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Laughing Gas Virtual Book Store Improvisational Acting Books, Videos & More If you are ready to venture into the world beyond scripts, the books listed below can help guide you in your explorations, whether you are an actor, director, or teacher. We have also tracked down some excellent general titles on theatre, filmmaking, stand-up comedy, writing, and acting. An amazing number of accomplished actors and comedians come from an improv background, and we have included a selection of their film and television work available on video. Most are comedies, but a few dramas are also included. Click on the title of any book or video for more information. You can order any title instantly through the Amazon.com system, and online ordering security is guaranteed. Many titles are available for 20-30% off list price! You can also do your own search by using the Amazon.com search engine below. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! Click here to e-mail Laughing Gas. Table of Contents Books on Improvisational Acting Books on Improv Companies Books on Improv Performers Books on Acting Books on Theatre Books on Comedy Writing Books on Stand-Up Comedy Monty Python Books, Movies, Videos, and CDs Books on Building Your Acting Career Books on Voice and Dialects DVDs Books on Filmmakers Books on Independent Filmmaking Movie Editing Software Screenwriting Software Editing Computers Search: All Products Books Popular Music Classical Music Video DVD ToysGames ComputerVideo Games Electronics Software ToolsHardware LawnPatio Kitchen CameraPhoto Keywords: Try the Amazon.com Search Engine! BOOKS ON IMPROVISATIONAL ACTING The Essentials Three books every improvisational actor and director should have. Improvisation for the Theater Viola Spolin Improvisation didn't start out as a performance art. It began as a technique to train actors, to get them out of their own heads and force them to connect with other performers onstage. Viola Spolin was the pioneer in the field, and this book is still the "bible" of improv, and the techniques are suitable for performers of all ages and all levels of experience. Now available in a newly updated third edition. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Impro Keith Johnstone Working independently of Spolin, Keith Johnstone's book added significant insight into personal status relationships as well as free association and imaginative techniques. Johnstone later applied his techniques to create the popular Theatresports franchise. His methods for tapping into creativity are useful for authors as well as actors, and are also well-suited for children. The last several chapters explore acting with masks. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Truth In Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation Charna Helpern, Del Close, Kim Howard Johnson, and Arthur L. Zapel A guide to long-form improvisations, from the founders of Chicago's ImprovOlympic. The late Del Close was the teacher who inspired John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Mike Myers, among countless others. Highly Recommended Buy it now! NEW! The Second City Almanac of Improvisation Anne Libera The Second City Almanac of Improvisation - like the theatre itself - is a collection of diverse ideas, viewpoints, and memories, written by a vast array of teachers, actors, and directors who all got their start at the legendary comedy theatre. Fred Willard recalls his introduction to The Second City style in the mid-Sixties; Tim Kazurinsky gives a hilarious visual demonstration on the art of object work; "Saturday Night Live" star Tina Fey talks about re-improvising material as a mode of writing revue comedy; noted director Mick Napier takes on the thorny debate between long-form improvisation and short-form improvisation. Second City Resident Director Anne Libera guides the reader through each essay by providing a road map for understanding how The Second City method of improv-based comedy has become the industry standard. Highly Recommended Buy It Now! Theater Games for the Lone Actor Viola Spolin Aimed at the advanced actor rather than the beginner, this book offers exercises and techniques aimed at benefiting the solitary actor, whether it be onstage, oncamera, or in audition situations. Buy It Now! Impro for Storytellers Keith Johnstone This expanded work is a goldmine of techniques for stimulating spontaneity in anyone, whether they are professional actors, non-performers, schoolchildren–anybody! Highly Recommended Buy it now NEW! Improvise: Scene From the Inside Out Mick Napier The first really innovative book to hit the improv scene in years, written by one of Chicago's top improv teachers. Highly Recommended Buy It Now! Theater Games for Rehearsal Viola Spolin More exercises aimed at using improvisation as a tool for rehearsing scripted plays. Buy it now! Theater Games for the Classroom Viola Spolin Games designed to spark creativity and cooperation in students. Buy it now! Theater Game File Viola Spolin The famous Spolin Theater games arranged in a handbook and on index cards for easy reference. Buy it now! Improv! A Handbook for the Actor Greg Atkins Written by a consultant for the television series Whose Line is It Anyway?, this book offers over 150 exercises to help actors liberate spontaneity and think quickly on their feet. Buy it now! The Ultimate Improv Book: A Complete Guide to Comedy Improvisation Edward J. Nevraumont, Nicholas P. Hanson, Kurt Smeaton A how-to book designed to train high school-age improvisers and get them started in improvisational performance, organized into 24, class-length lessons. Buy It Now! Improv Comedy Andy Goldberg A general overview of comedy improvisation as an entertainment medium, including chapters on organizing an improv troupe, putting a show together, finding a performance venue, and contract do's and don'ts. Buy it now! Acting Games: Improvisations and Exercises: A Textbook of Theatre Games and Improvisations Marsh Gary Cassady, Theodore O. Zapel (Editor) Buy it now! The Art of Play: The New Genre of Interactive Theatre Gary Izzo From interactive event shows like Tony and Tina's Wedding, to murder mysteries solved by the audience, improvisation has been blended with environmental theatre and Commedia del Arte to create a new artform which eliminates the barrier between the audience and the actor. The book is a practical guide to creating and performing interactive theatre. Buy it now! Acting Interactive Theatre: A Handbook Gary Izzo A detailed outline of the rehearsal process, with over 150 annotated workshop exercises to aid in the creation of an interactive show. Buy it now! Action Theatre: The Improvisation of Presence Ruth Zaporah The author approaches improvisational theatre from her experience as a dancer and dance teacher, in contrast to the dialog-driven approach of some other improv teachers. Buy it now! Comedy Improvisation: Exercises and Technique for Young Actors Delton T. Horn, Theodore O. Zapel (Editor) Buy it now! The Italian Comedy: The Improvisation, Scenarios, Lives Fred Eggan Commedia Dell'Arte, its structure and its stock characters explored in detail. Buy it now! Commedia Dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook John Rudlin This traditional Italian improvisational theatre form dates from the Renaissance, when