Product Description

Compares Peter Brook's rehearsal techniques with those developed by Stanislavsky, Grotowski and Brecht. The result is an invaluable introduction to modern theatre practice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88381 in Books
• Published on: 1992-11-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
'Mitter displays a keen theatrical intelligence, handling an impressive range of material with confidence and insight. ... The result is a work that not only adds to our understanding of Brook but also yields fresh insights into the collaborative process of actors and directors in general ... A significant contribution to the increasingly sophisticated debate about the methodology of theatre practice.' - Professor Edward Braun

From the Back Cover
Systems of Rehearsal is the first appraisal of theatre workshop techniques which successfully bridges the gap between theory and practice. A product of both academic training and practical experience, the book elucidates the three principal paradigms in which most theatre work is conducted today - those developed by Stanislavsky, Brecht and Grotowski.
Mitter assesses the extent of Peter Brook's debt to these directors in terms of the different aims they have had for their theatres, the problems these have entailed for their actors and the exercises they have developed to combat these difficulties. The result is perhaps the most illuminating introduction to modern theatre practice available - essential reading for students and practitioners.

Customer Reviews

You gotta be serious
This book is a work of considerable scholarship. In each chapter, Mitter considers the work of one of the three great theatre theoreticians in their own right, then goes on to discuss their influence on Brook. I found in this book a valuable commentary on the contradictions within Stanislavski's work, and the shift in his thought throughout his career. It is not the place to look for an introduction to these directors.

In turning to Brook, Mitter draws on personal experience of Brook's direction, the rehearsal diaries of Brook's work, and other studies. In addition to bringing us a glimpse of hard-to-find material, Mitter interprets to us Brook's thinking. To Mitter, Brook is the ultimate synthesizer of these classic directoral styles. Admiration for Brooks achievement, overcomes the academic desire for purity of style.

Despite the claim on the back cover that it "bridges the gap between theory and practice", this remains a highly theoretical book by the standards of "students and practitioners". Mitter gives us tantalising glimpses of the rehearsal techniques, but it's far from being a practitioner's guide.

Systems of rehearsal
Joyless, unintelligible, pompous, pointless. Mr Mitter has clearly forgotten what part the theatre plays in society. Either that, or he never knew in the first place. Given that the title suggests new insights into thhe business of rehearsal, I defy any reader to a) explain what any part of the book actually meant and b) declare that they were empowered by reading it. Narcississtic tripe. The worst book I've ever read about anything at any time in my life.