My Life with Noel Coward

My Life with Noel Coward PDF

Author: Graham Payn

Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Published: 1996-10-31

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9781557832474

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Other men made fabulous careers out of the opportunities Noel Coward declined. But Coward's inner compass charted him on his own course to greatness. And when he couldn't find the destination on his maps, he invented Samolo, his own South Sea island complete with its own indigenous rituals and customs. And of course, we revisit Coward's worlds constantly in revivals of his classic plays, Hay Fever, Private Lives, Tonight at 8:30, Design for Living and Blithe Spirit. This is the definitive memoir of the private Noel Coward by the only man with the compassionate insight and first-hand experience to write it. Graham Payn, star of many of Coward's shows, shared the Master's professional and private life for thirty years. When Coward kept the rest of the world at bay, Payn remained at his side as confidant and friend. No one else was as privy to Coward's doubts and dreams.

Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography

Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography PDF

Author: Michael Grecco

Publisher: Visualist Publishing

Published: 2013-12-20

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0988986825

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Renowned celebrity photographer Michael Grecco’s seminal bestselling book "Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography" is a photographers "lighting “bible". A must-have for portrait photographers, Grecco reveals step-by-step every aspect of his craft including exact diagrams for perfect lighting while inspiring the true art of the portrait. You’ll learn exactly why "Time," "People," and "Business Week" and celebrities such as Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Kate Winslet, and Lucy Liu all trust Michael Grecco to shoot their coveted celebrity covers. Grecco's beautiful, insightful work is all around us--on movie posters, in advertising, on magazine covers, everywhere. “I delight in inspiring people,” he writes. “I want them to stop, think, and feel.” Now Grecco shares the secrets of great portraits with photographers at every level, in "Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait." Sections on cameras, illumination, film and digital, creativity and conceptualization, connecting with the subject, and having a point of view, plus intriguing case studies that show “how I got that picture,” make this book a resource photographers will use again and again through the years. Whether the subject is a star or a soccer mom, Grecco shows how to add artistry, drama, wit, humor, and personality to their portrait.

Coward The Playwright

Coward The Playwright PDF

Author: John Lahr

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2014-01-08

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1408177544

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A reissue in hardback of critic John Lahr's famous 1982 study of Noël Coward's plays"Noël Coward," said Terence Rattigan, "is simply a phenomenon, and one that is unlikely to occur ever again in theatre history." A phenomenon he certainly was, and it is part of John Lahr's purpose in this book to show how that phenomenon called "Noël Coward" was largely Coward's own careful creation. Lahr's penetrating critical study of Coward's drama investigates all the major and minor plays of "The Master". Private Lives, Design for Living and Hay Fever make a fascinating group of "Comedies of Bad Manners". Blithe Spirit and Relative Values raise the "Ghost in the Fun Machine". Lahr then goes on to explore the "politics of charm" oozing through The Vortex, Easy Virtue and Present Laughter. In all Coward's plays Lahr uncovers a coherent philosophy in which charm is both the subject of Coward's comedies and the trap which made his very public life a perpetual performance.