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Great books every actor should read
This is our abbreviated list of the books about acting (the craft and the business) that we highly recommend.
Great Books for Actors
These are all must reads!
Acting Technique:
1. Acting; The First Six Lessons by Richard Boleslavsky
2. The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor by Larry Moss
3. The Art of Acting by Stella Adler
4. Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner
5. Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen
6. An Actor Prepares by Konstantin Stanislavski
7. On the Technique of Acting by Michael Chekhov
8. The Power of the Actor: The Chubbuck Technique by Ivana Chubbuck
9. A Challenge for the Actor by Uta Hagen
10. No Acting, Please by Eric Morris and Joan Hotchkis
11. Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus by Marina Caldarone and Maggie Lloyd-Williams
On-Camera Acting:
1. Acting in film by Michael Caine
2. Secrets of Screen Acting by Patrick Tucker
3. Acting for the Camera: Revised Edition by Tony Barr
Auditioning:
1. Audition by Michael Shurtleff
2. A Star Is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some of Hollywood's Biggest Movies Jane Jenkins and Janet Hirshenson
Comedy and Improv:
1. Improvisation for the Theater by Viola Spolin
2. Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook by Viola Spolin
3. The Eight Characters of Comedy: Guide to Sitcom Acting and Writing by Scott Sedita
The Business of Acting:
1. The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer
2. Self-Management for Actors: Getting Down to (Show) Business by Bonnie Gillespie
3. Breaking and Entering: A Manual for the Working Actor by Philip Carlson
4. The Actor's Guide to Self-Marketing by Carla Renata
The Actor’s Journey:
1. A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
2. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
3. The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer
4. If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating by Alan Alda
Voice:
1. Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristin Linklater
Movement:
1. Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique by Michael J. Gelb
Screenwriting and Directing:
1. Adventures In The Screen Trade by William Goldman
2. The Art Of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
Making A Good Script Great by Linda Seger
3. Screenwriting is Rewriting: The Art and Craft of Professional Revision by Jack Epps, Jr.
4. On Directing Film by David Mamet
Making Movies by Sidney Lumet and Richard M. Davidson
5. Save The Cat!: The Last Book On Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
6. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting - Syd Field
7. The Screenwriter’s Bible - David Trottier
Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
8. Screenwriting for Hollywood by Michael Hauge