Performing Arts Books

The Celebrity Black Book 2010 contains the best celebrity addresses and celebrity contact information for over 60,000 public figures worldwide. Whether you're a fan, business person, nonprofit, author or a member of the media, you're bound to find this book useful. Everyone who is anyone is inside: ...

Anh Do nearly didn't make it to Australia. His entire family came close to losing their lives on the sea as they escaped from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat. But nothing - not murderous pirates, nor the imminent threat of death by hunger, disease or dehydration as they drifted for days - co...

A fascinating look at the history and grandeur of bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon is also a deeper contemplation on the nature of cowardice and bravery, sport and tragedy, and is enlivened throughout by Hemingway's pungent commentary on life and literature. Seen through his eyes, bullfighting b...

He's the porn world's Everyman. Blessed with an enormous "talent" yet average looks, he's starred in more than 1,700 adult films, directed 250 of them, and over the last twenty years has become porn's biggest ambassador to the mainstream. He's appeared in 60 regular films, 14 music videos, and VH1's...

This gorgeous book presents the broad spectrum of ballet and dance historically in this country - where it has come from, what has influenced the art-form, who has been involved, and who are the present movers and shakers. It's beautiful to look at, with striking photos and ephemera, attractive p...

Discover the genius behind the world of Narnia and how it was brought to the big screen in this lavish art book produced by the films' own special effects studio. Written and designed by the artists of Academy Award winning special effects house the Weta Workshop, this indispensable book chronicles ...

Widely acknowledged as the "bible" of film and video production and used in courses around the world, this indispensable guide to making movies is now updated with the latest advances in high- definition formats. For students and teachers, the professional and the novice filmmaker, this cl...

In the Blink of an Eye is celebrated film editor Walter Murch's vivid, multifaceted, thought-provoking essay on film editing. Starting with what might be the most basic editing question - Why do cuts work? - Murch treats the reader to a wonderful ride through the aesthetics and practical concerns of...

Derren Brown's television and stage performances have entranced and dumbfounded millions. His baffling illusions and stunning set pieces - such as "The Seance", "Russian Roulette" and "The Heist" - have set new standards of what's possible, as well as causing more than ...

Whatever your opinion of Billy Connolly, his life has been an epic tale of controversy and hilarity, tragedy and comedy. From his working class roots in Glasgow he has worked his way to the top, and now enjoys huge worldwide acclaim and lives a dream lifestyle. From welding to folk singing to comedy...

'Stephen Fry is one of the great originals. This autobiography of his first twenty years is a pleasure to read, mixing outrageous acts with sensible opinions in bewildering confusion. That so much outward charm, self-awareness and intellect should exist alongside behaviour that threatened to ruin th...

The millions of fans who watch the hit comedy "Family Guy" will love this book, which highlights all the greatest jokes and running gags of their favourite TV characters and is timed to coincide with Season 10! Of course everything you need to know to make it in this world can be learned by watching...

 Everyone Loves You When You're Dead is a hilarious and revealing collection of celebrity interviews by Neil Strauss, the bestselling author of The Game and The Dirt. Strauss has been a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine and the New York Times, giving him access to a wide variety of major cel...

A colourful memoir about living your dream - from ballet classes in Brisbane to leading roles at Paris's famous Moulin Rouge and Lido. Shayleen Ann Stafford was the middle child sandwiched between two sporting brothers. Her dad was a former rugby player and a welder by trade, her Mum was a nurse....

Throughout the book Gaskill offers exercises and practice pieces for the actor to put the book's precepts to the test. He also draws illuminating instances from his own extensive work as a director, largely at the Royal Court and the National Theatre, and his book is rich in insights gained from ext...

Renowned and much loved actor-director and comedy show writer David McPhail recounts his early life and what led him to pioneer the satirical TV programmes (including A Week of It and McPhail and Gadsby) for which he is famous, what drove him to perform comedy, and what was behind his desire to make...

Rubber rabbits, bubbly bees, balloon dogs, camels, and frogs - these are just a few of the colorful, rubbery animals that can be created out of simple balloons. Used by clowns and magicians to delight and entertain audiences, the art of balloon sculpting is now available to all. In this delightful b...

"Technical Drawing for Stage Design" explains the importance of drawing in the design process, revealing how the initial two-dimensional drawing is a crucial building block in creating the scale model that in turn will develop into the stage set - that will transport the audience into another world....

Before you fly, you have to be free This is my story. Here is my recollection of those years growing up in Mao's China. It is my family's history. It is my journey, from my earliest memories, through discovering dance, to my life in the West. History may record things differently, others may too,...

The story of a double phenomenon: the group who reinvented the world's perception of pop music in the 1970s, and the show based around their hits which became an entertainment industry legend in its own right, opening in 85 cities and seen by over 20 million people. This paperback edition ends the s...

