The Actor’s Menu – A Review
Bill Howey’s new book, “The Actor’s Menu”, gives the
aspiring actor the one thing most acting class books are
devoid of: that is the opportunity to use a comprehensive
blueprint to get a usable system for executing the craft of
acting on a repeatable basis. Howey’s book, presented much
like a restaurant menu, (presumably so actor/waiters could
understand it) is an enlightening journey into all the
ingredients that make up the portrayal of complex
characters. The Actor’s Menu forces you to think, asking a
myriad of questions aimed at discovering just what your
particular human incarnation has to bring to the table, and
how it can be applied repeatedly as the basis of your acting
career.
As acting class books go, “The Actor’s Menu” is a corker.
Revealing without being preachy; informative yet not
dogmatic, Howey’s book forces you to think and come up with
your own personal menu that brings the best you have to
offer to the role. My favorite section was without a doubt
the Essential Ingredients chapter, where emotions, feelings
and conflict are explored for what they are and are not, and
how to meld them into an actable tool. One of the nice yet
less obvious jewels in the The Actor’s Menu is the constant
weaving and equipping of the actor’s arsenal. You may be
eating a meal here but my view is that it’s an MRE, as you
are fully equipped for battle after reading and implementing
this book.
Bill Howey is no Johnny-come-lately to this endeavor, having
been an actor. teacher, writer and producer for more than 25
years. Howey’s client list is as eclectic as it is talented.
Some of the people he’s worked with over the years include
George Clooney, Robert Mitchum, Sam Kinison, and even his
own son Steve Howey, who stars as Van on the hit WB show
“Reba”.
If you’ve determined that you really can’t do anything else
with your life other than act, then The Actor’s Menu will
whet your appetite even further!