A Suggested Reading List

Here are a few books that actors and directors might find helpful (besides my own, of course!).

Books by Directors

MOVIEMAKERS’ MASTER CLASS, by Laurent Tirard
MAKING MOVIES, by Sidney Lumet
ON DIRECTING, and THE FERVENT YEARS, by Harold Clurman
KAZAN ON DIRECTING, by Elia Kazan, Martin Scorsese, John Lahr
ON DIRECTING FILM, by David Mamet
I’LL BE IN MY TRAILER, by John Badham
CASSAVETES ON CASSAVETES, Ray Carney, editor
KEISLOWSKI ON KEISLOWSKI, Danusia Stok, editor

Books by other Acting Teachers

HOW TO STOP ACTING, by Harold Guskin
A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK FOR THE ACTOR, by Bruder, Cohn, Olnek, Pollack, Previto, Zigler
AUDITION, by Michael Shurtleff
IMPRO, by Keith Johnstone
ON ACTING, by Sanford Meisner
THE ART OF ACTING, by Stella Adler
A DREAM OF PASSION, by Lee Strasberg
RESPECT FOR ACTING, by Uta Hagen
THE INTENT TO LIVE, by Larry Moss
THE POWER OF THE ACTOR, by Ivana Chubbuck

MY LIFE IN ART, by Constantin Stanislavski
AN ACTOR PREPARES, by Constantin Stanislavski

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:

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
Martin McDonagh: BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE, PILLOWMAN
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
John Patrick Shanley: DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, ITALIAN-AMERICAN RECONCIATION
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: JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, FENCES

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 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 to most people, 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.