The ultimate book for film lovers. Film critic, Sale of the Century and Mastermind winner Hamish McCouall spent several months in darkened rooms watching films to produce this brilliant and unusual selection. It encompasses short films, feature films, documentaries and digifilms. Yes, The Lor...

From the international star of "Riverdance", "Lord of the Dance" and "Celtic Tiger", comes a no-holds-barred autobiography that reveals the person, the passion and the drama behind Michael Flatley's astonishing career. Michael describes growing up as the son of Irish im...

This volume features 102 imagery exercises paired with dance-specific exercises to help maximize body-mind conditioning and develop more fluid mobility, balance, and tension release. The book culminates with a 20-minute, full-body barre workout routine designed to help dancers warm up, condition, an...

"Penny Dyer is an inspiration to work with" Helen Mirren "An indispensible aid for actors" Bill Nighy "Penny takes away the fear of an accent for the actor" David Morrissey "Accurate, specific and enabling, these CDs are as fundamental as the use of voice itself" Michael Attenborough "Invaluable...

The Wicked musical is one of the most exciting shows in the history of musicals and was the most successful Broadway show of 2004. Based on a novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical tells the back story of the Land of Oz, focusing on two very recognisable figures - Galinda, the good witch, and Elphaba...

The true story of a poor Chinese peasant boy who, plucked unsuspectingly at the age of ten from millions of others across the land to be trained as a ballet dancer, turned the situation to his advantage to become one of the world's greatest ballet stars. Li tells his story with charm and simplicity,...

Ballroom dancing is back. In universities, town halls, bars, clubs and leisure centres across the UK there are hundreds of thousands of people learning to dance. Strictly Come Dancing attracted millions of viewers and was one of the BBC's most successful new series of recent times. This new edition ...

The definitive book on the world's most beloved musical with the added bonus of the original soundtrack on CD. Now you can sing along to all your favourite tunes, while reading up on the incredible and enduring story of Maria Von Trapp. Taking you from Maria's birth in Vienna to the triumphal We...

The inside of Derren Brown's head is a strange and mysterious place. Now you can climb inside and wander around. Find out just how Derren's mind works, see what motivates him and discover what made him the weird and wonderful person he is today. Obsessed with magic and illusions since childhood, Der...

"The Pocket Book of Burlesque" is the no-holds-barred, totally feisty, pocket-sized manual for the aspiring, the practicing, and the admiring burlesque fan, written by Professor Jo Boobs, founder of the New York School of Burlesque. With a foreword by feminist comedian (and bona fide burle...

In his most famous book, "An Actor Prepares", Stanislavski dealt with the imaginative processes. In the second book, "Building a Character", he deals with the physical realisation of character on the stage, expressions, movement and speech etc. It is a book in which every theory ...

A master actor who's appeared in an enormous number of films, starring with everyone from Nicholson to Kermit the Frog, Michael Caine is uniquely qualified to provide his view of making movies. This new revised and expanded edition features great photos throughout, with chapters on: Preparation, In ...

This is a self-help manual for actors who want to train and develop their voice. Opening with advice on how to use the book and how to prepare our bodies, the author then takes us step-by-step through the constituent elements that make up the voice and the sounds we make with it. Each chapter starts...

DANCER OFF HER FEET is an incredible true story that stands as an irrefutable witness to God's power to heal people both physically and spiritually. It has inspired and encouraged many thousands of people since its first publication in 1991. This edition contains a foreword written twelve years on, ...

This is the first English-language biography of the beloved Swedish tenor, incorporating recollections by his widow, information from the family archives, and material from operatic archives the world over. A chronology of his performances is also included.

Born on a train in Stalin's Russia, Rudolf Nureyev was ballet's first pop icon. No other dancer of our time has generated the same excitement - both on and off stage. Nureyev's achievements and conquests became legendary: he rose out of Tatar peasant poverty to become the Kirov's thrilling maverick ...

In "Death in the Afternoon", Hemingway shares the sights, the sounds, the excitement, and above all, the knowledge which fuelled his passion for Spain and the bullfight. This remarkable book contains some of his finest writing, inspired by the intense life, as well as the inevitable death,...

In a city as ancient as Venice, myths and legends passed down from generation to generation are the storehouse of a city's mores, emblems of its identity. In "Venetian Curiosities," acclaimed novelist Donna Leon recounts some of Venice's most intriguing tales: an elephant brought in for Carnival wre...

For singers and pianists who love musical theatre, this deluxe collection of more than 200 pages of sheet music is a treasure trove of material for study, auditions, performances, and sing-along fun! Compiled especially for female singers, this book's more than 30 songs represent over a half-century...

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer prize for drama, and the most talked about new musical on Broadway. Next to Normal puts a woman's struggle with bi-polar disorder and depression center stage. The musical also addresses such issues as loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and the strain...