Editor's Note

by Jim O'Quinn

Actor-training is a topic frequently explored in American Theatre's annual Approaches to Theatre Training issue, but seldom have we been able to assemble so distinguished a roster of specialists on the subject as in this month's special section called "Advice to a Young Actor."

One reason for the fortuitous convergence of bylines is the serendipitous, almost simultaneous publication in late 2004 and early 2005 of three important new books about acting: Robert Brustein's Letters to a Young Actor: A Universal Guide to Performance, due out in February from Basic Books; Gus Edwards's Advice to a Young Black Actor: Conversations with Douglas Turner Ward, just released by Heinemann; and Charles Marowitz's The Other Chekhov: A Biography of Michael Chekhov, recently published by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. The excerpts we have chosen from these books offer indispensable insights and nuggets of genuine wisdom from two of the contemporary theatre's most influential mentors of performance, Robert Brustein and Douglas Turner Ward; and a trenchant, opinionated analysis by Charles Marowitz of the central tenets of acting-theorist Michael Chekhov, whose techniques have come to increasing prominence since his death in 1955.

What other voices does the fledgling actor need to hear? Those of other actors, of course, and in a set of interlocking interviews by David Byron, six celebrated actors talk about why they devote part of their time to teaching the next generation of stage performers. Finally, by way of inspiration and introduction, the inimitable Zelda Fichandler captures both the exhilaration and foreboding of leaping into what she calls "a crowded, competitive, inhospitable profession." Forthright, clear-eyed advice, indeed.

A word as well about this month's cover, which features the magazine's first-ever commissioned cover illustration. The image is by Scott McKowen, the Ontario-based artist whose posters for Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, New York's Roundabout Theatre Company and other U.S. theatres have captured the essence of old plays and new with impact, wit and fresh perspective—the very qualities, in fact, that tie together this rich assemblage of actor-centered essays and interviews. Whether you're the young actor who is the object of this issue's exhortations or simply a lover of the actor's art, there's a place for you inside Mr. McKowen's dynamic circle of chairs. —Jim O'Quinn