| Other
Acting and Theatre Books |
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Theatre
History & Perspectives on Acting
Acting
A to Z
(The Young Person's Guide to a Stage or Screen Career)
by Katherine Mayfield
This
is the ideal primer for the young actor who wants to know
what is involved in an acting career. Clearly, sensitively
written and full of good illustrations. This is a book
I would have loved to have had when I was twelve or fourteen
years old. Extremely well done. |
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Acting A To Z
now through
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Elia
Kazan: A Life
by Elia Kazan
For my money, this is the best show
business autobiography available. Kazan has done it all,
plus some. He discovered Marlon Brando, James Dean and
Warren Beatty, among many others; he directed most of
Tennessee Williams plays on Broadway, including A Streetcar
Named Desire; he directed many movies, including On the
Waterfront and East of Eden. True, sometimes he talks
a bit too much about his sex life, but you can just skim
those parts. (Or read them over a couple of times....)
And it is true that he named names during the HUAC witch
hunts, actions for which he will forever be reviled in
some corners of the entertainment industry. But his analysis
of the great plays, and his observations about the differences
between acting on stage and acting on film are marvelous.
Elia Kazan, for good or bad, is an invaluable link between
the past and present, film and stage. His importance is
not to be denied. Read the book. |
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Elia Kazan: A Life
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Fearless
Presenting
by Eric Maisel, Ph.D.
This is THE book to read if you are
suffering from stage fright. Eric Maisel is a practicing
psychologist who specializes in problems confronted by
artists. In this book, he provides many empowering steps
you can take to overcome the jitters. This book would
also make a good gift for someone you know who is nervous
about public speaking. |
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Fearless Presenting now through
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On
Directing
by Harold Clurman
Clurman was an original member of the old Group Theatre
in the 1930's and was one of the early geniuses of American
theatre. The Fervent Years is an invaluable history,
and On Directing is must-reading for actors and directors.
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On Directing
now through
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Pinter
at Sixty
edited by Katherine H. Burkman & John L. Kundert-Gibbs
An international group of scholars gathered
in 1991 at Ohio State University to discuss Harold Pinter's
work and his influences on the theater. This collection
of essays discusses Pinter in production, his politics,
and his poetics. My particular favorite is the essay by
Carey Perloff, current artistic director of American Conservatory
Theater in San Francisco. She, better than any other I
have read, explains the Pinter "pauses." |
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Pinter at Sixty
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Shakespeare:
The Invention of the Human
by Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of
Humanities at Yale University, Berg Professor of English
at New York University, and a former Charles Eliot Norton
Professor at Harvard. He is a renowned Shakespearean scholar
and teacher, and this book, "Shakespeare: The Invention
of the Human", is essential for your personal library.
It's not the kind of book you read cover-to-cover in one
sitting -- though I suppose you could -- but rather one
to turn to when you are looking for perspectives on Shakespeare's
plays. I use it when my students are putting up Shakespearean
scenes in acting class and invariably find Professor Bloom's
references and ideas to be stimulating, original and challenging.
I adore this book and recommend it highly. |
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Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human
now through
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Something
Wonderful Right Away
by Jeffrey Sweet
A
history of the Chicago improv group Second City, out of
which came Mike Nichols, Elaine May and many other luminaries.
Jeff Sweet writes with humor and enthusiasm. And if you
buy the book, he'll probably answer your questions. His
e-mail address is DgSWEET@aol.com.
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Something Wonderful Right Away
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The
Empty Space
by Peter Brook |
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The Empty Space
now through
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The
Fervent Years
by Harold Clurman |
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The Fervent Years
now through
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The
Open Door
by Peter Brook |
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The Open Door
now through
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The
Shifting Point
by Peter Brook
Trust me: If you are an actor or director, you will
never get enough Peter Brook. He's a former director
of the Royal Shakespeare Company and head of the International
Centre of Theatre Research in Paris. Brook is a genius,
pure and simple. His insights into the workings of acting
and theater will blow your mind and change your life.
It's hard to recommend one of the titles over the other,
but The Open Door is awfully good and is only 150 pages
long.
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The Shifting Point
now through
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Books
on Acting Technique
A
Challenge for the Actor
by Uta Hagen
Uta
Hagen is a famous actress and acting teacher, head of
HB Studios, and her books are must-reads. The first one
she wrote was "Respect for Acting", and she refined her
theories in "A Challenge for the Actor". |
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A Challenge
for the Actor
now through
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Acting
for Camera
by Tony Barr
Tony Barr has been teaching this subject
in Hollywood for years. He knows his stuff. |
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Acting for Camera
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Audition
by Michael Shurtleff
Shurtleff is the grand daddy of audition
technique teachers. I studied with him myself back in
New York, before he wrote this book. I was probably one
of his guinea pigs, in fact. Anyway, this is a must-read.
