The actor's menu - Bill Howey

Whether new to the business or a seasoned professional, this handbook provides actors with a personal, active approach to discovering and developing their talent. Beginning with appetizers and ending with desserts, actors learn how to prepare a character in the same way that a master chef chooses the most complementary dishes for a feast. From typecasting to reinventing a character's story, actors discover the key ingredients that will enable them to use their own unique qualities and emotions to develop strong, believable characters that people are interested in watching. How to identify and resolve problems such as hidden agendas that can disable an actor's work; distinguish between perception, feeling, and emotions; and find lasting sources of inspiration are among the issues explored. The importance of imagination, words, and story as well as the difference between intellectual and visceral choices (and the impact of each) are also discussed.

Bill Howey has taught and coached acting for over 25 years. He has appeared as an actor on the soap opera, The Young and the Restless and has worked as a dialogue/acting coach for the television series A Family for Joe, with Robert Mitchum, and Charlie Hoover, with Sam Kinison. He is a trainer and consultant to executives, managers, and public speakers. He lives in Denver, Colorado.

"This book is a fresh, needed voice and perspective for actors at any level.
The Actor's Menu
is a must read for any actor." --Bob Corff, Hollywood voice coach and actor

"I would not be on the
Reba
show if it wasn't for the training I got from Bill Howey. If you want to be the best actor you can be, read
The Actor's Menu ." --Steve Howey, Van Montegomery on
Reba , guest star on
ER
and
The Drew Carey Show