Black Tie International - A.R. Gurney Does Reading @ the Drama Book Store

Black Tie International:
Playwright A. R. Gurney Does Reading at the Drama Book Store

Fri, Mar 25th at 5 P.M: Free Auditioning Workshop and Book Signing with Andrew Gerle at The Drama Book Shop

Andrew Gerle leads a musical theatre audition workshop & signs copies of his new book, The Enraged Accompanist’s Guide to the Perfect Audition. Award-winning composer, musical director, pianist, and accompanist Andrew Gerle shares the secrets from the piano bench in a free masterclass on musical theater audition technique. Nuts and bolts strategies on book management, audition etiquette, and how to stay true to yourself while showing the auditioners what they need to hear. Share in his fly-on-the-wall perspective and find out what they're saying about you after you leave the room! In addition to this free workshop, at 5:45pm, Andrew Gerle will come upstairs to sign copies of his brand new book, The Enraged Accompanist’s Guide to the Perfect Audition.

Andrew Gerle has played thousands of auditions for Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional productions, and has served as an accompanist and musical director for major Broadway and recording artists over the past 15 years. He is a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award, three Richard Rodgers Awards, and the Burton Lane Composer’s Fellowship from the Theatre Hall of Fame. He is the composer of six acclaimed musicals, and his opera “The Beach” has been chosen by the New York City Opera for a performance with City Opera singers and an 80-piece orchestra in May 2011. A sought-after vocal coach, he has worked at NYU’s Tisch Graduate School of Acting and is currently a lecturer at the New York Film Academy and Yale University. The Enraged Accompanist’s Guide to the Perfect Audition

Award-winning New York theatre composer and pianist Andrew Gerle pulls no punches in this irreverent, fly-on-the-wall guide to everything you've never been taught about auditioning for musical theatre. From the unique perspective of the pianist's bench, he demystifies the audition process, from how to put together your book and speak to an accompanist to the healthiest and savviest ways to approach the audition marketplace and your career. By better understanding the dynamics of professional auditions, you will learn to present yourself in the strongest, most castable way while remaining true to your own special voice – the one that, in the end, will get you the job.

The Enraged Accompanist's Guide to the Perfect Audition
by Andrew Gerle
Paper. $16.99

Thurs, Mar 24th @ 6 P.M: Art from the Ashes: The Fire that Changed our World (FREE) at The Drama Book Shop

The 146 women and men who died in the Triangle Fire in 1911 transformed a century. Their deaths led to sweeping reforms in labor, safety and feminist history, as well as being a catalyst for artistic inspiration the world over. On the eve of the centennial, we commemorate these workers by performing poetry in English and Yiddish as well stunning labor orations from Rose Schneiderman and Leonora O’Reilly that mobilized a generation. The Yiddish translator Caraid O’Brien (caraidobrien.com) directs.

Caraid O’Brien is the director of Radio Bloomsday. She has been awarded three play commissions from the Foundation for Jewish Culture for her translations of classic Yiddish plays. www.caraidobrien.com

Fri, Mar 18th @ 5.30 P.M: Reading and Signing by Legendary Stage and Film Director Jack Garfein (Free) at The Drama Book Shop

Please join us as Jack Garfein discusses and signs his book Life & Acting: Techniques for the Actor

If an actor or director's life experience affects what that person brings to the stage or screen, then Jack Garfein is an unrivaled resource. Arriving in America as a teenage Holocaust refugee, Jack Garfein would soon rise to the top of his field as a teacher and practitioner. He has worked with a who’s who of twentieth-century acting, especially those associated with the Actors Studio, the West Coast branch of which he founded.

Life and Acting offers the kind of insight only gained by six decades of experience in the world of theatre and film. Garfein distills his knowledge into a holistic technique for learning and teaching. Beginning with a memoir of his own life in the theater, Garfein rewards the reader with insights from his singular career. He pays particular attention to the ways non-theater artists, particularly painters and writers, contributed to his understanding of acting. Garfein concludes with a methodology for making the transition from stage to in front of a camera. Life and Acting is an invaluable resource for theater professionals, but is also a rare and illuminating look into the challenging and different lives of a stage and screen actor.

About the Author: Jack Garfein is an internationally renowned director, writer, and producer who has worked in theater, film, and television. He has lectured at Harvard, UCLA, and NYU and was an Associate Professor of Cinema at USC. Garfein was a founder of the Actors and Directors Lab (New York and Los Angeles), the Actors Studio – West (Los Angeles), and Garfein Studio (Paris). He currently teaches acting and directing at his studio in Paris and at The University of the Arts London.

Life and Acting: Techniques for the Actor
by Jack Garfein
Paper. $19.95

Sun, Mar 20th @ 3.00 P.M: How to Build and Maintain an Acting Career in NYC with Actress and Career Coach Annie Chadwick at The Drama Book Shop

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Whether you are a seasoned professional, a wide-eyed beginner or lost in the actor maze, Annie Chadwick's motivational career building workshop will give you: the vision to create your own unique theatrical career; no nonsense business strategies; innovative self-promotional techniques and the most current industry trends.

