Entertainment & Performing Arts

A five-time Moth GrandSLAM winner and bestselling novelist shows how to tell a great story - and why doing so matters....

Joanna Lumley is one of Britain's undisputed national treasures. A single mum, iconic actress, voiceover artist and author, best known for her roles in ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS and THE NEW AVENGERS, she is a former model and Bond girl, a human rights activist and more.

Jim O’Heir, who played Jerry (or Garry or Larry) on Parks and Recreation and co-hosts the hit podcast Parks and Recollection, brings fans a heartfelt behind-the-scenes look at one of America’s most beloved sitcoms, brimming with never-before-told stories featuring the cast and crew!

Available only in audio, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - Makers, Mysteries and Magic lifts the lid on the moviemaking secrets behind the latest installment in J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts series....

From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film....

What is it really like to be a housewife? We all want to know, but only the women we love to watch and the people who make the show have the whole story. Well, listen in close, because they’re about to tell all....

What Shakespeare's plays can teach us about modern-day politics.

Josephine Alibrandi is 17 and in her final year of school....

The first unauthorized look at the inner workings—and ultimate breakdown—of the Disney Channel machine

No one knows the writer's Hollywood more intimately than William Goldman. Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the best-selling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood's inner sanctums....

The man who brought the kavorka to the Seinfeld show through one of the most remarkable and beloved television characters ever invented, Kramer, shares the extraordinary life of a comedy genius.

Packed with all-new, exclusive interviews with the producers and entire cast, The Big Bang Theory:The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series is a riveting, entertaining look at the sitcom sensation.

In this essential guide to acting, internationally renowned directing coach Judith Weston demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, and what directors do wrong....

You'll never look at Broadway the same way again. This is the first audiobook in a multi-volume series that will tell the stories of all of the Broadway houses....

Your assistant knows what you eat, who you're sleeping with, and what medications you're taking. They listen in on your phone calls. They are the eyes and ears of Hollywood...and occasionally they talk....

There are three kinds of feelings when reading a story: boredom, interest, and wow! To become a successful writer, you must create the wow feeling on as many pages as possible, and this requires writing that engages the reader emotionally....

Stephanie Cole ("Doc Martin"), Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam ("The Thick Of It") star in the complete second series of the hit sitcom....

Ask a scientist about Hollywood, and you'll probably get eye rolls. But ask someone in Hollywood about science, and they'll see dollar signs: Moviemakers know that science can be the source of great stories, with all the drama and action that blockbusters require....

A sharp eye for detail and a wicked ear for the absurdities of life, Dawn French shows just how an RAF girl from the West Country dreaming of becoming a ballerina/bridesmaid/thief rose to become one of the best-loved comedy actresses of our time.

Steve Jobs electrified audiences with his incomparable style and showmanship. Now you can do it too, by learning the specific techniques that made Jobs the most captivating communicator on the world stage....

The Ricky Gervais Show on Xfm is where Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant first met Karl Pilkington. The trio have been talking drivel ever since....

The Memory Palace is a collection of tiny, crystalline historical tales that come across like luminous short fiction, and, like Nate DiMeo’s acclaimed podcast of the same name, conjure lost moments and forgotten figures who are calling out across time to be remembered.

A full-speed-ahead oral history of the nearly two-decade making of the cultural phenomenon Mad Max: Fury Road....

In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease: a degenerative neurological condition....

William Esper, one of the leading acting teachers of our time, explains and extends Sanford Meisner's legendary technique, offering a clear, concrete, step-by-step approach to becoming a truly creative actor....

In the spring of 2020, as the world grappled with the deepening coronavirus pandemic, acclaimed British screenwriter and playwright David Hare was struck down by the virus himself. With brutal honesty, sharp humor, and his trademark insight, the renowned writer of modern classics like Skylight and Plenty brings us into his own experience battling the bizarre and terrifying symptoms of Covid-19.

The Memory Palace is a collection of tiny, crystalline historical tales that come across like luminous short fiction, and, like Nate DiMeo’s acclaimed podcast of the same name, conjure lost moments and forgotten figures who are calling out across time to be remembered. For fifteen years, Nate DiMeo has turned to the past to make sense of the way we live today, finding beauty and meaning in history’s dustier corners, holding things up to the light and weaving facts, keen insight, wit, and poignant observation into unforgettable tales.

