Integrated Actor

Alex Taylor teaches at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (Acting). Previously, he was Head of Voice at Rose Bruford, UK; Director of the School of Theatre at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK; one of the Master Teachers at the Juilliard School, US; and Head of Voice and Movement at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has directed productions for the National Theatre of Korea and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and led masterclasses in acting and voice at the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the University of Korea. He has also worked at the RSC as a voice coach on a number of productions.

Alex Taylor has a lifetime's experience of working with actors, in the industry and in training, and a great knowledge and understanding of how the imagination, body and voice work together. He has great knowledge and understanding of the actor’s body and voice . He does not preach but offers us practical help and encouragement . He is realistic, offering a great range of exercises which are easy to follow, inviting us to make our own choices and judgements and to keep our individuality. I wish this book had been available to me as a young actor but at least I can use it now.

• ForewordHow to Use this BookIntroductionChapter 1 – Some ScienceChapter 2 – A Discussion About TruthChapter 3 – Imagination, Imagination, ImaginationChapter 4 – Breath 1Chapter 5 – Habitual Use – Old Habits, New HabitsChapter 6 – Alignment and the LarynxChapter 7 – Working in Semi-Supine – Floor Work 1Chapter 8 – The Concept of Centre – A Physical CentreChapter 9 – PitchChapter 10 – Language and Text 1Chapter 11 – Working in Semi-Supine – Floor Work Chapter 12 – More About Breath – Breath CapacityChapter 13 – Language and Text 2 – Phrasing and MeaningChapter 14 – Semi-Supine – Floor Work 3 – Whispered ‘Ah’Chapter 15 – Free the Body to Free the VoiceChapter 16 – SupportChapter 17 – ResonanceChapter 18 – Range, Pitch, StressChapter 19 – The Channel for SoundChapter 20 – Language and Text 3Chapter 21 – Language and Text 4 – ShakespeareChapter 22 – Other Aspects of Iambic PentameterChapter 23 – Language and Text 5 – Shakespeare SonnetsChapter 24 – PunctuationChapter 25 – Integration: Imagination, Body, Breath, VoiceChapter 26 – Working with Energy – Character ExerciseConclusionBibliographyIndex