• Have you just finished an acting training program and are ready to begin seeking work
• Have you recently moved to NYC and need a plan to introduce your talent to the Big Apple?
• Are you returning to acting or just starting after working in the business world?
• Has your career stalled and you need fresh innovative tools to move to the next level?

In this 2 hour workshop, Annie will meet with you briefly before the workshop to review your picture/resume and help you target an area of concentration for the next 6 months.  In the actual workshop you will get handouts with current marketing tools and a clear, step-by-step path to evolve your acting career in NYC.

The Workshop will cover:

Marketing Tools and Strategies
Are your marketing tools a current representation of your talent?
This is one of the most important parts of building a career and introducing your talent to the industry. Learn the most current trends in effective Pictures, Resumes, Cover Letters and Postcard content, Website, Reels, Email Submissions, Industry Mailings and Personal Appearance. Get specific letter writing skills and tips to make your cover letters, postcards, follow-ups and submissions more targeted. Are emails, faxing, website promotion the way of the future?

Self-Promotion
Learn the most effective ways to introduce yourself to the industry agents, personal managers, casting directors, showcases, seminars.
Film/TV and theatre opportunities are greater than ever in NYC. Learn how a talented actor can get auditions without representation and start developing a legit career. Get information on how to self-submit and get your own Film/TV auditions from Online Casting Opportunities and Trade publications. Learn what TV/Film projects are shooting in NYC and who is doing the casting. For theatre projects you will get specific tips on how to find out six months in advance what's being produced before casting notices go out; the best ways to get auditions, target and identify the roles you are most right for; and how to see the latest NYC Off-Broadway theatre for free.

Classes, Coaches, and Resources
Training for artists never ends. Get recommendation of on-going classes and coaches that will help you get noticed in the very competitive NYC market. We'll also go on a tour of the Drama Book Shop with a list of resources that are essential to keeping-up with the latest projects and acting techniques.

For more information on Up-to-Date Theatricals and Annie Chadwick, visit:
www.utdtheatricalservices.com
www.anniechadwick.com

The cost of this workshop is $50, payable on the day of the workshop. For reservations call 212-265-0260, or the Drama Book Shop at (212) 944-0595 (option 3) during regular business hours.

Annie just worked with director P.J. Hogan on the new Jerry Bruckheimer film, CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC, playing John Lithgow's wife, Mrs. Edgar West.

Workshop Reviews
"I came to Annie's workshop hoping to at least get some decent info for $50. What I came away with was not only worth the price, but much more than I had hoped for. Annie is genuine, goes out of her way to not only make you feel special, but to really give you that extra individualized attention, which is completely unexpected but absolutely appreciated. Her workshop was not only chalked full of relevant and useful information, but she added something that I did not expect to find there...hope and inspiration. What a truly fabulous workshop! I highly recommend it to anyone who is beginning their career or feeling like they are at a stalemate here in New York!"--Krista, NYC actress/singer/musician

"I took your career-building workshop yesterday. I wanted to drop you a line to say how thankful I was for your advice, attention, and for all the wonderful information you gave us. It was so awesome! I was so energized and excited after the meeting that I felt hopeful I could indeed pursue this career on a professional level. I feel like I have a clear-cut focus for how to approach the next six months and I feel awash in relief! Where to put your time, money and energy in your acting career feels so overwhelming, so it was nice to get some solid, practical advice. Thank you again."--Jennifer, NYC actress

POW! (Play Of The Week)

A FAIR COUNTRY by Jon Robin Baitz

For those of you who saw OTHER DESERT CITIES at Lincoln Center, you may want to reach back and look at another of Jon Robin Baitz' family dramas that keeps you riveted while your heart breaks. Take a look at A FAIR COUNTRY. If you haven't seen his new play, this older play is a solid example of his fine writing. There are great similarities in these plays, yet they are distinct, good stories.

In A FAIR COUNTRY, Baitz takes us to an American diplomat's family stationed in Durban, South Africa in 1977. The family is coming apart in much the same way South Africa is tearing itself away from apartheid. The diplomat, his wife and two sons must face the people of the land they have learned to call home while they wrestle with who they have become as a family, and separately, while living in such a foreign place. Family members find their allegiances questioned, their morals challenged, and their love for each other twisted as time and distance reveal who they really were and who they are now. The family finally moves out of Durban bringing relief as well as looming destruction. The play is framed, opening and ending, with scenes ten years later between mother and son - defending who they were in the past and owning the choices that have led them into their very precarious present. This play is intelligent, beautifully written and full of emotion. It is to the point as it is coy. Mr. Baitz seems to percolate his characters through a communal psyche and even if you don't come from the economic or political world in which the characters live, you feel you have wrestled with their demons.

Reviewed by Eleanore Speert

Good scenes for twos and fours. Men: Gil: 17-18, 20-21, 27-28 Allie: 22-25 Henry: 40s, 50s Hodges: 50s Hilton: 20s Van Eden: 50s, 60s

Women: Patrice 40s, 50s Carley - 20s

A Fair Country by Jon Robin Baitz Acting Edtion, 1997

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Lands in Drama Book Shop Window! Free Tickets are Offered

March is Priscilla month at the Drama Book Shop. Stop by to see the window and to enter the drawing for free tickets to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical, on Broadway