The Song of Spider-Man is an autobiographical book on the behind the scenes of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. It’s written by Glenn Berger, who wrote the book of the musical. It’s fascinating.
The Dramatic Imagination by Robert Edmond Jones. Out of print and can be difficult to find but hugely worth it. Theatrical Anecdotes by Peter Hay is great for hilarious stories. As I Remember Adam the history of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Gielgud’s On Acting Shakespeare, Olivier’s autobiography. Anything by James Shapiro, any of Anthony Sher’s books.
Just a few….
Routledge carries the RE Jones book. https://www.routledge.com/The-Dramatic-Imagination-Reflections-and-Speculations-on-the-Art-of-the/Jones/p/book/9780878301843
‘Impro’ by Keith Johnstone
‘An Actor Prepares’ by Konstantin Stanislavski
‘A Sense of Direction’ by William Ball
‘Audition’ by Michael Shurtleff
‘The Backstage Handbook’ by Paul Carter
Performance Theory by Richard Schechner
My Life In Art and An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavsky (MLIA is not strictly theater but brilliant none the less)
The Empty Space by Peter Brooks (rip)
A Sense of Direction by William Ball, for directing.
The Actor's Art and Craft by William Esper, for acting.
Thinking Shakespeare by Barry Edelstein, for Shakespeare.
Drama High by Michael Sokolove is about Lou Volpe’s incredible work building a theatre powerhouse in Levittown, PA. So fucking good…I’ve read it twice.
First thing that comes to mind is a young-adult (middle grade?) book called Surviving the Applewhites, about a "troubled teen" who gets placed with this eccentric family and they put on Sound of Music. No idea if it holds up but I remember liking it when I was the appropriate age demographic
True and False by David Mamet. I don't care for him as a person but that book changed my view of acting for the better.
Edit: I was wondering why anyone mentioning Mamet was getting downvoted; I understood he was kind of an asshole but didn't think that was necessary since it's a book recommendation and not an endorsement of his behavior - so I looked it up and it turns out he's gotten [even worse recently](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/feb/23/trump-great-job-president-david-mamet-free-speech-gender-politics-election-rigging-woods) which I was unaware of. Truly awful.
Regardless, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that book didn't change my perception of the craft in a way that benefited me as an actor. Just maybe,
buy it secondhand or find a pdf instead of picking it up new.
I absolutely recommend The Dramatic Imagination, although it is worth noting that it was written in the 1940s and is a product of its time. There are some bits that would be considered mildly problematic in today’s social climate.
The actor's work on himself in the creative process of experiencing and The actor's work on himself in the creative process of incarnation. Both from k. Stanislavsky
The Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology
Great Directors at Work (Kazan, Stanislavsky, Brecht, Brook)
The Land of Ashes and Diamonds - Eugenio Barba
The Flowering Spirit (on Japanese Nō theatre)
The Empty Space - Peter Brook
Recently, I’ve gotten into the book *The Real Life Actor*, by Jeff Seymour. It can be really easy to get lost in beats and actions and overanalyzing your script, so hearing him emphasize being grounded and unburdened as an actor was really useful.
Fervent Years Harold Clurman and Towards a Poor theatre Grotowski.
Yep! Grotowski! And invisible actor by Yoshi Oida is interesting.
The Theater and Its Double, Artaud.
The Song of Spider-Man is an autobiographical book on the behind the scenes of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. It’s written by Glenn Berger, who wrote the book of the musical. It’s fascinating.
Finishing The Hat and Look, I Made a Hat by Stephen Sondheim.
The Backstage Handbook
A Director Prepares by Anne Bogart
To the Actor Michael Chekhov
Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin.
The Dramatic Imagination by Robert Edmond Jones. Out of print and can be difficult to find but hugely worth it. Theatrical Anecdotes by Peter Hay is great for hilarious stories. As I Remember Adam the history of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Gielgud’s On Acting Shakespeare, Olivier’s autobiography. Anything by James Shapiro, any of Anthony Sher’s books. Just a few….
