Product Description of Finding Your Funny Bone! The Actor’s Guide to Physical Comedy And Characters – by Nancy Gold
Finding Your Funny Bone! is a how-to approach to creating comedy, geared to you. Comedy knows no bounds. It is the sweet smile that makes your life more enjoyable.
Some people are naturals . . . they have the gift. Others need a little guidance. Either way, these games, exercises, improvisations, and clown entrees will enrich you both on the performance level and within yourself.
Explore, experiment, and enjoy the arts of:
- mime
- masks
- movement
- clowning
- juggling
- improvisation
- acting
as you discover your silly stupid side. Then create the combination of these tools that works for you. It takes a great deal of courage, intelligence, and grace to be funny. Comedy is a serious business. Be funny now!
PHOTOS THROUGHOUT, INCLUDING A FLIP-BOOK SECTION IN THE BACK!
From the Author, Nancy Gold
The first time I heard the phrase, “How to Find Your Stupid and Stay in It,” was at the International Clown Congress in Philadelphia. Pierre Byland said it as he was giving a workshop in clowning. It stuck to me like glue. What a perfect description of clowning and comedy!
Let’s face it. No one wants to be considered stupid by others. It brings up painful ridicule and embarrassing moments filled with total frustration and illogical logic. It brings that voice in your head screaming into consciousness HOW STUPID CAN YOU GET! HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING? YOU ARE SOOOOOO STUPID!
But when you think of comedy, that is exactly what happens. The comedian or clown has to find his or her stupid and stay in it for the audience to be reminded of their humanity. And it takes a great deal of courage, intelligence, and grace to stay stupid.
The following is a guide to finding your personal stupid and a how to approach for staying in it. This is geared for the performer, actor, speaker, and student of virtually anything. Stupid knows no bounds, and comedy is the sweet smile that makes your life more enjoyable.
Some people are naturals–they have the gift. Others need a little guidance. But either way, these games, exercises, improvisations, and entrées will enrich you on both the professional performance level and within yourself. So enjoy, whether you are 5 years old or 50 or have decided to team up with Jack Benny and remain 39 forever.
All of art–no matter what kind it is–is an exchange of ENERGY between the audience and the artwork or performer, between the performers on the stage and between you as the performer and the character.
Eureka!!! Oh my God, there is a method to this madness. And then came Madness to make the Method–in meeting and studying with Ctibor Turba.. Priceless information on the clown. And on being so in control out of control.
You put Space, Energy, Mime, Masks, Movement; add some Elements, Chromatic Movement, and Emotional Expression; top it off with some Clowning; mix in Relationship to inanimate Objects and Relationships to other Characters; and you have a guide to how to create comedy characters.
I once had a job as a tour guide for Sara Lee Bakeries. It was one way I subsidized my college education and my sweet tooth . . .
“Hello, my name is Nancy Gold, and I’d liked to welcome you to Finding Your Funny Bone! Please no touching the dough and don’t miss the butter extruder.”
From the Inside Flap
I have been an enormous fan of Nancy Gold and her theater work for years. So much so, that upon first encountering her talents, I eagerly sought her as a master artist/teacher here at the American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory. A regular faculty member at the conservatory for many years now, Nancy continues to affect young actors with her artistry and her visionary teaching. In fact, it was a little over a year ago that I urged Nancy to allow me to approach Smith and Kraus Publishers with the idea of publishing a book highlighting the techniques she employs in her work. When they examined Nancy’s work, Smith and Kraus were as eager as I was for such a book. And so, the book in your hand is the result.
A consummate theater artist, Nancy Gold has devoted her life to creating vibrant and imaginative theater. Because she has continued to return to the studio to refine and expand upon her techniques, the work Gold brings to any project or class is fresh, usable and electric. Throughout her professional life, Gold has devoted herself to her personal artistic evolution, from completing her professional master’s level training at Ecole International du Theater Jacques LeCoq in Paris (working with the great master himself) to advanced studies in physical theater with the astonishing Czech director, Ctibor Turba.