troupes of players toured villages and towns throughout western Europe creating improvisational plays. Buy it now! Improvisation Starters: A Collection of 900 Improvisations for the Theater Philip Bernardi A collection of sample plot premises for improv scenes. Buy it now! Improvisations in Creative Drama: A program of Workshops and Dramatic Sketches for Students Betty Keller A program of workshops and dramatic sketches for students. Buy it now! NEW! Acting Out: The Workbook: A Guide to the Development and Presentation of Issue-Oriented and Audience-Interactive, Improvisational Theatre Mario Cossa, Sally S. Fleischmann Ember, Lauren Grover Hazelwood, Sally S. Fleischmann Improvisation can be more than a comedic performance form or a technique for training actors. It can also be used as a counseling and educational tool, allowing young people to act out scenarios from real life, allowing them to address issues of health and personal responsibility. Buy It Now! Mask Improvisation for Actor Training & Performance: The Compelling Image Sears A. Eldredge Many novice performers find masks to be liberating, giving them the freedom to explore character choices that would otherwise embarrass them. Buy it now! Playbuilding: A Guide for Group Creation of Plays With Young People Errol Bray One way to build students' interest in theatre is to let them create their own. Buy it now! Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! BOOKS ABOUT IMPROVISATION COMPANIES THE SECOND CITY AND THE ORIGINS OF IMPROV Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Peter Boyle, Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, John Candy, Martin Short, Gilda Radner, George Wendt, Jim Belushi, Bonnie Hunt, Mike Myers, Ryan Stiles, Rachel Dratch, Nia Vardalos - no other theatre can boast an alumni list of this magnitude. Here is a selection of titles on Chicago's epic theatre troupe and its predecessor, The Compass Players. The Second City Backstage at the World's Greatest Comedy Theatre Sheldon Patinkin (Book with 2 full-length audio CDs) A new and updated history of Chicago's premiere comedy troupe from its origins in 1959 to the present. The CDs feature classic sketches featuring Mike Myers, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and many more. The disks alone are worth the price! Highly Recommended Buy it now! Something Wonderful Right Away Jeffrey Sweet An oral history of The Second City, the Chicago-based theatre that popularized improvisational comedy. There are extensive and exclusive interviews here with Mike Nichols, Barbara Harris (her only full-length interview in more than 25 years), Alan Arkin, Alan Alda, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, David Steinberg, Gilda Radner, Del Close, Severn Darden, Paul Mazursky and the cofounder, Paul Sills. Being a book about people who created classic comedy, it can't help but be funny. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Days and Nights at the Second City: A Memoir, With Notes on Staging Review Theatre Bernard Sahlins, Written by one of three founders (in 1959) of The Second City, doesn't profess to have written a complete history; the memoir half of this book stops in 1985. Those in and around the comedy troupe were political liberals, but they recognized "that the proper target of a satirist is himself and members of his own class." Sahlins recounts how youth culture, a subculture through much of the Sixties, eventually became the popular culture and helped draw The Second City toward mainstream success. The book's second half contains extensive directors' notes: on the characteristics of various types of scenes (blackout, parody, etc.), how to best use minimal props and costumes, how to sequence a show, how to open a scene, and how to fix acting mistakes. Buy It Now! SCTV: Behind the Scenes Dave Thomas, Robert David Crane, Susan Carney, Jonathan Webb (ed.) The inside story of Canada's Second City Television show, which launched the careers of John Candy, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Flaherty, and Andrea Martin. Drawing on the cast of Toronto's Second City troupe, the sketch comedy show was a cult hit for many years. Highly Recommended Buy it now! The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre That Revolutionized American Comedy Janet Coleman In the beginning, there was The Compass. A history of America's first professional improvisational theatre company, which later became Chicago's famed The Second City. Buy it now! THE SECOND WAVE With the success of pioneer companies The Second City and Improv Olympic, a flourishing community of improvisational theatres grew up in Chicago and the artform eventually spread all over the acting world. NEW! The Art of Chicago Improv Rob Kozlowski A newcomer to the field might easily assume that Chicago spawned only two improvisational theatre organizations. Kozlowski corrects that imbalance as he traces the history of improvisational acting in Chicago from the days of Viola Spolin to the appearance of The Compass, The Second City, and today's practitioners. It catalogs the development of the countless troupes that evolved and flourished in the shadow of The Second City and Improv Olympic. Also offers some insight into the nature and structure of long-form improvisation. Buy It Now! Whose Improv Is It, Anyway? Beyond Second City Amy E. Seham Most accounts of improvisational comedy rely on the inspiring story of Chicago's The Second City company, founded in the 1950s, and its many stars. Seham takes a far more sophisticated look at the genre and the history and theory behind it. Her basic point: Chicago-style improv has been dominated both in numbers and in control of content and style by young, white, straight men, which means that it's harder for women and minorities to shape scenes and conjure characters. She tells the story not only of The Second City but of the 1980s groups that succeeded it, like ImprovOlympic and ComedySportz. The latter, she notes, were more committed to improvisation, while The Second City became commercialized and incorporated written sketches. In Chicago, a third wave of improv began in the late 1980s, including the raunchy and outrageous Annoyance Theater, minority groups like Oui Be Negroes, and all-women's groups. Buy It Now! Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! BOOKS ABOUT IMPROVISATIONAL ACTORS & COMEDIANS NEW! Guru: My Days With Del Close Jeff Griggs A profile of genius in decline, this book offers a last look at improvisational guru Del Close, who helped shape the Compass Theatre, The Second City and Improv Olympic, and was mentor (and tormentor) to a whole generation of improv comedians including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chris Farley and Mike Myers. Griggs was a student of Close's and worked for him, helping him with his weekly errands as his health weakened. Close was an innovator, director, acting teacher, social rebel, raging drug addict and truly original thinker who helped give birth to a whole new artform: improvisational theatre. Highly Recommended Buy It Now!Robin Williams A Biography Andy Dougan A biography of one of the most influential comedians of the last twenty years. From his first success on Mork and Mindy, to the manic DJ in Good Morning Vietnam to his seriocomic film roles in The Fisher King and The Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams has brought his unique intelligence and boundless energy to every part he plays. Buy the book now! Jim Carrey: The Joker Is Wild! Martin Knelman The most up-to-date biography of one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Buy the book now! The Jim Carrey Scrapbook Scott Siegel, Barbara Siegel Lavishly illustrated book for Jim Carrey fans of all ages. Buy it now! Laughing On the Outside: The Life of John Candy Martin Knelman The meteoric rise and untimely death of one of our greatest comedic talents. You can also revisit his greatest characters on video with SCTV: The Best of John Candy, the legendary syndicated sketch comedy show which featured Candy and several performers from Toronto's Second City. Buy It Now! Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner, A Sort of Love Story Alan Zweibel In this tender tribute to friendship, Zweibel, one of the original writers on Saturday Night Live, recreates his relationship with the late, great Gilda Radner. Not a conventional biography, the book is actually a play, and Zweibel and Radner are the only two characters. Buy It Now! Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara Jerry Stiller The comedy team of Stiller and Meara was a staple of comedy clubs and TV variety shows in the sixties, and they were among the first of Second City's performers. In more recent years, Jerry Stiller was a regular on Seinfeld, and son Ben Stiller has now forged a career of his own. Buy It Now! Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi Bob Woodward Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward (best known for his Watergate reporting) wrote a controversial book about Saturday Night Live's most controversial star, John Belushi, and the hard-driving, drug-soaked life that ended all too tragically in a hotel room. Based on numerous interviews with those who knew him, it is a searing portrait of a troubled comic genius. Buy It Now! Samurai Widow Judith Jacklin Belushi John Belushi's widow offered a more intimate portrait of the SNL/Second City star, one which offers a welcome and tender contrast with the drug addicted wild man of Woodward's book. Buy It Now! Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! BOOKS ABOUT ACTING METHOD ACTING Constantine Stanislavski co-founded the world-renowned Moscow Art Theatre, and almost single-handedly invented modern acting technique. He discarded the external, imitative acting style of the 19th century, in favor of psychologically real characters developed from the inside out. In his system (often known simply as "The Method"), the actor uses his or her own emotional life and history to create the character, using techniques of emotional and sensory recall. My Life in Art Constantine Stanislavski Stanislavski's autobiography, it traces his life from a privileged childhood, where he indulged in amateur dramatics, to his development of the acting and directing techniques that would make him famous. By the time he died in 1936, he was the head of all Russian theatre, and his system was causing ripples in theatrical communities around the world. Buy it now! Stanislavski's Acting Texts An Actor Prepares Building a Character Creating a Role These three little books revolutionized the acting world when they were published in the 1930's. Written in the style of an actor's diary, Stanislavski walks the reader through the mental preparation of a young actor. Stanislavski assumes the point of view of both the anguished novice actor as well as the veteran director who teaches him. This book and the two titles below have guided generations of actors through the creative process. Acting:The First Six Lessons Richard Boleslavsky Boleslavsky was a colleague of Stanislavski who helped popularize the Method in the United States. An enduring classic for the beginning actor. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Sanford Meisner on Acting Sanford Meisner, Dennis Longwell, forward by Sidney Pollack One of the founding members of the Actors Studio (with Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Harold Clurman), Meisner developed his own special lessons based upon his understandings of the great Russian teacher Stanislavski. Turning away from the sense-memory exercises common among his colleagues, his training focused instead on a realistic approach to imagination and creativity. Unlike many other educators associated with "the Method," Meisner had little tolerance for self-absorption or striving after strong emotional effect, instead preaching that clarity of purpose and efficient use of the psyche are the actor's greatest tools. Buy It Now! A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method Lee Strasberg A book by the leading American interpreter of the Stanislavski Method. Through his Actors Studio school in New York, Strasberg influenced a whole generation of performers including Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe. Buy it now! Acting In Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making Michael Caine There are many other books which deal with the art and psychology of acting. Here, Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine offers a simple, nuts and bolts approach to the technique of acting oncamera. This useful, direct, how-to book for film actors might be subtitled "Film Acting: The First 100 Mistakes and How to Avoid Them." Highly Recommended Buy it now! The Camera Smart Actor (A Career Resource Book) Richard Brestoff Camera Smart provides actors with an exclusive and much needed look at the inner workings of a film set. By following an actor on his first day of work you encounter the jargon, the situations, the people, the failures and successes of a real world camera job. It's the next best thing to being there. This book, written with a rare combination of humor and insight covers all aspects of the camera actor's world including a fascinating look at how the new technologies of video games, CD-ROM movies, interactive multi-media and the 500 channel universe will affect that world. Become camera smart yourself so that when you get the job you'll be ready. Buy it now! Acting for the Camera Tony Barr Culled from Tony Barr's 40 years' experience as a performer, director, and acting teacher in Hollywood, this updated edition of a highly praised handbook includes many new exercises for honing on-camera skills. Inside tips and numerous anecdotes from established actors such as Morgan Freeman and Sir Anthony Hopkins make it essential reading for aspiring actors as well as seasoned stars. Buy it now! Hitting Your Mark: What Every Actor Really Needs to Know on a Hollywood Set Steve Carlson A Hollywood set is the most intimidating place in the world when you don't know what to do, who to ask, or even where to sit. This book, with an actor's point of view, will help you hit the set running as a working professional. Chapters include dealing with the camera, set etiquette, love scenes and more. Buy it now! Respect For Acting Uta Hagen The author is one of the most respected acting teachers in New York, having taught for decades at the famed HB Studios. Highly Recommended Buy it now! A Challenge for the Actor Uta Hagen The grande dame of New York acting offered a new perspective on the field for the 1990's and beyond. Buy it now! The Art of Coarse Acting Michael Green That's "coarse" as