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Audition
now through
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Impro
by Keith Johnstone
Johnstone bases his improvisations on
"status transactions", and this concept is quite remarkable.
Again, I consider this a must-read and routinely recommend
it to my acting students. |
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Impro
now through
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Lessons
for the Professional Actor
by Michael Chekhov
These are transcriptions of lectures
Chekhov gave in 1941 in New York. He gets into the use
of "atmosphere" and the "dramatic gesture", all sorts
of good stuff. Stanislavski called Michael Chekhov "my
most brilliant pupil" when they worked together at the
Moscow Art Theatre. |
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Lessons for the Professional Actor
now through
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Making
Movies
by Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet has directed movies such
as "Dog Day Afternoon", "12 Angry Men" and "Murder on
the Orient Express", and he is known in the biz as an
"actor's director." In this book, he takes the reader
on a tour through the movie-making process, pre-production
to post-production, using his own experiences and good
humor to tie things together. This is one I strongly recommend
to all of my acting students. A lovely book. |
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Making Movies
now through
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Playing
Shakespeare
by John Barton
This is actually a companion to a fabulous
BBC television series of the same name. It is by far the
best text I've seen on how to act Shakespeare. Lot of
contributions by the members of the Royal Shakespeare
Company. And if you ever find a copy of that television
series, grab it. |
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Playing Shakespeare
now through
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Respect
for Acting
by Uta Hagen |
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Respect for Acting
now through
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Sanford
Meisner On Acting
by Sanford Meisner
A basic, step-by-step approach to acting.
Very readable, easy to understand. Actually, the book
was not written by Meisner, which is one of the reasons
it is good. A writer turned on a tape recorder in Meisner's
classes and then, in the text, explains to the reader
what is going on. |
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Sanford Meisner
On Acting
now through
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Secrets
of Screen Acting
by Patrick Tucker
This is my personal favorite of the
Acting for Camera books and is one I routinely recommend
to my students. It is written with humor and perception
by a British director/teacher. His basic perspective is
that you must make your performance the right size for
the frame of the shot. In other words, your technique
is different in a long shot than in a close-up. He's correct
about that. Lots of drawings in the book, too. |
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Secrets of
Screen Acting
now through
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The
Actors Chekhov: Nikos Psacharopoulos and the Company of
the Williamstown Theatre Festival, on the Plays of Anton
Chekhov
by Jean Hackett
Mainly interviews with talented actors
at Williamstown who have made it their business to play
a lot of Chekhov. The late Nikos Psacharopoulos, former
head of the Yale School of Drama and artistic director
of Williamstown, was an acknowledged expert when it came
to acting Chekhov. |
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The Actors Chekhov
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Animation
Books
Creating 3-D Animation
by Peter Lord and Brian Sibley
Fans of Wallace and Gromit will love
this book, which takes the reader behind the scenes at
the world-famous Aardman Studios in Bristol, England.
Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman, takes the new animator
by the hand and gently escorts him through the stages
of puppet-making and stop-motion animation. Beginning
with model-making and planning sets, and moving on through
the nuts-and-bolts of editing and the addition of sound,
"Creating 3-D Animation" is a must-read for serious animators
and would make an excellent gift. The book is chock full
of interesting illustrations and photographs. |
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Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese
Animation
by Helen McCarthy
Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese
Animation presents an
excellent overview of -- and introduction to -- this legendary
animator's work. Miyazaki is the creator of the epic "Princess
Mononoke", "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Nausicaa of the Valley
of the Winds", among other outstanding works. He is to
animation and Manga what Shakespeare is to drama. Read
the book, and then go see "Princess Mononoke". Prepare
to be awe struck. |
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Hollywood Cartoons
by Michael Barrier
This book, almost 30 years in the writing,
is an awesome, thoroughly researched and vastly entertaining
history of American animation. The author, Michael Barrier,
former publisher and editor of the highly-respected periodical
"Funnyworld", has a deep understanding of what makes animation
work for the audience. His book is chock full of intelligent
observations about acting in animation, complete with
references to the theories of Constantin Stanislavsky.
For my money, this is maybe the best book of its sort
I have ever read. It's a major achievement, and I recommend
it to anyone who is interested in animation or American
entertainment history. |
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Hollywood Cartoons (American Animation in its Golden Age)
now through
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The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
is essential reading for any aspiring animator. Written
by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of the famous
Nine Old Men, the book is beautiful to look at and fascinating
to explore. Thomas and Johnston, who worked on such famous
movies as "Snow White" and "Pinnochio", provide not only
a guided tour through Disney animation -- which in many
ways, is the history of American animation itself -- they
painstakingly explain how animation is done, how
lines on a page are endowed with that magical illusion
of life. |
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