About the Author

Scott Balcerzak is associate professor of film and media in the Department of English at Northern Illinois University. He is the author of Buffoon Men: Classic Hollywood Comedians and Queered Masculinity (Wayne State University Press, 2013). He is also the co-editor of Cinephilia in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Film, Pleasure, and Digital Culture, Vols. 1 and 2.

Reviews

Balcerzak's insightful, astute interpretations and observations across a range of media and actors make Beyond Method a dense read, richly rewarding the effort.--Diane Carson"Journal of Film and Video" (03/01/2020)
The connections between politics, social currents, and acting techniques are drawn out in Beyond Method, Scott Balcerzak's illuminating book on Stella Adler's teachings and masculinity on screen. [. . .] Acting [. . .] is what it is in part because it announces itself as such. [This book] helps us to understand the amplitude of that announcement and find both the magic and labor in it.-- (03/01/2020)
Beyond Method is an innovative approach to star and performance studies, offering insightful discussions of male acting, performing masculinity, Stella Adler's teaching, and the Method as it signified historically after the war. A major book!-- (02/05/2018)
In Beyond Method: Stella Adler and the Male Actor, Scott Balcerzak skillfully highlights the role of Stella Adler (often eclipsed by that of Lee Strasberg, director of the Actors Studio) in training the white male actor. While Strasberg focused on mining the psychology of the performer, Adler (drawing on Stanislavskian theory) concentrated more on behaviorism, sociological observation, and bodily technique. Among her famous students that Balcerzak considers are Marlon Brando, Henry Winkler, and Mark Ruffalo-showing the range of Adler's pedagogy and appeal. A well-researched and well-written book that sets the record straight.-- (02/05/2018)