Physical theater training is perhaps the most difficult training to capture within the pages of a book. Like ballet or singing training, it requires an immediate kinesthetic experience, best offered with corrections along the way. This is one of the reasons why Finding Your Funny Bone! The Actor’s Guide to Physical Comedy and Characters is so remarkable and such an accomplishment. It is as useful as it is illuminating. Rather than talk about the work, Gold insists that you jump in and try it on. It is also a real find for the performer or teacher, a treasured volume to include in the actors tool kit. With this book, the first to capture her techniques, Gold has gotten down to very specific areas of focus and offers the brilliant scheme for taking the performer on an experiential journey, a “Tour of Discovery,” as she so enticingly puts it, in which she happily offers the player the opportunity to stop along the way. Without judgment, Gold encourages personal imprint and experimentation and gives permission to discard what doesn’t suit the individual. This has been a key in her performance work and a large tribute to her success here at ACT. And while the pages that follow are filled with the technical language of bodywork and training, Gold isn’t asking for anyone to pass some elusive scientific test. Accessibility is an important ingredient to Nancy Gold’s work, and it is beautifully a part of this book. So many technique books appear as dogma, profound solo visions on a process that is never solo. Here, Gold asks for you to explore, experience, and make your own choice on what to take away. She is as interested in your personal journey, your needs, and the outcome of the course as she is in demanding you adhere to rigid formulas. What Gold has to offer represents significant lessons as building blocks; nonexclusive magnificent tatters that can help compose the symphony of your work.
When I first read this manuscript, I was struck with how much of the persona of Nancy Gold comes through in the writing. Happily, the voice in Gold’s prose is the enthusiastic tone of discovery, offered as if you were the most trusted student, leaning forward, in her studio class. Gold is a masterful artist, who treasures the silliness that keeps one, finally, from becoming overly self-conscious. She enjoys the process of creation so much that you canât help but be caught up with her boundless positive sparkle while on this “tour.” I encourage you to jump into her amazing book with both feet, as if you were to jump into your favorite dessert. Don’t spare on the mouthfuls, the feeling you will have when finished will be not only useful in all your work, it will be life affirming. If you happen to be a teacher, looking for a resource to help you free up the physical constraints of your acting students, you couldn’t be in better hands. We incorporate Gold’s work in every session at ACT. I’m sure once you’ve encountered her gifts in these pages, you will too.
From the Back Cover
BECOME A MORE POWERFUL, ENERGIZED, AND SPONTANEOUS PERFORMER!
“Nancy Gold really understands what it takes to be a great comedic performer and how to teach comedy to others. Her easy to understand techniques will guide you to discover your hidden talents. These are essential tools for every actor and teacher.” MaryBeth Cavanaugh, Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, Berkeley, Ca
“Finding Your Funny Bone! The Actor’s Guide to Physical Comedy and Characters is so remarkable and such an accomplishment. It is as useful as it is illuminating. It is also a real find for the performer or teacher, a treasured volume to include in the actors tool kit. I encourage you to jump into her amazing book with both feet.” Craig Slaight, American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, Ca
Finding Your Funny Bone! The Actors Guide to Physical Comedy and Characters is a wonderful new how-to approach to creating physical comedy and finding the creative comic within you. Written for both teachers and performers, this easy-to-read text, punctuated by outstanding photos and illustrations, gives you all the practical tools you need to create a combination that works for you.
Explore, experience, and enjoy games and exercises for:
- mime
- mask
- movement
- improvisation
- acting
- juggling
- clowning
- writing
Then use your imagination and let yourself go. Whether youâve been performing for years or just starting out, Finding Your Funny Bone! is a must-have to discover and expand your “silly side.”
About the Author
NANCY GOLD is a multifaceted performing artist, director, and teacher. Her passion for theater is expressed in the arts of mime, mask, movement, clowning, juggling, acting, writing, and improvisation. She studied physical theater with Jacques LeCoq in Paris at Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques LeCoq, mime with Claude Kipnis and clowning with Ctibor Turba. She holds a BFA from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and a Masterâs Equivalency Degree. Ms. Gold teaches at The ACT Young Conservatory in San Francisco and The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. Her performing arts program, BodyTalk-PowerTools has been honored by The Patron Saint’s Foundation and The Parson’s Foundation at the Marianne Frostig Center in Pasadena. It has been featured on magazine shows and in the Los Angeles Times. Ms. Gold teaches workshops and residencies at schools and universities throughout the country. She lives in San Francisco and performs her comedy characters with her partner and husband Lol Levy.