BWW Interviews: Lola Cohen, Author of 'The Lee Strasberg Notes'

Editor/acting teacher Lola Cohen has compiled a priceless book about acting from one of the greatest teachers of our time Lee Strasberg. Strasberg, who advocated Stanislavski and The Method, began his illustrious acting career with the Group Theater and is best remembered for his work on film in The Godfather.

Being an actor, I loved the rich detail of the exercises in this book and was particularly fond of the chapter with Scene Critiques of classic playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, William Inge, David Rabe and Neil Simon, among many others. When an actor prepares to play a role, he must investigate everything about that character in great detail, including physicality and profession. Take Blanche in Streetcar, for example. Blanche was a teacher. Teachers demand a great deal from others; that detail is often overlooked and may help the actor to understand why Blanche always insists on proper behavior from others, at least on the surface.

There are also fascinating perspectives by Strasberg on great actors, starting with Edwin Booth and Sarah Bernhardt and ending with the likes of John Barrymore, Kim Stanley and Patricia Neal.

Ellen Burstyn, who studied with Strasberg at The Actors Studio for over 25 years, says "to read this book is to be inspired and stimulated once again".

Ms Cohen took time from her busy teaching schedule to answer the following questions about The Lee Strasberg Notes:

How was the book compiled? Why has it taken this long?

The selections in the book were culled from transcriptions of 100s of hours of classes and seminars video-taped at the New York and Los Angeles Strasberg Institutes between 1975-82 and represent Lee's teaching techniques during the final stages in the development of his Method. It is because of my long standing relationship with the Institute and my commitment to Lee's teachings that I was entrusted with the responsibility to create The Lee Strasberg Notes.

What will be the impact of the book on students now and in the future?

Lee's work and legacy continues to grow at the Institutes in New York and Los Angeles. The book can make a significant difference to the student and teacher by having Lee's authentic words at their fingertips to refer to. Part one of the book deals with training and exercises. Lee presents his ideas and philosophies in detail and with such clarity. The book can also be considered a manual for actors and directors as well a personal memoir. Part six, Lee Strasberg on Theater, Acting and Actors contains illuminating contemporary and historical anecdotes from world theater and film which Lee used to make points about acting, directing, and the creative process.
Also, in the introduction I state that one of my objectives is to inform students who may not be familiar with the Method and who are trying to choose what type of training to pursue with the information about how the Method works to allow them to make a choice from an informed point of view.
The book also contains 36 scene critiques from very well known plays which will be valuable for all acting and directing students assisting them in choosing scenes for their own education as well as providing Lee's insights into the scenes, the characters and the whole play.

Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 978-0-415-55156-1                 Publication date: March 15, 2010/ Pages: 201/ Price: $24.95