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Originally published in 1957, Yvonne Mitchell was at the time very well known as an actress of remarkable talent and as the author of a brilliant play
The Same Sky. This book takes the form of advice to a girl who wants to go on the stage; who asks "What is it like - being an actress?" Thousands of young people think they would like to make acting their career, though they can naturally know little of what the life is like. They probably have romantic ideas gleaned from reading publicity handouts about film stars, or from seeing the most glamorous actors in the theatre.
This book, though not an autobiography, tells through scenes from Yvonne Mitchell's life in the theatre, films and television studios what the average young actor's life was likely to be from early parental disapproval to success.
This book is not in any way a technical treatise on how to act. Yvonne Mitchell believed that no particular 'method' of acting suits every actor or every play, but rather that the individual can only learn through his own nature and experiences.
A snapshot from the past, it is a delightful and personal record, illustrated with 32 photographs from productions in which the author had appeared.
List of contents
Prologue. 1. Beginner 2. School 3. Soliloquy 4. In Work 5. Birmingham 6. Audition 7. West-End 8. Rep 9. Bristol 10. Playwright 11. Filming (i) 12. Italy 13. Old Vic 14. Stratford 15. Filming (ii) 16. Television. Epilogue.
About the author
Yvonne Mitchell (1915-1979) had, at the time of original publication, starred at the Old Vic and at Stratford-on-Avon, and also in a number of West End plays. She won the British Film Academy Award for her performance as Sonja in
The Divided Heart, and the Television Award for her performances in
The Same Sky,
The Infinite Shoeblack and
The Dybbuk. She had recently received the Berlin Film Festival Award for her performance in her latest film
Woman in a Dressing Gown.
Although this was her first book, she was also the author of the play
The Same Sky, which won an Arts Council Award and was subsequently presented at the Duke of York's Theatre in London, and on both the BBC and Independent Television as well as on the radio.
