The Physical Actor is a comprehensive book of actor's exercises, designed for the development of a strong and flexible physical body able to move with ease through space and interact instinctively on-stage.

Annie Loui draws on her training with Etienne Decroux, Carolyn Carlson and Jerzy Grotowski to bring Contact Improvization into the theatrical sphere and explain how it can be used to work with texts and applied directly to the theatrical stage.

This book will guide the reader through a full course of movement skills, from daily warm-up to:

• partnering skills
• spatial awareness for groups and individuals
• fine motor control through mime
• heightened co-ordination and sustained motion.

Annie Loui works as a director/choreographer and creator of new media performance. She teaches Movement for Actors for the professional training program at the University of California, Irvine.

Contact improvisation is defined as a partnering form that consists of an energy and weight exchange between two people, emphasizing alert physical 'listening', complicity of weight, and instinctive responses.]

The Physical Actor is a comprehensive book of actor's exercises, designed for the development of a strong and flexible physical body able to move with ease through space and interact instinctively on-stage.