Restoration comedies of manners are at once bitingly true-to-life and deceptively artificial. Their style, elegance, grace, and wit provide the kind of challenge actors continue to love. Now Suzanne Ramczyk offers both directors and actors the tools they need to perform these popular plays.
Drawing on her directing experience and her years of leading workshops on Restoration theatre, Ramczyk provides:- an historic overview of the period and the literature
- analysis of the major literary devices and features
- methods to approach vocal interpretation of often highly artificial text
- a solid grounding in period manners and movement
- specific exercises to get actors quickly and easily into the Restoration style
- detailed artwork of period costumes
- illustrations of such period necessities as bows, curtsies, the "language" of the fan, and snuff taking.