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Sign up todayAn Improvised Life
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Learn moreIn this insightful memoir, Oscar-winning actor Alan Arkin reflects back on finding his place as an actor and on what theater—specifically the improvisational sort—has taught him about the craft and life.
Alan Arkin knew he was going to be an actor from the age of five. From this early age, he recognized that “every film I saw, every play, every piece of music fed an unquenchable need to turn myself into something other than what I was.”
An Improvised Life is Arkin’s wise and unpretentious recollection of the process, artistic and personal, of becoming an actor and a revealing look into the creative mind of one of the best practitioners on the stage and screen. Arkin, in a manner that is direct, down-to-earth, accessible, and articulate, reveals not just insights about himself but truths for the rest of us about our sense of self, our work, and our relationships with others.
Alan Arkin (1934–2023) was an award–winning actor as well as a distinguished director, musician, and author. In the more than eighty films over the course of his forty-plus years in Hollywood, he starred in very wide-ranging roles that earned him both critical and popular acclaim. His awards include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. For his work on television, he received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and for his work on Broadway, he received a Tony Award.
Alan Arkin (1934–2023) was an award–winning actor as well as a distinguished director, musician, and author. In the more than eighty films over the course of his forty-plus years in Hollywood, he starred in very wide-ranging roles that earned him both critical and popular acclaim. His awards include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. For his work on television, he received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and for his work on Broadway, he received a Tony Award.
Reviews
“[A] wealth of wisdom.”
“[A] perfectly calibrated memoir…Actors of all levels and film and theater buffs will appreciate Arkin’s candid discussion of the creative process both from an acting and a directing perspective.”
“As narrated by Arkin, this memoir is ideal fare for those considering an acting career as well as for those already starting out on that path. Arkin brings a subtle element of pizzazz to his work….[and] reveals himself as a truly fine teacher.”
“A profoundly honest and revelatory reckoning of an artistic and personal awakening…All artists would benefit from Arkin’s accrued insights and wisdom.”
“A welcome window into the mind of an artist…[An] engaging and instructive book.”
“The author illustrates the principles of his acting philosophy with a wealth of concrete details taken directly from his experience, resulting in a coherent and provocative manifesto…Less a celebrity memoir than a serious consideration of the principles of acting and improvisation.”
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