Imaginary forces: creating character for the stage

The problem addressed in Imaginary Forces: Creating Character for the Stage is an especially challenging one. Stage acting as a distinct art form is being compromised by a generation of acting students and younger actors who know little or no theatre, but who take most of their exposure to acting from television and film. The cult of the personality actor or star in those media, substandard literacy among college students and the subsequent unfamiliarity with stage literature and the humanities in general, and a diminishing number of theatrical venues have combined to place solid American stage acting at great risk.