The Actor's Art and Craft: William Esper Teaches the Meisner Technique    by William Esper & Damon DiMarco Order:  USA  Can Anchor, 2008 (2008) Softcover Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto As any actor knows, there are a variety of techniques to the art of acting. In The Actor's Art and Craft, Damon DiMarco chronicles a representational class of William (Bill) Esper's at Rutgers University. Esper was a student of Sandford Meisner. He teaches Meisner's technique more true to the original than others do, but still - as Meisner would have wanted - in his own way. Esper and DiMarco chose to format their book the same way as the seminal book on acting, Stanislovsky's An Actor Prepares – following an imagined class of actors as they learn from Esper how to apply the Meisner Technique. Since acting is such a visual media, this is the best way to present technique information. The reader can envision the exchanges between student and teacher and see in his or her mind what is happening, rather than just reading paragraph after paragraph of explanations. Using the imaginary class technique, the examples jump off the page and the reader feels as if they are right alongside DiMarco, observing Esper's class. The Actor's Art and Craft offers a good, in-depth look at how to use the Meisner Technique. Actors will find this quick-paced and easy-to-read book a necessary tool for honing their craft. It is the next best thing to being able to study with Esper, or even with the late Sandford Meisner himself. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews