SYNOPSIS: A comprehensive guide to winning by enhancing acting skills. More than just a nuts-and-bolts auditioning book, this title is meant to help high school and college students hone their skills in preparation for a career on the stage, with the audition being just one part of the process. It is a practical guide, with chapters on training, background skills, how to select and prepare material for an audition, cold readings, musical theater, and supporting materials such as resume and head shots.Chapters are well organized into subtopics, and important ideas are in bold italics, making them easy to skim. However, the writing is so engaging that it is a pleasure to read straight through. Ellis speaks to his readers as a trusted advisor or coach. Exploration exercises and questions for review and reflection at the end of each chapter make this a useful textbook for an acting course. Several sample audition pieces are included, and resources for college auditions and scholarships are appended. Acting teachers looking for a text and students looking for a useful and inspiring guidebook will welcome this title.