What Is The Book True And False About?

True and False is a majorly influential book by author, playwright, teacher and director David Mamet.

Its main coneit is to discuss the contemporary practice of acting from a strongly pragmatic position.  The simplicity of Mamet's approach often undermines years of conventional wisdom on acting and thus has been equally lauded and reviled.

The book is really a manifesto for the practice of a technique called Practical Aesthetics which Mamet developed with his friend Bill Macy.

The book is a fire brand provocation and has attracted a great deal of criticism, much of which has arisen through a lack of understanding of Mamet, practical aesthetics or simply a second more objective read of the treatise.

The book speaks about what the actor should do and makes it clear that one of the most frightening things for the actor is the scene, and so they make up nonsense around the scene to deal with it.  This becomes a comfort blanket and protects the actor from supposed pain, masking real feelings instead of engaging with the feelings.