The Lucid Body: A Guide for the Physical Actor

No, not the cover art - that’s great! But the actual quality of publishing materials used.This book is amazing but it is way overpriced for the number of pages & the fact that it’s paperback. I was super annoyed to see it in person. Got it as a gift for several friends without ever having the physical book inhand and when I finally saw it on their shelf in person — what a poor presentation! This spindly little barely cover weight semigloss cover binding the size of a checkout line self help book for $20?! I knew it wasn’t hardcover, but it just looks cheap, and degrades the quality of the content.Truly belies the caliber of the content therein. She deserves - we deserve - a nicer production format for this indispensable material.As for the actual content of her ideas — it seems like we’ve dabbled in shared arenas of physical performance like theatre & dance, “eastern” mysticism, metaphysics, body language, psychology, holistic health. And yet, I’ve never seen it so coherently assembled into an actionable skillset for performers AND for general personal wellness. I think there is a lot to be gained from this not just as a *thespian* (Translatlantic accent implied), but also just as a human being (or you know, an interplanar mantid death god posing as one —whatever your whole deal is!) trying to understand “fellow” human beings.Now, there’s a bit of woo woo soft science in the mix here; but overall she does a good job grounding the material in materialist reality for the folks who require that. She’s pretty based, despite the faint aura of business hippie - she is self aware, she’s done her time with a lot of different scenes & it’s left her with very well rounded perspectives on her potential audience, and allows her to communicate the subject well, in a mature, adult, sane way rather than…something titled in Papyrus script. There will be some facets of the exercises & theory that require a leap of not faith, but at least “experimental detachment”, or temporary suspension of disbelief. But those demands are few in number and generally pretty well caveated to indicate she *knows* that it’s a little out there & we haven’t departed the stratosphere.In contrast to, for instance, The Secret, or the Teachings of Don Juan or even The Four Agreements (the latter of which is good, but sooo namaste). These books don’t relate except in subcultural context, and I think that is unfortunate, because this is a book that would benefit so many people outside of that “artsy” yoga mom or performing artist demographic, if I ran a school, this would be core curriculum material to help young adults (less rigidly fixed in their viewpoints) to develop better awareness of themselves, others, performative persona vs subconscious self presentation — these are skills anyone could benefit from enhancing if they had the patience to explore the concepts herein.

If you want to have a clear understanding of how you function, as well as what is the motivation of the human condition, this is the best book outside the " Body keeps the Score." Fay Simpson has found a direct process of self understanding in the most natural and rational way possible. I have read several hundred books on personal self discovery and this is in the top 10. The Lucid Body is a must read, not just once, and you will recommend this to your friends. This is a go to book that will explain yourself and those around you.

Came perfectly. Awesome book for the actor’s training!

Really interesting, taught about chakras

I read the book and took part in a "Lucid Body" workshop in NYC. I've been a professional working actor for a few decades, and, as for any actor who loves this profession, the search for expanding knowledge and growth never ends. I really wanted to like the book/method, but it turned out to be not only ineffective for a working actor, stage or screen, it is also dangerous for young actors, as its ideas keep the actor away from the scene's actions and from the script. As the book's preface says, "this is not a how to act book", and that may be one of the only legitimate points it makes.The method tries to reinvent past ideas about acting but informing work as therapy to the actor - which is a problem in itself for it delegitimizes an actor's work as nothing more than an exoteric, therapeutic journey - any professional actor could explain why this is dangerous for the beginning actor, and for the legitimacy of the acting profession. Not to remove all it's merits, I do believe it is a great therapeutic tool for someone who's NOT, and does not want to be, an actor... and maybe for dancers. Ask a dancer.

Bought it for my daughter in school. She really likes the book.

Llegó en buen estado, muy completo, gran guía de apoyo para el entrenamiento en casa (después de la práctica presencial con algún MAESTRO CERTIFICADO, sin dudas) / It arrived in good condition, very complete, it’s a great support guide for training at home (after a face-to-face practice with a CERTIFIED coach of this technique)