Fourteen Essential Books on Acting, Theatre, and the Emotional Life of an Artist

Note: This is a very personal list. It doesn’t include some famous books about acting, such as Uta Hagen’s books and books based on Stanislavsky and based on Lee Strasberg’s and Stella Adler’s method acting approaches. I have gotten insights from those books, but the ones in this list are the books that were personally life changing and liberating to me as an actor. To hear why, listen to Episode 22: One Big Massive Retweet, The Books, Part 1

(Although I have been exposed to it indirectly through teachers, one gap in my knowledge and in my library is Sanford Meisner’s approach. I will be sure to include some resources and links to the sites about Meisner in some of these pages.)

  1. To The Actor: on the technique of acting by Michael Chekhov with a preface by Yul Brynner and drawings by Nicolai Remisoff

    2. Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  2. Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristin Linklater

    3. Note: I own the first edition of this book. The links here are to the new, greatly expanded edition, which I haven’t seen but which has gotten great reviews.
    Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  3. How to Stop Acting by Harold Guskin with an introduction by Kevin Kline

    4. Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  4. True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor by David Mamet
    Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

    More to Come

    Listen to Episode 22: One Big Massive Retweet, The Books, Part 1 to hear why I love these first four books and consider them essential.

  5. Acting for the Camera by Tony Barr, foreward by Ed Asner and with exercises by Eric Stephan Kline

    6. Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  6. Acting in Film: An Actor’s Take on Movie Making by Michael Caine

    7. Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  7. The Actor’s Survival Kit by Miriam Newhouse and Peter Messaline

    8. Note: This book is especially targeted to the Canadian market and Canadian actors.
    Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  8. How to be a Working Actor: The Insider’s Guide to Finding Jobs in Theater, Film, and Television by Mari Lyn Henry & Lynne Rogers with a foreward by Joe Mantegna

    9. Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  9. Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone with an Introduction by Irving Wardle

    10. Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  10. Liberation of the Actor by Peter Bridgemont

    11. Book on Amazon.com
    Book on Amazon.ca

  11. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
  12. Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part by Michael Shurtleff with an Introduction by Bob Fosse
  13. The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau
  14. Romantic Quest and Modern Query: A History of the Modern Theatre by Tom F. Driver