Acting: Working in the Theatre

For more than 30 years, the Wing has produced the Working in the Theatre seminars, a series that features the greatest names in theatre. In book form for the first time, these compact volumes—at an affordable paperback  price for gift-giving—are for students and for anyone with a passion for the theatre. Here are the inside, behind-the-scenes words of the actors, writers, directors, and producers who make Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theatre, and London's West End come alive.

Spanning the range of these freewheeling and well-attended panels, with a concentration on the most recent shows and current stars, the information, anecdotes, gossip (yes!), heartaches, and triumphs are all here. Each book has a refreshing immediacy featuring the timeless words of the pros themselves, in conversation with one another, as they teach us ever-so-entertainingly about every phase of the theatre, from Aristotle to Ziegfeld, from Medea to Spamalot.

In the Working in the Theatre Series, we learn what a career in the theatre is really about, from inspiration to a Tony or Pulitzer Prize How do actors prepare?
What have the actors found to be the best techniques?
How do writers get their work staged?
How do playwrights and cast interact with the director?
What are some of the special challenges of choreographer-directors?
What is the role of the producers and backers?
Each volume features an original foreword by one of the participants and is like a master class on its subject.  The books are well organized for easy reference. Each also has an index and 8 pages of unique or behind-the-scenes photographs.

Among the personalities "starring" in these books are Edward Albee, Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks, Billy Crudup, Edie Falco, Harvey Fierstein, John Guare, Anne Heche, Arthur Kopit, Swoosie Kurtz, Tony Kushner, Nathan Lane, Jessica Lange, Frank Langella, Terrence McNally, Arthur Miller, Mike Ockrent, Estelle Parsons, Chita Rivera, Patrick Stewart, Susan Stroman, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, and many others.

*Tony Awards is a registered trademark of the American Theaatre Wing

Robert Emmet Long is a recognized critic of American and British literature, and a commentator on the performing arts. He is author or editor of some 30 books and he has contributed over 400 articles to many journals and magazines, including The Nation, Commonweal, and Saturday Review.

Kate Burton received Tony nominations for two shows in the 2001-2 Broadway season, Hedda Gabler and The Elephant Man, as well as a 2006 Tony nomination for the revival of The Constant Wife. Her many other stage credits include Jake's Woman, Present Laughter, Measure for Measure, Give Me Your Answer Do!, Company, The Water's Edge and Some Americans Abroad, as well as 17 summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has a recurring role on the television series Grey's Anatomy.