opposed to "polished" acting. That's right, this hilarious little book is a manual for bad actors (and even the greatest actors were pretty terrible in the beginning). You'll howl because you'll recognize how true it all is, (and you may blush when you recognize coarse acting tricks in your own repertoire). Based on his years of experience with British community theatre troupes, Green uses humor to show budding actors and directors how to cope with disasters on and offstage, with incompetent acting partners and inept technicians. And there's even a sample coarse acting play (Tis Pity She's the Merry Wife of Henry VI, Part One). A guilty pleasure for all theatre professionals! Highly Recommended Buy it now! No Acting Please Eric Morris One of the most influential of today's acting teachers, Morris is sought after for his intensive acting seminars. He believes the key to successful acting is to break down the actor's inner psychological barriers. Buy it now! Irreverent Acting Eric Morris Buy it now! Being and Doing: A Workbook for Actors Eric Morris Widely used as a college acting textbook. Buy it now! Acting Imaging and the Unconscious Eric Morris Buy it now! Acting From the Ultimate Unconscious Eric Morris Buy it now! Click here to return to the Table of Contents Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! A CAREER IN ACTING Audition Michael Shurtleff If you are serious about the biz, buy this book! The author was one of the first independent casting directors, working for Broadway and Hollywood producers, and helped launch the careers of Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman. His book on audition technique has been in print continuously since 1975. Since you have to understand what the characters want in order to get the job, Shurtleff also offers an excellent system for rapid script analysis, so the book is as an acting text as well as a how-to book on auditions. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Getting the Part: Thirty-Three Professional Casting Directors Tell you How to Get Work Theater, Films, Commercials, and TV Judith Searle Now available in a newly revised edition. Buy it now! An Actor's Guide: Your First Year in Hollywood Michael Saint Nicholas A comprehensive survival guide for the actor trying to make it in Los Angeles. Information on getting agents, getting auditions, even getting an apartment are covered. There are chapters devoted to audition technique and procedures, unions, professional training, and survival jobs for the actor, as well as interviews with industry professionals. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Your Film Acting Career: How to Break Into Movies & TV & Survive in Hollywood M.K. Lewis & Rosemary Lewis Buy it now! How to Be a Working Actor Mari Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers Newly updated in its fourth edition, this classic how-to book now explores the new online media. Buy it now! The Film Actor's Complete Career Guide: A Complete, Step-By-Step Checklist of All the Things Actors Seeking Film Careers Can and Should Do and When Lawrence Parke Buy it now! Hollywood Here I Come: An Insider's Guide to a Successful Acting and Modeling Career Cynthia Hunter Readers will learn: 1. Getting started in your hometown today! 2. How to spot charlatans who want your money, clothes or soul. 3. Special help for parents of child actors. 4. Seven questions for filmmakers, separating the players from the playboys. 5. Is nudity right for you? 6. All tax forms for performing artists. Not only career building and empowering but a treasure chest of 500 telephone numbers never before published. Buy it now! Breaking into Commercials : The Complete Guide to Marketing Yourself, Auditioning to Win, and Getting the Job Terry Berland & Deborah Ouellette The wisdom of a veteran casting director and the viewpoint of a photographer-writer mix well to give newcomers to commercial acting all the how-tos, tips, and references to break in. Here, aspiring actors are walked through every stage of the process, from resume preparation and getting head shots to residual and contract explanations. A good reality check about acting for both kids and adults. Buy it now! Secrets to Auditioning for Commercials Iris Acker Learn how to read a script or a cue card, how to improvise, how to eat & drink on camera, how to deal with rejection, and all about agents, pictures, resumes and much more. This book is based on Iris Acker's popular audition classes, where she shares the secrets that have led to her appearing in over 250 commercials. Buy It Now! Breaking Into Acting For Dummies Larry Garrison & Wallace Wang Provides the expert advice you need to get your big break! From preparing for auditions to finding an agent, the acting business is a challenging and competitive field. This indispensable guide is what every aspiring actor needs to get a foot in the door. Discover how to market yourself, choose a dynamic head shot, create a stellar acting resume, join unions, and pay the bills while you pursue your acting dreams. Covers movies, TV, live theater, voiceover work and more, and shows the novice how to steer clear of the many scams and con artists that plague an industry built on dreams. Buy It Now! NEW! Model and Talent Directory: International Directory of Model & Talent Agencies & Schools Gregory James, Jean Walkinshaw This standard reference covers talent and modelling agencies worldwide, as well as casting directors, modeling schools, scouting agencies. Newly updated for 2004. Buy It Now! Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! VOICE AND SPEECH Dialects can be a vital tool for developing characters, and far too many performances are spoiled because the performer did a dialect "by ear," rather than taking the effort to learn the actual vowel and consonant substitutions. Clear speech and good vocal technique are vital skills for any performing artist. NEW! Voice and Speech in the Theatre Clifford Turner, Malcolm Morrison (ed.) This is an excellent introduction to proper voice technique, emphasizing correct breathing, voice production, articulation, and melody. This is a newly updated edition of the 1950 classic. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Pronouncing Dictionary of American English John Kenyon, Thomas Knott No definitions, just pronunciations rendered in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). An indispensable guide for actors and broadcasters. Highly Recommended Buy it now! English Pronouncing Dictionary Daniel Jones Updated regularly since 1908, this is an authoritative pronunciation guide to the Southern British dialect (also known as Received Pronunciation or BBC Standard). Uses the International Phonetic Alphabet. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Accents: A Manual for Actors Robert Blumenfeld Book and Compact Disk demonstrating dozens of dialects. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Stage Dialects Jerry Blunt Excellent introduction to a wide variety of American and foreign dialects. Uses International Phonetic Alphabet. Highly Recommended Buy it now! American Dialects Lewis Herman, Marguerite Herman Actor's manual of American regional and ethnic dialects, originally compiled in the middle 1940's, rendered in a form of respelling, rather than IPA or Webster's Diacritics. Buy it now! Foreign Dialects Lewis Herman, Marguerite Herman Manual of foreign accents and dialects, including some obscure ones (Pidgin English, for instance). Some of the generalizations about foreigners' character traits are unintentionally hilarious. Buy it now! Dialects for the Stage Evangeline Machlin A manual and two cassette tapes. Buy it now! Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! BOOKS ABOUT THEATRE The Oxford Companion series offers comprehensive general references on everything and everyone involved in the theatre. Theatre professors and serious theatre students should have at least one title in the series. They are ideal starting points for research, and can save you hours of rummaging around in the library or online. The ultimate cheat sheet! The Oxford Companion to American Theatre Gerald Martin Bordman (editor) Fully updated and expanded, this encyclopedic volume is packed with information about the American theatre from its beginnings to the present day. In addition to comprehensive coverage of America's leading actors, playwrights, directors, songwriters, playhouses, and dramatic movements, there are entries on the people and productions from overseas that have helped shape the US stage tradition, most notably Shakespeare, Beckett, and Pinter. There are also summaries of hundreds of celebrated plays as diverse as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cats, The Iceman Cometh, Arsenic and Old Lace, My Fair Lady, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Ranging from Clifford Odets and Lillian Hellman to George Gershwin and Neil Simon, from Florenz Ziegfeld and Mae West to Lee Strasberg and Jessica Tandy, this is the standard one-volume reference for everyone who loves the American stage. Highly Recommended Buy It Now! Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre John Russell Brown (editor) This authoritative and lavishly illustrated new history celebrates the stage's greatest achievements over 4,500 years, from festival performances in ancient Egypt to international, multicultural drama in the late twentieth century. Here are the playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, dramatic movements, and more, accessibly and attractively arranged so that everyone with a passion for the stage can follow the glorious procession of this triumphant art throughout history and across cultures. The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre guides readers through the full spectrum of dramatic representation as well as giving due weight to how the scene backstage evolved through the centuries--the role of musicians, light, sound, and equipment, and the art of set design--and to the crucial role of the audience and critics. Finally, there are stimulating essays on the history of Asian theater and a concluding account of theater since 1970 by editor John Russell Brown that highlights the contributions of our best-loved contemporary playwrights, directors, and lyricists. 592 pages. Highly Recommended Buy It Now! The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre Phyllis Hartnoll, Peter Found (editors) Now completely revised and up to date, this concise version of The Oxford Companion to the Theatre (Fourth Edition) covers all aspects of theatre worldwide and throughout the ages. Readers will find entries on a vast range of theatrical styles, dramatists, performers, and directors, as well as information on theatres, festivals, and such technical topics as lighting, sound, and method acting. The Concise Oxford Companion also provides current entries on people such as Athol Fugard, Anthony Hopkins, Glenda Jackson, Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, Trevor Nunn, Peter O'Toole, Willy Russell, and Stephen Sondheim, as well as up-to-date information on places and companies. With over 2,500 entries, ranging from Laurence Olivier, to the Shubert theatre in New York, to a new entry on Harvey Fierstein, The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre is an indispensable handbook for all enthusiasts of the theatre. Highly Recommended Buy It Now! The Oxford Companion to the Theatre Phyllis Hartnoll (editor) Arranged alphabetically in a dictionary format, it is an amazing resource covering individual actors, designers, and playwrights, as well as theatrical movements, national theater traditions, and famous stages of the world. Illustrated. Highly Recommended Buy it now! Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! BOOKS ON WRITING The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not John Vorhaus A lighthearted but thorough lesson on the structure of comedy, including the development of comedic scripts. Buy it now! Comedy Writing Secrets Melvin Helitzer How to think funny, write funny, act funny and get paid for it. Buy it now! Comedy Writing Step By Step Gene Perret, Carol Burnett (intro.) The author was a veteran joke writer for Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Bill Cosby, Tim Conway, and others. He shows how word association can be used to jump start a gag. Buy it now! Make 'Em Laugh Steve Allen For five decades as a writer, performer, and keen observer of the social scene, Steve Allen looked into every aspect of who's funny, what's funny and why. Now he shares his discoveries in a book designed to help every reader develop his or her unique talent for funniness. Buy It Now! The Comedy Bible: From Stand-Up to Sitcom: The Comedy Writer's Ultimate How-To Guide Judy Carter Using the hands-on workbook format that was so effective in her bestselling first book, Stand-Up Comedy: The Book, Carter offers a series of day-by-day exercises that draw on her many years as a successful stand-up comic and the head of a nationally known comedy school. Also included are practical tips and advice from today's top comedy professionals -- from Bernie Brillstein to Christopher Titus to Richard Lewis. She presents the pros and cons of the various comedy fields -- stand-up, script, speech and joke writing, one-person shows, humor essays -- and shows how to tailor your material for each. She teaches how to find your "authentic" voice -- the true source of comedy. And, perhaps most important, Carter explains how to take a finished product to the next level -- making money -- by pitching it to a buyer and negotiating a contract. Buy It Now! The Power of One Louis E. Catron The best piece of advice to give an ambitious actor is, if nobody else is hiring you, hire yourself! You don't have to start a whole theatre company (though many do). You can create a one-person show, and many famous performers have solo shows that have sustained them for years. Hal Holbrook did Mark Twain for decades, and James Whitmore has done Harry Truman and Teddy Roosevelt. And of course, theatre chameleon Eric Bogosian has built his career on his one-man shows, where he plays many different characters. For those who want to follow this route, Louis Catron shows you step by step how to create a compelling script. Buy It Now! For books on writing for the movies, visit our Filmmaking page! Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Click here for Amazon.com's 100 Hot Books! STAND-UP COMEDY Improvisation is a radically different artform from stand-up comedy, but there are some performers who excel at both. [Improvisation is created on the spot, while a stand-up routine is constructed from prepared monologues.] Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy Greg Dean Essential for the aspiring comic or the working comedian interested in updating his or her comedy routine, Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy is a comprehensive and useful book on the art of the stand-up comedian. Buy It Now! Jerry Seinfeld on Comedy Jerry Seinfeld Not a book but an audio CD of a very serious interview that Seinfeld gave to Larry Wilde where the comedian dissected his approach to creating a stand-up comedy act. Seinfeld describes his own evolution as a comic, the role of quasi-musical elements such as pacing and rhythm in a performance, and many points of technique that comic wannabes will find of interest (it takes him at least half a year to hone a routine into a finished project, he observes). Seinfeld closely links successful humor with logical discipline--needed to trick your audience into believing in the setup--and declares that "laughs contain thought." Buy It Now! How to Be a Working Comic: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Stand-Up Comedy Dave Schwensen The author is the former talent coordinator for A&E's An Evening at the Improv. His book tells you how to get onstage experience, and contact bookers, agents, and managers. He also interviews Drew Carey, Jeff Foxworthy, Rhonda Shear, Bobby Collins, Micky Dolenz, Tommy Smothers, Carrot Top, Jeff Dunham, Dom Irrera, the Amazing Johnathan and more. Buy it now! Stand-Up Comedy: The Book Judy Carter This bestselling workbook for the aspiring stand-up comedian uses a step-by step approach to allow you find your own comic voice. Buy it now! Successful Stand-Up Comedy: Advice From a Comedy Writer Gene Perret Perret has a long comedy career: he wrote material for famous comics, went on to TV writing, and retained a love for stand-up comedy which contributes to this appreciation for the medium and its special challenges. Any would-be comedian will relish the candid advice here: from getting good material to polishing an act, this covers all the basics essential to professional productions. Buy it now! Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy Jay Sankey This unique insider's look explores the finer points of stand-up comedy, including sources for ideas and writing the jokes, taking the stage, delivery and timing, dealing with nerves, breaking in new material, relating to the audience, marketing and self-promotion, and much more. Sankey enriches the understanding of anyone who is thinking about a career in this profession. Much more than a how-to manual, this is the most detailed and comprehensive book on the topic to date. Buy it now! How to Be Funny: Discovering the Comic You Steve Allen, Jane Wollman, Bill Maher Steve Allen was a modern Renaissance man. A successful talk show host, actor, and author, he entertained millions when his groundbreaking TV shows first hit the airwaves in the 1950's, and he remained active as a writer and lecturer until his untimely death in December, 2000. Buy it now! Click here to browse through our Video Catalog! Click here for books on Independent Filmmaking! Click here to see a list of your webmaster's favorite films. Click here to return to the Table of Contents. Didn't find what you were looking for? Don't give up! 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Table of Contents
BOOKS ON IMPROVISATIONAL ACTING
The Essentials
Three books every improvisational actor and director should have.
Improvisation for the Theater
Viola Spolin Improvisation didn't start out as a performance art. It began as a technique to train actors, to get them out of their own heads and force them to connect with other performers onstage. Viola Spolin was the pioneer in the field, and this book is still the "bible" of improv, and the techniques are suitable for performers of all ages and all levels of experience. Now available in a newly updated third edition. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Impro
Keith Johnstone Working independently of Spolin, Keith Johnstone's book added significant insight into personal status relationships as well as free association and imaginative techniques. Johnstone later applied his techniques to create the popular Theatresports franchise. His methods for tapping into creativity are useful for authors as well as actors, and are also well-suited for children. The last several chapters explore acting with masks. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Truth In Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation
Charna Helpern, Del Close, Kim Howard Johnson, and Arthur L. Zapel A guide to long-form improvisations, from the founders of Chicago's ImprovOlympic. The late Del Close was the teacher who inspired John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Mike Myers, among countless others. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
NEW! The Second City Almanac of Improvisation
Anne Libera The Second City Almanac of Improvisation - like the theatre itself - is a collection of diverse ideas, viewpoints, and memories, written by a vast array of teachers, actors, and directors who all got their start at the legendary comedy theatre. Fred Willard recalls his introduction to The Second City style in the mid-Sixties; Tim Kazurinsky gives a hilarious visual demonstration on the art of object work; "Saturday Night Live" star Tina Fey talks about re-improvising material as a mode of writing revue comedy; noted director Mick Napier takes on the thorny debate between long-form improvisation and short-form improvisation. Second City Resident Director Anne Libera guides the reader through each essay by providing a road map for understanding how The Second City method of improv-based comedy has become the industry standard. Highly Recommended Buy It Now!
Theater Games for the Lone Actor
Viola Spolin Aimed at the advanced actor rather than the beginner, this book offers exercises and techniques aimed at benefiting the solitary actor, whether it be onstage, oncamera, or in audition situations. Buy It Now!
Impro for Storytellers
Keith Johnstone This expanded work is a goldmine of techniques for stimulating spontaneity in anyone, whether they are professional actors, non-performers, schoolchildren–anybody! Highly Recommended Buy it now
NEW! Improvise: Scene From the Inside Out
Mick Napier The first really innovative book to hit the improv scene in years, written by one of Chicago's top improv teachers.
Highly Recommended Buy It Now!
Theater Games for Rehearsal
Viola Spolin More exercises aimed at using improvisation as a tool for rehearsing scripted plays. Buy it now!
Theater Games for the Classroom
Viola Spolin Games designed to spark creativity and cooperation in students. Buy it now!
Theater Game File
Viola Spolin The famous Spolin Theater games arranged in a handbook and on index cards for easy reference. Buy it now!
Improv! A Handbook for the Actor
Greg Atkins Written by a consultant for the television series Whose Line is It Anyway?, this book offers over 150 exercises to help actors liberate spontaneity and think quickly on their feet. Buy it now!
The Ultimate Improv Book: A Complete Guide to Comedy Improvisation
Edward J. Nevraumont, Nicholas P. Hanson, Kurt Smeaton A how-to book designed to train high school-age improvisers and get them started in improvisational performance, organized into 24, class-length lessons. Buy It Now!
