Judith Weston Acting Studio
 
Books by Judith Weston


Directing Actors by Judith Weston


the Film director's intuition
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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