A lazy day, a tip, and a list of acting books

Hello fellow actors! I've gotta be honest with you - today I'm just feeling kind of lazy. I've been working on a new book, auditioning, and dealing with various bureaucracies. (I have to get my passport renewed among other things.)

Hey - that's a good tip for today - always have a valid passport. Wouldn't it just make you scream if you got booked on something (a commercial or a film) and didn't have a passport and couldn't take the gig? And it takes a while to get one (not to mention a hundred bucks).

Okay, anyway, back to my excuse for the "list" nature of this post - the fact that I'm feeling lazy. And that I've got a bunch of lines to learn for an upcoming audition.

I'm going to give you my personal list of acting books that you might want to check out. I know - it's kind of a long list, but you don't have to read them all in a week (or month or even a year), but if you are wondering what kind of class might be best for you these books will help teach you about the different techniques that the famous teachers developed.

One of the books in particular - "THE GREAT ACTING TEACHERS and Their Methods" by Richard Brestoff - is a good overview of all the major techniques. You might start with that one and if you find a technique that interests you, then you could read one of the books that is devoted to that method.

However, remember that you can't learn how to really use any method by simply reading about it. If you find a method that seems like it might work for you, then you'll want to get into a class that teaches it, and practice.

Let me know if you've read any of these, and if they helped you, or if you're studying one of the methods and having success with it, or struggling to understand it.

Next week we're going to talk about several well-known acting tools and what they can (or can't) do for you.

Cheers,

Michael

My suggested reading list for actors

SANFORD MEISNER ON ACTING - Sanford Meisner & Dennis Longwell

RESPECT FOR ACTING - Uta Hagen

IMPROVISATION FOR THE THEATRE - Viola Spolin

NO ACTING PLEASE - Eric Morris & Joan Hotchkis

AN ACTOR PREPARES - Constantin Stanislavski

CREATING A ROLE - Constantin Stanislavski

BUILDING A CHARACTER - Constantin Stanislavski

THE TECHNIQUE OF ACTING - Stella Adler

LESSONS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL ACTOR - Michael Chekhov

TO THE ACTOR (ON THE TECHNIQUE OF ACTING) - Michael Chekhov

ADVICE TO THE PLAYERS - Robert Lewis

SETTING FREE THE ACTOR - Ann Brebner

ACTING IN COMMERCIALS - Joan See

AUDITION - Michael Shurtleff

HOW TO AUDITION - Gordon Hunt

WORD OF MOUTH - Susan Blu, Molly Ann Mullin, & Cynthia Songé

MY BREATH IN ART - Beatrice Manley

ACTING PROFESSIONALLY - Robert Cohen

THE PLAYING IS THE THING - Anita Jesse

THE GREAT ACTING TEACHERS and Their Methods - Richard Brestoff

PLAYING SHAKESPEARE - John Barton

THE ACTOR'S GUIDE TO AUDITIONING - Michael D. Nye

A few other books of interest to actors

ON ACTING - Laurence Olivier

ACTING IN FILM - Michael Caine

THE COMEDY BIBLE - Judy Carter

IMPROV COMEDY - Andy Goldberg

PROMOTING YOUR ACTING CAREER - Glenn Alterman

THE CONFIDENCE COURSE - Walter Anderson

A LIFE - Elia Kazan

TOWARDS A POOR THEATER - Jerzy Grotowski

THE TELEPROMPTER MANUAL - Laurie Brown