Work and Oral Interpretation

So Mamet does not believe that book work is necessary. Well how can I not agree with that. I do however feel that you must do something. You can't just memorize lines and they will come out just like they are suppose to right? It should also be mentioned that book work helps some people. I enjoy doing very unstructured book work. I may not have any documentation of the work but I'm understanding both the play and the character better. This however would be incorrect in the world of Mamet. I also like the idea of the 4th wall even thought Mamet calls it "a construction of someone afraid of the audience". Creating the idea of a 4th wall helps me to remember that I am in a play and just like when you watch a movie you the actors do not acknowledge that the audience is there. Mamet does make a good point of not trying to force yourself to believe in something that is obviously false. Yes you know that there is in fact no wall between you and the audience but it using this concept I cut down on side glancing and eye contact than I think I'll keep it.
The chapter titled Oral Interpretation was not a favorite of mine. It felt as though Mamet was oversimplifying. In no way shape or form do I believe that you could convincingly play , say a queen of England, without some background work. I hate this idea because some of my favorite times spend on plays in doing background work. You are able to make connections you didn't see before. Things the author thought you would know or people use to know or even things that have gotten lost in translation. Simply getting on stage and saying words is stupid! Witch I guess would be what Mamet is looking for when he says that the audience is looking for someone who can act. He describes this by saying "who can bring to the script something they couldn't have learned or imagined from reading it in a library." Well how does one do this if they don't do more than simply read the play and memorize lines ? Maybe I am the one oversimplifying what Mamet has wrote or maybe I am not a what Mamet would define as a competent actor.