Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice is the first book that compiles practical approaches of the best practices from a range of practitioners on the subject of working with Stanislavski's "objectives," "obstacles," and "tactics." The book offers instructors and directors a variety of tools from leading acting teachers, who bring their own individual perspectives to the challenge of working with Stanislavski's principles for today's actors, in one volume. Each essay addresses its own theoretical and practical approach and offers concrete instructions for implementing new explorations both in the classroom and in the rehearsal studio. An excellent resource for acting and directing instructors at the university level, directing and theatre pedagogy students, high school/secondary theatre teachers, and community theatre leaders, Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice serves as a resource for lesson planning and exploration, and provides an encyclopedia of the best practices in the field today.

Table of Contents:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Introduction PART I Playing Objectives Chapter 1 Money in Your Pocket: Meisner, Objectives, and the First Six Lines DENNIS SCHEBETTA Chapter 2 Psychological Gesture: Michael Chekhov Exercises on Physicalizing the Objective ANJALEE DESHPANDE HUTCHINSON Chapter 3 Making Sport of Objectives: Teaching through Student-Developed Physical Competition JOHN KAUFMANN Chapter 4 Structured Improvised Scenes TIMOTHY JOHNSON Chapter 5 Scoring the Un-Scorable MARIA PORTER Chapter 6 Creating a Physical Score in a Snap: Using Social Media to Appeal to the Smartphone Generation TOM PACIO PART II Overcoming Obstacles Chapter 7 Engaging Obstacles KEVIN HOFFMANN Chapter 8 Active Obstacle Image Scoring DAVID HUGO Chapter 9 Resistance JANET HAYATSHAHI Chapter 10 Returning the Dress: Demonstrating Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics DAVIDA BLOOM Chapter 11 Improvised Fantasies: Heightening Objectives and Obstacles in Scene Work HILLARY HAFT BUCS Chapter 12 Optimizing the Obstacle: Using Indicators of Csíkszentmihályi’s Flow to Help Select, Test, and Experience Stanislavski’s Obstacles FABIO POLANCO AND DIANE BONFIGLIO PART III Identifying Tactics Chapter 13 The Tag-tic that Works LYNN DEBOECK Chapter 14 Improvising Tactical Choices Based on Status or “Who’s Driving the Dramatic Action Bus?” JEAN DOBIE GIEBEL Chapter 15 Transformational Tactics: Engaging Students in the Heroic Pursuit of Their Objective KIM SHIVELY Chapter 16 Hunter/Hunted: Experiential Learning and the Actor’s Craft VALERIE CLAYMAN PYE Chapter 17 Tactics and Action Drives: Stanislavski Meets Laban CONRAD ALEXANDROWICZ Chapter 18 Stanislavski in the Voice Studio DERIC MCNISH Chapter 19 Stimulating Embodied Tactical Actions LESLEY-ANN TIMLICK Chapter 20 NRGs and the Nature of Action: The Lessac Tactic Circle CAROLINE GOOD Chapter 21 Relaying Action – from Breath to Text AARON ALPERN AND REBECCA COVEY Chapter 22 Using Improvisation to Identify Tactics NATHAN STITH Chapter 23 Activating the Actor with Game Theory: Using Gamification to Create Playable Tactics on Stage JEANNE LEEP AFTERWORD Chapter 24 Recording Truth: The Camera in Acting Training WELKER WHITE CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES CHAPTER ABSTRACTS INDEX