I am primarily a teacher, and only got into writing books because I was asked to, and because I felt they would be a useful adjunct to the teaching. I was always mindful that mere information unconnected to experience might be useless or even harmful. I have endeavored to make my books more than sources of information; I have wanted them to be experiences. Both books are really meant not just for directors, but for writers, actors and anyone who wants to live creatively. Readers have told me that "Directing Actors" is especially helpful for actors, and "The Film Director's Intuition" especially helpful for writers (in addition to directors, of course). To be quite honest with you, I am at heart a revolutionist - none of my books or classes endeavor to tell you how to do things as well as they are usually done - that's not good enough, in my opinion. I wish that the power brokers of the film world - studio executives, producers, agents, etc. - might also read my books and become engaged by their principles, which are simple, practical and completely viable commercially. But in the meanwhile, I endeavor to help the directors, actors, writers, and other artists who read my books to find support, confidence, self-respect, and joy in their work. Click on each book cover for description and endorsements for "Directing Actors" and "The Film Director's Intuition," respectively. I am also including below a Reading List of other books that I recommend for actors and directors. CASSAVETES ON CASSAVETES, Ray Carney KEISLOWSKI ON KEISLOWSKI, Danusia Stok, editor MAKING MOVIES, Sidney Lumet THE FERVENT YEARS, Harold Clurman ELIA KAZAN: A LIFE, Elia Kazan KAZAN - THE MASTER DIRECTOR DISCUSSES HIS FILMS, Jeff Young MY LIFE IN ART, Stanislavski AN ACTOR PREPARES, Stanislavski IMPRO, Keith Johnstone ON ACTING, Sanford Meisner THE ART OF ACTING, Stella Adler STELLA ADLER ON IBSEN, STRINDBERG AND CHEKHOV A DREAM OF PASSION, Lee Strasberg RESPECT FOR ACTING, Uta Hagen A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK FOR THE ACTOR, Bruder, Cohn, Olnek, Pollack, Previto, Zigler AUDITION, Michael Shurtleff SHAKESPEARE, THE INVENTION OF THE HUMAN, Harold Bloom SHAKESPEARE'S BAWDY, Eric Partridge ELEONARA DUSE, Helen Sheehy FAIRWELL: A MEMOIR OF A TEXAS CHILDHOOD, Horton Foote MASTERY: THE KEYS TO LONG TERM SUCCESS AND FULFILLMENT, George Burr Leonard EMOTIONAL ARMORING, Morton Herskowitz Then, I recommend all actors and directors to consider the history of theater to also be the history of film. And to acquaint themselves with that legacy, by reading plays, including the following: 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN CLASSICS Edward Albee: WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?; THE ZOO STORY Horton Foote: anything John Guare: THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION Lorraine Hansberry: RAISIN IN THE SUN Beth Henley: CRIMES OF THE HEART Lillian Hellman: THE CHILDREN'S HOUR; THE LITTLE FOXES William Inge: DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS; BUS STOP; PICNIC David Mamet : AMERICAN BUFFALO, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Arthur Miller: DEATH OF A SALESMAN; VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Clifford Odets: COUNTRY GIRL, GOLDEN BOY, AWAKE AND SING Eugene O'Neill: LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT; THE ICEMAN COMETH Sam Shepard: BURIED CHILD, CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS, FOOL FOR LOVE, TRUE WEST, SUICIDE IN B FLAT Neil Simon: ODD COUPLE, SUNSHINE BOYS Thornton Wilder: OUR TOWN; THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH Tennessee Williams: THE GLASS MENAGERIE, STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE August Wilson: JITNEY, JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE 20TH CENTURY EUROPEAN CLASSICS Samuel Beckett: WAITING FOR GODOT Bertolt Brecht: MOTHER COURAGE, CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE Anton Chekhov: THE THREE SISTERS, UNCLE VANYA, THE SEAGULL, THE CHERRY ORCHARD Noel Coward: PRIVATE LIVES, BLYTHE SPIRIT Jean Genet: THE MAIDS Henrik Ibsen: HEDDA GABLER, A DOLL'S HOUSE Eugene Ionesco: RHINOSCEROS Frederico Garcia Lorca: THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA Harold Pinter: THE HOMECOMING, DUMB WAITER, CARETAKER Sean O'Casey: PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD George Bernard Shaw: SAINT JOAN, MRS WARREN'S PROFESSION, MAN AND SUPERMAN August Strindberg: MISS JULIE Tom Stoppard: ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD John Millington Synge: RIDERS TO THE SEA Oscar Wilde: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST PRE-20TH CENTURY SHAKESPEARE!! Don't be intimidated by Shakespeare; he is complex, very modern, very down-to-earth, and the most cinematic of all playwrights. GREEK DRAMA (Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides). Euripides (THE TROJAN WOMEN) feels the most modern, but each is quite different from the others so if you don't like one you might still like another - or try a different translation. MOLIERE (translated from French): THE MISANTHROPE, THE IMAGINARY INVALID, TARTUFFE - all wonderful.
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