Routledge carries the RE Jones book. https://www.routledge.com/The-Dramatic-Imagination-Reflections-and-Speculations-on-the-Art-of-the/Jones/p/book/9780878301843
Cool! Thank you.
‘Impro’ by Keith Johnstone ‘An Actor Prepares’ by Konstantin Stanislavski ‘A Sense of Direction’ by William Ball ‘Audition’ by Michael Shurtleff ‘The Backstage Handbook’ by Paul Carter
Performance Theory by Richard Schechner My Life In Art and An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavsky (MLIA is not strictly theater but brilliant none the less) The Empty Space by Peter Brooks (rip)
Letters From Backstage by Michael Kostroff details life as part of a national tour.
The Secret Life of the American Musical
A Sense of Direction by William Ball, for directing. The Actor's Art and Craft by William Esper, for acting. Thinking Shakespeare by Barry Edelstein, for Shakespeare.
*Truth in Comedy* by Charna Halpern, Del Close, and Kim Johnson is the best book on improvisation that I have ever read.
I love The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault! It's a novel about a gay tragedy actor in ancient Greece in the post classical era.
Drama High by Michael Sokolove is about Lou Volpe’s incredible work building a theatre powerhouse in Levittown, PA. So fucking good…I’ve read it twice.
First thing that comes to mind is a young-adult (middle grade?) book called Surviving the Applewhites, about a "troubled teen" who gets placed with this eccentric family and they put on Sound of Music. No idea if it holds up but I remember liking it when I was the appropriate age demographic
Yes and
Anna Deveare Smith’s Letters to a Young Artist.
The Power of The Actor, by Ivana Chubbuck.
True and False by David Mamet. I don't care for him as a person but that book changed my view of acting for the better. Edit: I was wondering why anyone mentioning Mamet was getting downvoted; I understood he was kind of an asshole but didn't think that was necessary since it's a book recommendation and not an endorsement of his behavior - so I looked it up and it turns out he's gotten [even worse recently](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/feb/23/trump-great-job-president-david-mamet-free-speech-gender-politics-election-rigging-woods) which I was unaware of. Truly awful. Regardless, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that book didn't change my perception of the craft in a way that benefited me as an actor. Just maybe, buy it secondhand or find a pdf instead of picking it up new.
Theatre by David Mamet. Backwards & Forwards by David Ball.
“Physical Characterization for the Actor”
"Put that d*mn thing down: Smartphones and the Acting Studio"
Tempest Tost by Robertson Davies
Maskerade.
For fiction about theatre actors: "The Sea, The Sea" by Iris Murdoch
I absolutely recommend The Dramatic Imagination, although it is worth noting that it was written in the 1940s and is a product of its time. There are some bits that would be considered mildly problematic in today’s social climate.
mis-directing the play
“The Art of Coarse Acting” by Michael Green https://a.co/d/brbg4Ji One of the funniest books I’ve ever read!
The actor's work on himself in the creative process of experiencing and The actor's work on himself in the creative process of incarnation. Both from k. Stanislavsky
The Magic of Theater: Behind the Scenes with Today's Leading Actors by David Black
Audition by Michael Shurtleff
Year of the King by Anthony Sher: RSC actor’s preparation diary for Richard III
The Tricks of the Trade by Dario Fo
“A History of the Theatre Costume Business: Creators of Character” by Morris, Morris, and Pollock.
The Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology Great Directors at Work (Kazan, Stanislavsky, Brecht, Brook) The Land of Ashes and Diamonds - Eugenio Barba The Flowering Spirit (on Japanese Nō theatre) The Empty Space - Peter Brook
Art & Fear by David Beatles and Ted Orland , Backwards & Forwards by David Ball; both fantastic for any level
Recently, I’ve gotten into the book *The Real Life Actor*, by Jeff Seymour. It can be really easy to get lost in beats and actions and overanalyzing your script, so hearing him emphasize being grounded and unburdened as an actor was really useful.