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Acting: The First Six Lessons (Bridges)

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  1w, 1m

Beau Bridges, Emily Bridges

"[This show] should be seen twice, once to enjoy the story and again to learn the lessons that work equally well in life as on stage [...] Rare and Wonderful!" – Examiner.com

Acting: The First Six Lessons (Bridges)

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 1m
  • Duration
    Duration
    75 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptations (Stage & Screen)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior, Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary
Beau Bridges, winner of three Emmys, two Golden Globes, and a Grammy Award, teams up with his daughter, actress Emily Bridges, to create this stage version of Richard Boleslavsky’s 1933 narrative about a dedicated acting teacher who, while instructing a young actress in her craft, gives her valuable life lessons as well. Over the course of ten scenes, the action moves from the teacher’s studio, to a small theater, to a film set, to Central Park and back, and, finally, to a moving denouement atop the Empire State Building in 1936.
History

Acting: The First Six Lessons by Emily Bridges and Beau Bridges premiered on April 9, 2010 at Theatre West in Los Angeles. It was produced by John Gallogly and Emily Bridges and directed by Charlie Mount.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

THE TEACHER - A cantankerous, once renowned acting teacher reluctantly finds himself taking on a new acting student, not knowing that the lessons he offers her will also have a profound effect in his own life.
THE CREATURE - At 18, she is a bright-eyed, naive, yet fearless girl who desperately wants to become an actress. From her first challenging lesson, she ages gracefully into a thoughtful woman who treasures her playfully combative relationship with her beloved teacher.
FILM DIRECTOR - He is on a time crunch and losing patience with his young engenue. Time is money!
CASTING DIRECTOR - He has been conducting auditions all day and his composure wears thin when the ambitious Creature bursts in late.
THE AUNT - A bellicose older woman, she loves her neice, The Creature, and is aware of her talent, but is skeptical of The Teacher's lessons, and is eager to set him straight.

The male actor who plays The Teacher also plays the part of a Film Director and a Casting Director.  The female actor who plays The Creature also plays The Aunt.  The genders are flexible, and may be changed in casting.

  • Time Period Present Day, 1930s
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Audience Participation/Interactive, No intermission
  • Duration 75 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

REVIEWS

"Whether you are a student of acting, or simply a lover of good theater, Acting: The First Six Lessons has many tips to offer and many life lessons to bestow [...] [It is] an enthralling and edifying hour and a half of theatre [...] a big, big hit!" - StageSceneLA

"For actors, students of acting and aficionados of the art and craft of theatre the Bridges bring Boleslavsky’s First Six Lessons to life [...] The audience is swept away." - On Stage LA

"This is an enlightening, heart touching and soul searching production that holds its audience captive throughout." - The Toloucan Times

"You wouldn’t think you could make a theater piece out of a textbook on acting, but Beau Bridges and his daughter Emily have done it - beautifully." - Examiner.com

"[This play] is a beautifully written and acted gem for the theatre community and world at large [...] A very stimulating and uniquely entertaining evening of theatre not to be missed!" - Grigware Talks Theatre

"[This play] should be seen twice, once to enjoy the story and again to learn the lessons that work equally well in life as on stage [...] Rare and Wonderful!" - Examiner.com

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Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Beau Bridges

Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges is an Emmy, Grammy, and Golden Globe award-winning actor and co-author (along with his daughter, Emily Bridges) of Acting: The First Six Lessons, a new play based on the book by Richard Boleslavsky and published by Samuel French.
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Emily Bridges

Emily Bridges
Emily Bridges is the co-author (along with her father, Beau Bridges) of an original play, published by Samuel French, based on Richard Boleslavsky's Acting: The First Six Lessons. Emily graduated for Fordham University's Theatre Program in 2008 and has since worked as an acto ...
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