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The 10 Best Acting & Auditioning Books list have been recommended not only by normal readers but also by experts.
You’ll also find that these are top-ranking books on the US Amazon Best Sellers book list for the Acting & Auditioning category of books.
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Let’s take a look at the list of 10 Best Acting & Auditioning Books.
10 Best Acting & Auditioning Books
Now, let’s dive right into the list of 10 Best Acting & Auditioning Books, where we’ll provide a quick outline for each book.
1. The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer Review Summary
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The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide
Jenna Fischer’s Hollywood journey began at the age of 22 when she moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis. With a theater degree in hand, she was determined, she was confident, she was ready to work hard. So, what could go wrong? Uh, basically everything. The path to being a professional actor was so much more vast and competitive than she’d imagined. It would be eight long years before she landed her iconic role on The Office , nearly a decade of frustration, struggle, rejection and doubt. If only she’d had a handbook for the aspiring actor. Or, better yet, someone to show her the way–an established actor who could educate her about the business, manage her expectations, and reassure her in those moments of despair. Jenna wants to be that person for you. With amusing candor and wit, Fischer spells out the nuts and bolts of getting established in the profession, based on her own memorable and hilarious experiences. She tells you how to get the right headshot, what to look for in representation, and the importance of joining forces with other like-minded artists and creating your own work–invaluable advice personally acquired from her many years of struggle. She provides helpful hints on how to be gutsy and take risks, the tricks to good auditioning and callbacks, and how not to fall for certain scams (auditions in a guy’s apartment are probably not legit–or at least not for the kind of part you’re looking for!). Her inspiring, helpful guidance feels like a trusted friend who’s made the journey, and has now returned to walk beside you, pointing out the pitfalls as you blaze your own path towards the life of a professional actor.
2. Brat: An '80s Story by Andrew McCarthy Review Summary
Brat: An '80s Story
A beautifully written, entertaining, and emotionally honest memoir by actor, director, and author, Andrew McCarthy, that will appeal to fans of Patti Smith’s Just Kids and Rob Lowe’s Stories I Only Tell My Friends. Most people know Andrew McCarthy from his movie roles in Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, Weekend at Bernie’s, and Less than Zero , and as a charter member of Hollywood’s Brat Pack. That iconic group of ingenues and heartthrobs included Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Demi Moore, and has come to represent both a genre of film and an era of pop culture. In his memoir Brat: An ’80s Story , McCarthy focuses his gaze on that singular moment in time. The result is a revealing look at coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity. New York City of the 1980s is brought to vivid life in these pages, from scoring loose joints in Washington Square Park to skipping school in favor of the dark revival houses of the Village where he fell in love with the movies that would change his life. Filled with personal revelations of innocence lost to heady days in Hollywood with John Hughes and an iconic cast of characters, Brat is a surprising and intimate story of an outsider caught up in a most unwitting success.
3. Acting for Young Actors: The Ultimate Teen Guide by Mary Lou Belli Review Summary
Acting for Young Actors: The Ultimate Teen Guide
Do you know a teen that’s been bitten by the acting bug? Here’s just the book they need! Acting for Young Actors , aimed at teens and tweens, lets kids hone their skills and develop their craft. It begins with the five W’s: WHO am I? WHAT do I want? WHY do I want it? WHERE am I? WHEN does this event take place? Sounds basic – but many young child actors are told simply to “get up there and act.” This book explores each of these questions, using helpful exercises to allow young actors to work through problems of character identity and motivation. With comprehensive chapters on auditioning, rehearsal, and improvisation, plus a primer on how young actors can break into film, theater, and television, Acting for Young Actors is every kid’s ticket to the big time.
4. Hamilton Journal – And There’s A Million Things I Haven’t Done But Just You Wait: Blank Lined Journal Notebook, Hamilton Notes,Hamilton Journal, Hamilton Musical, Gift For Hamilton lovers by Musical Planner Review Summary
5. Audition by Michael Shurtleff Review Summary
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Audition
When Streisand, Redford, Vereen, Tomlin, Midler, and Hoffman got their first breaks Michael Shurtleff was there. Michael Shurtleff has been casting director for Broadway shows like Chicago and Becket and for films like The Graduate and Jesus Christ Superstar. His legendary course on auditioning has launched hundreds of successful careers. Now in this book he tells the all-important how for all aspiring actors, from the beginning student of acting to the proven talent trying out for that chance-in-a-million role! Twelve guideposts for actors plus: Style • Pace • Over-Acting • Distractions • Risks • Drama • Musical Theater • Comedy • Self-Rescue • Seduction • Eye Contact . . . And more!
6. Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner Review Summary
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Sanford Meisner on Acting
Sanford Meisner was one of the best known and beloved teachers of acting in the country. This book follows one of his acting classes for fifteen months, beginning with the most rudimentary exercises and ending with affecting and polished scenes from contemporary American plays. Written in collaboration with Dennis Longwell, it is essential reading for beginning and professional actors alike. Throughout these pages Meisner is a delight–always empathizing with his students and urging them onward, provoking emotion, laughter, and growing technical mastery from his charges. With an introduction by Sydney Pollack, director of Out of Africa and Tootsie , who worked with Meisner for five years. “This book should be read by anyone who wants to act or even appreciate what acting involves. Like Meisner’s way of teaching, it is the straight goods.”– Arthur Miller “If there is a key to good acting, this one is it, above all others. Actors, young and not so young, will find inspiration and excitement in this book.”– Gregory Peck
7. Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus by Marina Caldarone Review Summary
8. Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen Review Summary
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Respect for Acting
Respect for Acting “This fascinating and detailed book about acting is Miss Hagen’s credo, the accumulated wisdom of her years spent in intimate communion with her art. It is at once the voicing of her exacting standards for herself and those she [taught], and an explanation of the means to the end.” –Publishers Weekly “Hagen adds to the large corpus of titles on acting with vivid dicta drawn from experience, skill, and a sense of personal and professional worth. Her principal asset in this treatment is her truly significant imagination. Her ‘object exercises’ display a wealth of detail with which to stimulate the student preparing a scene for presentation.” –Library Journal “Uta Hagen’s Respect for Acting . . . is a relatively small book. But within it, Miss Hagen tells the young actor about as much as can be conveyed in print of his craft.” –Los Angeles Times “There are almost no American actors uninfluenced by Uta Hagen.” –Fritz Weaver “This is a textbook for aspiring actors, but working thespians can profit much by it. Anyone with just a casual interest in the theater should also enjoy its behind-the-scenes flavor.” –King Features Syndicate
9. Bob Marks' 88 Keys to Successful Singing Performances: Audition Advice From One of America's Top Vocal Coaches by Bob Marks Review Summary
Bob Marks' 88 Keys to Successful Singing Performances: Audition Advice From One of America's Top Vocal Coaches
Performing Advice from Broadway’s Premiere Audition Coach Bob Marks has spent more than 90,000 hours coaching singers, including cast members of nearly every current Broadway musical, cabaret performers, students winning positions at prestigious university programs, and actors of all ages. For more than four decades, singers from all over the world have turned to Bob Marks to hone their voices and nail auditions, including stars such as Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Nikki M. James, Laura Bell Bundy, Ashley Tisdale, and Debbie Gibson. In this book, Bob provides 88 short, simple steps for successful singing auditions, including how to: * Build confidence and presence * Care for your voice and use it effectively * Select music which enhances your unique style * Put your best musical foot forward in any situation “Bob was instrumental in helping me book the role of Ed the Hyena and the covers of Timon and Zazu in The Lion King.”-Wayne Pyle, Broadway Performer “If it weren’t for Bob, my daughter would never landed the role of Gretl in NBC’s live production of The Sound of Music.” -Tara Kennedy, Broadway Performer “I wish I knew half of what Bob Marks knows about music, nuance, performance, and industry standards.” – Elizabeth Lecoanet, International Voice Specialist “An invaluable resource for performers of any age. This is a concise, simple, and pragmatic book that I can recommend to my students.” -Denise Simon, Author of Parenting in the Spotlight “Bob Marks knows how to help you be your best-prepared self in the audition room.!” -Stephanie Lynne Mason, Broadway Performer
10. 101 Improv Games for Children and Adults by Bob Bedore Review Summary
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101 Improv Games for Children and Adults
What is the big deal about improv? It’s fun. It strengthens our imagination, promotes self-confidence, increases spontaneity, promotes teamwork, and it’s magic: it creates something out of nothing. 101 IMPROV GAMES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS contains the basics: what improv is all about and how to do it, special instructions for how to teach improv to children, plus more advanced training on how to use your voice and body in ways you haven’t thought of before. It has helpful hints for creating scenes and environments out of thin air. All this plus 101 games with simple instructions, from easy warm-up games to over-the-top crowd pleasers such as Fairy Tales, Bizarre Games, On Your Toes and Narrative Games. This is the tenth in the Hunter House SmartFun activity books series, and the first one for adults as well as children. The book is a great resource for educators as well as for the professional actor or the layperson working with improv for fun. The book contains lively illustrations and is easy to use. Improv is about creating something out of nothing, but a really good improviser can create something great out of nothing. This book shows you how.