M. M. Mahood (1919–2017)

Certainly not for beginners, as this is an academic survey through and through with constant passing references to (presumed known) facts about Elizabethan theatre and, naturally, minor characters from across the Complete Works - although written in a delightfully conversational style.
If you're across the subject matter, though, it's a great contribution to Bardolatry. One of the areas in which Mahood excels is in defining the links between Shakespeare's mind at work, the realities of rehearsing and staging a show, and how that comes down to us in a text. So, where one version of a play has a character's headless body brought on, another version alters that to merely a mention; Mahood sensibly suggests that the former came first, but would have been discovered in rehearsal or the first run of the show to be a needlessly costly and cumbersome event, thus leading to the refined script. These kind of sensible decisions pepper every page, and make this worthwhile for those of us who get a strange amount of joy out of textual quibbles and decisions.
Well put from start to finish, engaging, and hopefully influential for directors and lovers of the Bard.
(One caveat though! The title may lead you to think this is some kind of acting manual. It's not. It's a text about the history of bit parts, their provenance, and role in the drama. Valuable perhaps for actors but not a guidebook.)… (més)

Amazon.com: "M.M. Mahood is Professor Emeritus of the University of Kent. She is the author of Shakespeare's Wordplay (1957). This is a unique survey of the small supporting roles--such as foils, feeds, attendants and messengers--that appear in Shakespeare's plays. Exploring such issues as how bit players should conduct themselves within a scene, and how blank verse or prose may be spoken to bring out the complexities of character-definition, this book brings a wealth of insight to scenic construction in Shakespeare's dramaturgy. M.M. Mahood explores the different functions of minimal characters, from clearing the stage to epitomizing the overall effect of the comedy or tragedy, and looks at how they can extend the audience's knowledge of the social world of the play. Plays discussed include: Richard III, The Tempest, King Lear, Antony & Cleopatra, Measure for Measure and Julius Ceasar."… (més)