In her long-awaited book, the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler gives us her extraordinary insights into the work of Henrik Ibsen

The creation of the modern theater took a genius like Ibsen. . .Miller and Odets, Inge and O'Neill, Williams and Shaw, swallowed the whole of him

and August Strindberg

He understood and predicted the forces that would break in our lives

and Anton Chekhov

Chekhov doesn''t want a play, he wants what happens in life. In life, people don''t usually kill each other. They talk

Through the plays of these masters, Adler discusses the arts of playwriting and script interpretation

There are two aspects of the theater. One belongs to the author and the other to the actor. The actor thinks it all belongs to the author. . .The curtain goes up and all he knows are the lines. . .It is not enough. . .Script interpretation is your profession

She looks into aspects of society and class, and into our cultural past, as well as the evolution of the modern spirit

The actor learns from Ibsen what is modern in the modern theater. There are no villains, no heroes. Ibsen understands, more than anything, there is more than one truth

Stella Adler--daughter of Jacob Adler, who was universally acknowledged to be the greatest actor of the Yiddish theater, and herself a disciple of Stanislavsky--examines the role of the actor and brings to life the plays from which all modern theater derives

Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder, An Enemy of the People, and A Doll's House;

Strindberg's Miss Julie and The Father;

Chekhov's The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, and Three Sisters

Masha is the sister who is the mystery. You cannot reach her. You cannot reach the artist. There is no logical way. Keep her in a special pocket of feelings that are complex and different

Adler discusses the ideas behind these plays and explores the world of the playwrights and the history--both familial and cultural--that informed their work

She illumines not only the dramatic essence of each play but its subtext as well, continually asking questions that deepen one's understanding of the work and of the human spirit.

Adler's book, brilliantly edited by Barry Paris, puts her famous lectures into print for the first time

From the Hardcover edition.