Christopher Naylor reads the inside story of how the BBC created and launched Doctor Who. In early 1963, a chain of events led to the creation of what would become one of the best-loved, and most successful, of all British television programmes. This is the tale of how Doctor Who embarked upon its epic journey - one which still continues today. It is also the story of the people involved, from Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson to Verity Lambert, Waris Hussein and William Hartnell.

Cuando El chavo del ocho se estrenó en los años 70, el programa ofrecía un retrato poco común de la vida de la clase trabajadora que resonó en la gente de toda América Latina. En el pico de su popularidad, 350 millones de personas lo sintonizaban cada semana. Y durante casi 50 años, el legado de “el chavo” se mantuvo vivo a través de una creciente base de fans multigeneracional y sus retransmisiones diarias. Hasta 2020, cuando El Chavo dejó de emitirse repentinamente.

For seven seasons, Leslie Knope and the Parks and Recreation gang charmed millions of viewers with their quirky antics and unwavering positivity. The sitcom continues to be a fan-favorite for streaming services today, nearly a decade after its finale. Now for the first time, Jim O’Heir, who played the lovable Jerry (or, well, Garry/Larry/Terry/Barry, depending on the episode), invites listeners back to Pawnee for an exclusive look behind the scenes.

The definitive book on the TV show Ted Lasso, written by New York Times journalist and editor Jeremy Egner, celebrating the show’s improbable rise and cultural impact while never losing sight of the heart, friendship, and passion that have made it an enduring favorite for the ages.

From the women who pounded the pavement selling their songs in Tin Pan Alley at the turn of the twentieth century; to the women who broke new ground writing shows during the Great Depression; to the women who penned protest musicals fighting for social justice during the 1970s; to those who are revitalizing the landscape of American musicals today, Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy That the History Books Left Out is the first-ever book to tell the story of the over three hundred inspiring women who wrote Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals.

Nora Ephron at the Movies offers an unfiltered look at Ephron as a champion of the rom-com and as a feminist Hollywood trailblazer. It explores her life and work by pairing detailed criticism with exclusive interviews with Ephron’s key collaborators, including Andie MacDowell and Jenn Kaytin Robinson, to add color and nuance to her life and legacy. With her singular voice, Nora Ephron flourished as a dominant force in the entertainment industry, focusing on the idiosyncrasies of romance that were universally relatable.

1974 was a busy year for Mel Brooks. Although still recovering after a series of failed projects threatened his career, he pulled off a one-two punch that saw the release of two of the most beloved American comedies ever made: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Although both films are well-known, the stories beyond the making of each movie are less so. How did they come to be, and how did the era's culture and politics not only permit them to be made, but help them to become enduring comedy classics?

Movies under the Influence charts the entangled histories of moviegoing and mind-altering substances from early cinema through the psychedelic 1970s. Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece examines how the parallel trajectories of these two aspects of American culture resulted in them being treated and regulated in similar ways. Rather than looking at drug use within film, she regards cinema and intoxicants as kindred experiences of immersion that have been subject to corresponding forces of ideology and power.

Behind the glitz and glamour, Wayne has always felt like an outsider. Sleep reveals the difficulties for a working-class, gay man in handling the prejudices of his generation and living through the AIDS epidemic. Wayne was also the shortest principal dancer in the Royal Ballet - he had to spin twice as fast and jump twice as high to succeed. In this moving - but also laugh-out-loud and gossip filled - memoir, Wayne Sleep shows how he danced his way to success, fulfilment and love, and how he overcame obstacles and prejudice along the way.

If you're a student or mid-career pro looking for advice to launch and manage an entertainment career, this book is designed for you. The 37 people who tell their stories created successful careers. You can, too.

You might not know the name Tyrus Wong, but you probably know many of the images he shaped, including scenes from the beloved Disney classic Bambi. Yet when he came to this country as a child, Tyrus was an illegal immigrant locked up in an offshore detention center. How did he go on to a long and prosperous career drawing animation cels, storyboards, and greeting cards that shaped the American imagination?

Jake Phillips has done voice work for lots of renowned brands, including, NBC's Sunday Night Football, Delta Airlines, Infiniti, Toyota, Snap-On Tools, and many, many more. In this book, Jake (host of The Cultured Bumpkin Youtube and Podcast) tells you how he went from working in a factory to being a full time voice actor - and how YOU can too.