Improv Comedy
Andy Goldberg A general overview of comedy improvisation as an entertainment medium, including chapters on organizing an improv troupe, putting a show together, finding a performance venue, and contract do's and don'ts. Buy it now!
Acting Games: Improvisations and Exercises: A Textbook of Theatre Games and Improvisations
Marsh Gary Cassady, Theodore O. Zapel (Editor) Buy it now!
The Art of Play: The New Genre of Interactive Theatre
Gary Izzo From interactive event shows like Tony and Tina's Wedding, to murder mysteries solved by the audience, improvisation has been blended with environmental theatre and Commedia del Arte to create a new artform which eliminates the barrier between the audience and the actor. The book is a practical guide to creating and performing interactive theatre. Buy it now!
Acting Interactive Theatre: A Handbook
Gary Izzo A detailed outline of the rehearsal process, with over 150 annotated workshop exercises to aid in the creation of an interactive show. Buy it now!
Action Theatre: The Improvisation of Presence
Ruth Zaporah The author approaches improvisational theatre from her experience as a dancer and dance teacher, in contrast to the dialog-driven approach of some other improv teachers. Buy it now!
Comedy Improvisation: Exercises and Technique for Young Actors
Delton T. Horn, Theodore O. Zapel (Editor) Buy it now!
The Italian Comedy: The Improvisation, Scenarios, Lives
Fred Eggan Commedia Dell'Arte, its structure and its stock characters explored in detail. Buy it now!
Commedia Dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook
John Rudlin This traditional Italian improvisational theatre form dates from the Renaissance, when troupes of players toured villages and towns throughout western Europe creating improvisational plays. Buy it now!
Improvisation Starters: A Collection of 900 Improvisations for the Theater
Philip Bernardi A collection of sample plot premises for improv scenes. Buy it now!
Improvisations in Creative Drama: A program of Workshops and Dramatic Sketches for Students
Betty Keller A program of workshops and dramatic sketches for students. Buy it now!
NEW! Acting Out: The Workbook: A Guide to the Development and Presentation of Issue-Oriented and Audience-Interactive, Improvisational Theatre
Mario Cossa, Sally S. Fleischmann Ember, Lauren Grover Hazelwood, Sally S. Fleischmann Improvisation can be more than a comedic performance form or a technique for training actors. It can also be used as a counseling and educational tool, allowing young people to act out scenarios from real life, allowing them to address issues of health and personal responsibility. Buy It Now!
Mask Improvisation for Actor Training & Performance: The Compelling Image
Sears A. Eldredge Many novice performers find masks to be liberating, giving them the freedom to explore character choices that would otherwise embarrass them. Buy it now!
Playbuilding: A Guide for Group Creation of Plays With Young People
Errol Bray One way to build students' interest in theatre is to let them create their own. Buy it now!
BOOKS ABOUT IMPROVISATION COMPANIES
THE SECOND CITY AND THE ORIGINS OF IMPROV
Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Peter Boyle, Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, John Candy, Martin Short, Gilda Radner, George Wendt, Jim Belushi, Bonnie Hunt, Mike Myers, Ryan Stiles, Rachel Dratch, Nia Vardalos - no other theatre can boast an alumni list of this magnitude. Here is a selection of titles on Chicago's epic theatre troupe and its predecessor, The Compass Players.
Sheldon Patinkin (Book with 2 full-length audio CDs) A new and updated history of Chicago's premiere comedy troupe from its origins in 1959 to the present. The CDs feature classic sketches featuring Mike Myers, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and many more. The disks alone are worth the price! Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Something Wonderful Right Away
Jeffrey Sweet An oral history of The Second City, the Chicago-based theatre that popularized improvisational comedy. There are extensive and exclusive interviews here with Mike Nichols, Barbara Harris (her only full-length interview in more than 25 years), Alan Arkin, Alan Alda, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, David Steinberg, Gilda Radner, Del Close, Severn Darden, Paul Mazursky and the cofounder, Paul Sills. Being a book about people who created classic comedy, it can't help but be funny. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Days and Nights at the Second City: A Memoir, With Notes on Staging Review Theatre
Bernard Sahlins, Written by one of three founders (in 1959) of The Second City, doesn't profess to have written a complete history; the memoir half of this book stops in 1985. Those in and around the comedy troupe were political liberals, but they recognized "that the proper target of a satirist is himself and members of his own class." Sahlins recounts how youth culture, a subculture through much of the Sixties, eventually became the popular culture and helped draw The Second City toward mainstream success. The book's second half contains extensive directors' notes: on the characteristics of various types of scenes (blackout, parody, etc.), how to best use minimal props and costumes, how to sequence a show, how to open a scene, and how to fix acting mistakes. Buy It Now!
SCTV: Behind the Scenes
Dave Thomas, Robert David Crane, Susan Carney, Jonathan Webb (ed.) The inside story of Canada's Second City Television show, which launched the careers of John Candy, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Flaherty, and Andrea Martin. Drawing on the cast of Toronto's Second City troupe, the sketch comedy show was a cult hit for many years. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre That Revolutionized American Comedy
Janet Coleman In the beginning, there was The Compass. A history of America's first professional improvisational theatre company, which later became Chicago's famed The Second City. Buy it now!
THE SECOND WAVE
With the success of pioneer companies The Second City and Improv Olympic, a flourishing community of improvisational theatres grew up in Chicago and the artform eventually spread all over the acting world.
NEW! The Art of Chicago Improv
Rob Kozlowski A newcomer to the field might easily assume that Chicago spawned only two improvisational theatre organizations. Kozlowski corrects that imbalance as he traces the history of improvisational acting in Chicago from the days of Viola Spolin to the appearance of The Compass, The Second City, and today's practitioners. It catalogs the development of the countless troupes that evolved and flourished in the shadow of The Second City and Improv Olympic. Also offers some insight into the nature and structure of long-form improvisation. Buy It Now!
