Suggested Reading for the Actor
On the Craft
An Actor Prepares, by Konstantin Stanislavsky
Actors on Acting, Edited by Toby Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy Twentieth Century Actor Training, Edited by Alison Hodge Respect for Acting, by Uta Hagen
How to Stop Acting, by Harold Guskin
The Power of the Actor, Ivana Chubbuck
Toward Mastery: An Acting Class with Nicos Psacharopoulos, by Nicos Psacharopoulos
Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio, by Robert H. Hethmon and Burgess Meredith
Acting: A Handbook of the Stanislavsky Method, by Lee Strasberg
The Invisible Actor, Yoshi Oida
Sanford Meisner on Acting, by Sanford Meisner, Dennis Longwell
Acting with Style, by John Harrop and Sabin R. Epstein
The Art of Film Acting, by Jeremiah Comey
Acting for the Camera, by Tony Barr
The Encyclopedia of Acting Techniques, by John Perry Acting: The First Six Lessons, by Richard Boleslavsky Loving To Audition, by Larry Silverberg
ON DEVISING and IMPROVISATION
Moment Work: Tectonic Theatre Project’s Technique for Devising Theatre, by Moises Kaufman and Barbara Pitts McAdams
Improvisation for the Theatre, by Viola Spolin
The Viewpoints Book, by by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau
Experimental Theatre: Creating and Staging Text, by Judy E. Yordon
Going Solo: Creating Your Own Dynamic One-Person Show, by Aaron Braxton
HISTORY, COMMENTARY, and THEORY
History of the Theatre, by Oscar Brockett and Frank Hildy The Empty Space, by Peter Brook
The Open Door, by Peter Brook
The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act; Isaac Butler True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor, by David Mamet Theatre, by David Mamet
ON VOICE AND SPEECH
Voice and Articulation, by Kenneth C. Crannell Speak with Distinction, by Edith Skinner Freeing the Natural Voice, by Kristin Linklater
Freeing Shakespeare’s Voice: The Actor’s Guide to Talking the Text, by Kristin Linklater
ON SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, by Harold Bloom
Hamlet: Poem Unlimited, by Harold Bloom Will in the World, by Stephen Greenblatt Witches and Jesuits, by Garry Wills
1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, by James Shapiro
The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606, by James Shapiro
REFERENCE
A Pronunciation Dictionary of American English, by John Samuel Kenyon and Thomas Albert Knott
Everyman’s English Pronunciation Dictionary, by A. C. Gimson and Daniel Jones
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, by Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak
The Oxford Companion to American Musical Theatre: Theatre, Film, and Television, by Thomas
Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary, Volumes I and II, by Alexander Schmidt
Shakespeare A to Z, by Charles Boyce
Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare, by Isaac Asimov
MEMOIRS, AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, BIOGRAPHIES
Free For All: Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theatre Story Ever Told, by Kenneth Turan and Joseph Papp
Brecht on the Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic, by Bertolt Brecht and John Willett
Stephen Sondheim: Finishing the Hat, by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim: Look I Made a Hat, by Stephen Sondheim
COLLECTIONS
Out of Character: Rants, Raves, and Monologues from Today’s Top Performance Artists, by Eric Bogosian, Laurie Anderson, et al.
OTHER WORKS OF INTEREST
How To Stage a Greek Tragedy Today Building The Successful Theatre Company Zen in the Art of Archery
Imagine Higher Ground
Fearless Presenting
Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Wassily Kandinsky
Art and Intimacy: How the Arts Began, by Ellen Dissanayake
What is Art For?, by Ellen Dissanayake
Homo Aestheticus, by Ellen Dissanayake