Классическое произведение Чехова в аудиоформате! Пьесы А.П. Чехова не сходят со сцен театров всего мира. Возможно, секрет такой популярности в особом взгляде автора на человеческие взаимоотношения и особом способе их изображения в художественном тексте. "Пусть на сцене все будет так же сложно и так же вместе с тем просто, как и в жизни, – говорил Чехов. – Люди обедают, только обедают, а в это время слагается их счастье и разбиваются их жизни".

Der Tango in den 2020er Jahren wird zur Obsession für Herbert, Monique, Julia, Danae und Marie. Dieser Tanz zieht seine Energie aus der Erde und wird ihr Leben neu ausrichten, ohne dass sie es ganz erfassen und merken. Sie erliegen seiner Verführungskraft und müssen daran reifen und scheitern, aufstehen und lieben. Sie sehen sich im hohen Alter an einem idealen, geradezu idealisierten Ort am Tangotisch in einem Seniorenschloss wieder. Ihre Geschichten kreisen um den Tango und um die Liebe.

Ouida – the pseudonym of English novelist Maria Louise Ramé – wrote over 40 novels as well as children’s books, short stories and essays. One of the most popular authors of her day, she achieved fame and fortune with her ‘sensation novels’ which scandalised and intrigued Victorian readers, but her extravagant lifestyle resulted in her dying in poverty in 1908. This collection brings together her pioneering novel Moths with two engrossing biographical portraits of Ouida herself.

Mastering the Texas Accent is an essential audiobook for actors seeking to develop a genuine Texas accent, ideal for film, theater, and voiceover roles. This guide provides an in-depth exploration of the Texas dialect, starting with the foundational elements that give this regional accent its unique character. Listeners will learn how to modify vowels, drop certain consonants, and adopt the characteristic Texas drawl that makes speech from the Lone Star State instantly recognizable.

In Yankee Doodle Dandy, the first book on Cohan in fifty years, author Elizabeth T. Craft situates Cohan as a central figure of his day. Examining his multifaceted contributions and the various sociocultural identities he came to embody, Craft shows how Cohan and his works indelibly shaped the American cultural landscape. Informative and engaging, this book offers rich listening for Broadway musical aficionados as well as scholars of musical theater and American cultural history.

Lock downs and masks had no significant impact on the spread of COVID-19, and the vaccine didn't stop transmission. The authorities and the media pushed the false "everyone's at risk" narrative, and instead of focusing protection on the elderly and immuno-compromised people who were at genuine risk, they shut down the world. Trillions of dollars were wasted, economies crashed, kids' education was stunted, and civil liberties were set back a generation. This is the incredible story of how it happened.

For centuries, one man’s predictions of doom, disaster, and destiny have captivated the world. Nostradamus, who has become a legend, inscribed cryptic verses shrouded in mystery, interpreted across the ages that may have all come true: wars, sieges, the fall of nations, the collapse of Europe, the rise of AI, apocalyptic floods, firestorms, and the rise of a third Antichrist who would bring about World War III. Are these the final days of humanity, or can we change our fate?

For most of us, fond memories of the Christmas season are inseparable from television's holiday presentations. The world loves everything from iconic cartoons like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas to the groundbreaking Julia sitcom segment, "I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas," Christmas in Rockefeller Center, and the 1992 television-remake of Christmas in Connecticut directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Christmas TV Memories: Nostalgic Holiday Favorites of the Small Screen embraces it all, offering a tinsel-decked traipse down memory lane.

Through her experiences in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Marianne Preger-Simon offers a rare account of exactly how Cunningham taught and interacted with his students. She describes the puzzled reactions of audiences to the novel non-narrative choreography of the company’s debut performances. She touches on Cunningham’s quicksilver temperament, lamenting his early frustrations with obscurity and the discomfort she suspects he endured in concealing his homosexuality and partnership with composer John Cageyet she celebrates above all his dependable charm, kindness, and engagement.

In the shadows lies a nefarious otherworldly force waging war upon humanity, a dark menace that governs not just our thoughts and actions, but our very souls. They are a secret cabal that built and created rules and systems of thought, created kingdoms and spawned religions to rule the masses from afar, by controlling the ebb and flow of space and time on an epic level. Under the guise of free will and individualism, the systems in place around us ensure that we have no choice but to comply and obey an underlying agenda that at its core is pure evil.

More people than ever are accepting that there is an Alien presence on Earth. With world governments and their agencies acknowledging the phenomenon and recent military leaks, it's clear that we are being visited by some kind of otherworldly intelligence. The encounters with the unknown can no longer be shrugged off as fantasy or delusion. Explore these most hair-raising UFO incidents and decide for yourself.