Review of Notes to an Actor by Ron Marasco

Notes to an Actor written by actor, director, writer, Ron Marasco is the most practical book about acting that I have ever read. At the end of a course, Mr. Marasco would ask his students for a copy of their notes to see what they had gotten out of the class. He found that time after time, the same things were written verbatim or underlined. So to create this book, he went right to the good stuff from his classes. The book is divided into eight sections: Perspective, Talent, Rehearsal, Performance, Greatness, Comedy, Shakespeare, and Stage and Screen. Within each section are short, uncomplicated concepts outlined with interesting examples to illustrate the points. I'd consider it a terrific CliffsNotes for acting.

Now, I should preface this with the caveat that I am not an actor (though I have done some time on stage). Nor do I ever plan to become one, but the beauty of this book is that while it looks to be very useful to an actor, it is also fascinating for anyone who attends the theater. In particular, the section on Comedy gave me the vocabulary to discuss concepts that I instinctively knew, but didn't have the right words to describe. After I read it, I explained it to my family so we had a better framework to discuss why the movie of Young Frankenstein was funny, but the musical was not. If this book helped us just sitting around chatting about our favorite comedies, imagine how useful the Comedy section will be when applied by an actor.

I also thought Mr. Marasco gave some terrific advice in his Perspective section about staying grounded as an actor. I particularly liked his advice to "avoid the drama-around-the-drama." In the current world of tabloid stars, it may seem that to become famous, there also needs to be a lot of drama around you. Yet, as a stage manager, I have often discussed casting with a director, and I have always found that the director is more inclined to cast the low-maintenance actor over the drama queen.

Overall I think this book is a great, simple read that sums up many excellent ideas for an actor. This is a book for someone who wants a life in the theater, not just a quick "American Idol" moment. I receive lots of emails from people who hope to become actors, and this is a book I will recommend that they read. It is already on my Christmas list to get for several people. The only thing I have to decide now is how many copies will I be buying to give?

About the Author

Ron Marasco is a multi-talented entertainment veteran, who has worked on stage and screen as an actor, director and writer. He is a Professor of Theatre at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He studied acting at the Moscow Art Theatre, and has a B.A from Fordham University and an M.A and Ph.D. in Theatre from UCLA.

As an actor, Marasco has held roles in films such as The 40-Year Old Virgin, and the cult hit Oakland Underground. He played opposite screen legend Kirk Douglass in the Illusion, for which he also wrote the award-winning screenplay.

On television, Marasco has held roles on many of our most loved shows such as Lost, The West Wing, and Murphy Brown. He played the role of Mr. Caspar on the critically acclaimed Freaks and Geeks. Other appearances include Judging Amy, Charmed, Angel, Star Trek: Enterprise, Nip/Tuck, and Bones.

Marasco has starred in numerous plays in New York and Los Angeles, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, School For Wives, Modigliani, Ghetto at the Mark Taper Forum, Casual Sex at the Groundlings, and in the Los Angeles premiere of the Stephen Flaherty-Lynn Ahrens musical Lucky Stiff.