Whose Improv Is It, Anyway? Beyond Second City
Amy E. Seham Most accounts of improvisational comedy rely on the inspiring story of Chicago's The Second City company, founded in the 1950s, and its many stars. Seham takes a far more sophisticated look at the genre and the history and theory behind it. Her basic point: Chicago-style improv has been dominated both in numbers and in control of content and style by young, white, straight men, which means that it's harder for women and minorities to shape scenes and conjure characters. She tells the story not only of The Second City but of the 1980s groups that succeeded it, like ImprovOlympic and ComedySportz. The latter, she notes, were more committed to improvisation, while The Second City became commercialized and incorporated written sketches. In Chicago, a third wave of improv began in the late 1980s, including the raunchy and outrageous Annoyance Theater, minority groups like Oui Be Negroes, and all-women's groups. Buy It Now!
BOOKS ABOUT IMPROVISATIONAL ACTORS & COMEDIANS NEW! Guru: My Days With Del Close Jeff Griggs A profile of genius in decline, this book offers a last look at improvisational guru Del Close, who helped shape the Compass Theatre, The Second City and Improv Olympic, and was mentor (and tormentor) to a whole generation of improv comedians including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chris Farley and Mike Myers. Griggs was a student of Close's and worked for him, helping him with his weekly errands as his health weakened. Close was an innovator, director, acting teacher, social rebel, raging drug addict and truly original thinker who helped give birth to a whole new artform: improvisational theatre. Highly Recommended Buy It Now!Robin Williams A Biography
Jeff Griggs A profile of genius in decline, this book offers a last look at improvisational guru Del Close, who helped shape the Compass Theatre, The Second City and Improv Olympic, and was mentor (and tormentor) to a whole generation of improv comedians including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chris Farley and Mike Myers. Griggs was a student of Close's and worked for him, helping him with his weekly errands as his health weakened. Close was an innovator, director, acting teacher, social rebel, raging drug addict and truly original thinker who helped give birth to a whole new artform: improvisational theatre. Highly Recommended Buy It Now!
Andy Dougan A biography of one of the most influential comedians of the last twenty years. From his first success on Mork and Mindy, to the manic DJ in Good Morning Vietnam to his seriocomic film roles in The Fisher King and The Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams has brought his unique intelligence and boundless energy to every part he plays. Buy the book now!
Jim Carrey: The Joker Is Wild! Martin Knelman The most up-to-date biography of one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Buy the book now!
The Jim Carrey Scrapbook
Scott Siegel, Barbara Siegel Lavishly illustrated book for Jim Carrey fans of all ages. Buy it now!
Laughing On the Outside: The Life of John Candy
Martin Knelman The meteoric rise and untimely death of one of our greatest comedic talents. You can also revisit his greatest characters on video with SCTV: The Best of John Candy, the legendary syndicated sketch comedy show which featured Candy and several performers from Toronto's Second City. Buy It Now!
Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner, A Sort of Love Story
Alan Zweibel In this tender tribute to friendship, Zweibel, one of the original writers on Saturday Night Live, recreates his relationship with the late, great Gilda Radner. Not a conventional biography, the book is actually a play, and Zweibel and Radner are the only two characters. Buy It Now!
Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara
Jerry Stiller The comedy team of Stiller and Meara was a staple of comedy clubs and TV variety shows in the sixties, and they were among the first of Second City's performers. In more recent years, Jerry Stiller was a regular on Seinfeld, and son Ben Stiller has now forged a career of his own. Buy It Now!
Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi
Bob Woodward Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward (best known for his Watergate reporting) wrote a controversial book about Saturday Night Live's most controversial star, John Belushi, and the hard-driving, drug-soaked life that ended all too tragically in a hotel room. Based on numerous interviews with those who knew him, it is a searing portrait of a troubled comic genius. Buy It Now!
Samurai Widow
Judith Jacklin Belushi John Belushi's widow offered a more intimate portrait of the SNL/Second City star, one which offers a welcome and tender contrast with the drug addicted wild man of Woodward's book. Buy It Now!
BOOKS ABOUT ACTING
METHOD ACTING
Constantine Stanislavski co-founded the world-renowned Moscow Art Theatre, and almost single-handedly invented modern acting technique. He discarded the external, imitative acting style of the 19th century, in favor of psychologically real characters developed from the inside out. In his system (often known simply as "The Method"), the actor uses his or her own emotional life and history to create the character, using techniques of emotional and sensory recall.
Constantine Stanislavski
Stanislavski's autobiography, it traces his life from a privileged childhood, where he indulged in amateur dramatics, to his development of the acting and directing techniques that would make him famous. By the time he died in 1936, he was the head of all Russian theatre, and his system was causing ripples in theatrical communities around the world.
Buy it now!
These three little books revolutionized the acting world when they were published in the 1930's. Written in the style of an actor's diary, Stanislavski walks the reader through the mental preparation of a young actor. Stanislavski assumes the point of view of both the anguished novice actor as well as the veteran director who teaches him. This book and the two titles below have guided generations of actors through the creative process.
Acting:The First Six Lessons
Richard Boleslavsky Boleslavsky was a colleague of Stanislavski who helped popularize the Method in the United States. An enduring classic for the beginning actor. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Sanford Meisner on Acting
Sanford Meisner, Dennis Longwell, forward by Sidney Pollack One of the founding members of the Actors Studio (with Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Harold Clurman), Meisner developed his own special lessons based upon his understandings of the great Russian teacher Stanislavski. Turning away from the sense-memory exercises common among his colleagues, his training focused instead on a realistic approach to imagination and creativity. Unlike many other educators associated with "the Method," Meisner had little tolerance for self-absorption or striving after strong emotional effect, instead preaching that clarity of purpose and efficient use of the psyche are the actor's greatest tools. Buy It Now!
A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method
Lee Strasberg A book by the leading American interpreter of the Stanislavski Method. Through his Actors Studio school in New York, Strasberg influenced a whole generation of performers including Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe. Buy it now!
Acting In Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making
Michael Caine There are many other books which deal with the art and psychology of acting. