or you can 2) actually find some good monologue books, my absolute favorite (for teens) being Great Monologues for Young Actors, edited by Craig Slaight and Jack Sharrar.

Good little Reference.......2007-03-20

This book has some short, but interesting monologues for the kids. My son (age 15) found two that he really likes and is working on. I like them because they include comedy and drama, are to the point, and have some subjects that appeal to teenagers.

Really liked this book!!!!.......2006-07-25

I bought this book for my 12 year old. What we love about this book is that there are monologues for all ages of kids, which have enabled him to show the ages he can play. The comedy monologues are really funny and the drama ones truly brought a tear to my eye. The content in this book is very appropriate for kids and the table of contents make it easy to find the right monologues for my child.

Excellent book!.......2006-04-19

I am an acting instructor and have been using this book in my classes. My students like to work with this book the most. They love the comedy monologues and can identify with the drama ones. As a teacher, I like how the monologues are written. They allow the actor to respond and really act rather than just say the words. A great book with positive messages for kids.

Horrible! Totally inappropriate for kids!.......2005-12-04

I bought this book for my 13 year old son, who is interested in acting. I made the mistake of taking previous reviews at face value. The monologues in this book contain subject matter that is very adult and completely inappropriate for young teens.

For example, one monologue is titled, "My Mother is Gay". Another is a teen girl talking about how her boyfriend is pressuring her to have sex. In a different one a girl talks about how she did have sex with her boyfriend. Another one is about a teen girl talking about how she has AIDS. Still another is about a boy from a large family, where the mother is pregnant again and the father wants to give away the new baby when it arrives. A really disturbing one talks about "cleaning" a cat by putting into the toilet with shampoo, closing the lid, and then flushing. The words cr*p, scr*w, and a** are sprinkled throughout the text.

If you want your teen exposed to the seedy side of life, this is the book for you. If you want your child discussing topics of an extremely adult nature, go for it. Otherwise find different material. We ended up purchasing "Great Monologues for Young Actors" (I and II), which has many familiar, classic plays and much more appropriate subject matter.

I don't know what this author was thinking. Surely she could come up with topics to discuss that didn't include non-stop sex, drugs, alcoholism, homosexuality, aniaml cruelty, and so forth.

Horrible, simply horrible book. I returned it to Amazon.

Average customer rating:

i'm now the leeding lady of the Ellis Island Repatorey Theatear
Inspirational.
You want the part? Read this book, now.
An indispensible tool for ANY Theater student.
Musical Auditions Will Never Be Easier!

Auditioning for the Musical Theatre
Fred Silver
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0140104992

Book Description

Proven tactics and techniques from a leading New York vocal coach on how to "act" a song, choose the right material, handle a callback, what to wear, how to use eye contact, select a voice teacher and vocal coach, and more. Includes 130 excellent yet unusual audition songs for all types of situations and performers, including juveniles and dancers.

Customer Reviews:

i'm now the leeding lady of the Ellis Island Repatorey Theatear .......2006-11-12

... aftur reeding this book i audishined for everyone and the responce was wonderful. They kept calling me back. ~ Everytime i sang the room filled up and i saw it brought a smile to everyone's face. I go on audishens every day- just to keep in practus. When i sing hits from "Kean" (whilst tap-dancing) the people applaud a lot. This book has changed my life. God Bless Frank Sliver for this book. I now have a life.

Inspirational........2006-10-16

This book really helped me understand every aspect in auditioning for musical theatre. Honest to God, with this book I feel I have much a better understanding of what I'm auditioning with and that I will have a better chance among the rest of the auditioners.

It's worth every penny :)

You want the part? Read this book, now........2005-03-06

The moment I read the introduction I was hooked. Silver uses humor and wit to bring to life these practical and useful methods he shows you to give a flawless performance. He teaches you everything from how to relax before an audition to how to become the part. I can not describe to you all how much I am in debt to this man for teaching me the way to a auditioners heart. Mr. Silver will not let you down.

An indispensible tool for ANY Theater student........2004-01-23

While this book is, of course, geared torwards musical theater, there are many tips in here that can be used for any kind of audition.

The other review for this book was so good, I almost don't want to write a review, but I want to so, here I am. :D

I decided to find books on acting last year and I stumbled across this one.

At the time I wasn't auditioning for any musicals, but I started reading it anyways. I didn't think much of it though, I mean I thought it was helpful, but I wasn't able to see its true practicallity until I was actually in the middle of the audition process.

I found this book extremely useful because it told me how and when to move during a song. And it taught me how to stand out from the "pack" of other singers/actors and make an impact. It also helped me gain some much needed confidence in my own performance abilities.

Also, if you don't sing, but you act, it gives you some pretty good reasons to think about, as to why you may want to consider learning to sing as well. :)

I would reccomend this book to any actor along with "Audition". These too books alone will teach you enough to get through auditions. But I also suggest reading some books about finding your own technique as well. One book I have been reading recently that is quite helpful is "The Actor Speaks". It is a book that has around 20 different actors talking about their own personal technique, and will help you discover or at least really think about your own.

So, what are you waiting for? Get this book, and start improving your abilities today!!!

God Bless ~Amy

Musical Auditions Will Never Be Easier!.......1999-08-05

Fred Silver is a man who's been around the auditioning block a few times... and this experience is captured in this book for every aspiring musical theatre actor/actress. He spells everything out in terms that even the most naive actors can understand. Not only does Silver explain how to look at an audition, but he also goes into great detail about how to emphasize, breathe, stand, walk, and... well, EVERYTHING! He even talks about the use of your eyes and posture to win those directors over. Another great aspect of this book is that he provides a list of "not-overdone" songs that have worked for his students in the past. What a valuable resource for any musical actor or actress!

Customer Reviews:

Easy to read and a lot of variety.......2002-02-27

I was pleasantly suprised to find at least four monologues from various plays my acting coach had recommended all in one book! As a struggling actress it comes in handy to have such variety between the cover of one book! I definitely enjoyed the fact that these weren't just random monologues, but they were from contemporary plays and playwrights. That alone gave me the ability to explore avenues I'd never thought of taking when auditioning. I recommend the book for anyone who likes variety and strength in content.

Decent Read... Poor Resource.......2002-02-05

I've seen this book of monolgues in many places, and one day decided to pick it up and see if it was any good. I was looking for two monologues to use for a college audition, and this book helped me as much as a cold. Though the monologues are decently written, and may be interesting, very few are actually useable. Not recommended for those seeking a collection of monologues to use for acting.

Not if you want to get that part!.......2001-09-01

If you are looking for an audition monologue, especially if you're a woman, keep looking. I've seen some lame monologue books, but I ended up using this one to light my living room fire. The supposed "comedic" monologues sometimes start off with promise, but then usually fly off to left field and always fall flat by the end. The "serious" ones don't really relate to the human experience as most of us know it, so if you use any Method acting at all, or want to move your auditors, forget it. There are decent monologue books out there. This isn't one of them.

NOT A CHILDRENS BOOK!!!.......2001-06-14

I bought this book thinking I could use it later on. I am 15. I was wrong. This is a book entirly devoted to the feelings and actions of adults. It has nothing to do with someone younger than 21 or 22.

If you are a person who doesn't like language or to openly talk about your sexual life, then don't get it. If it doesn't bother you, then this is your book.

I can see how this book could land you a lead role. It does have some good monologues, but they aren't for everyone. Unless your trying to land the lead role as a 40 year old alcoholic with a bad sexual life, look for something else.

A bit eccentric, but good nonetheless.......1999-12-03

I have read this book and plan on using some of the monologues in some upcoming auditions I have. I was, however, disappointed in the fact that there were more for men than for women, so more than half of the book was useless to me. Be wary, some of the audition pieces are a bit eccentric and need to be edited for language (depending on the show), but for the most part I was quite pleased with what I read, and I recommend it for new actors and actresses.

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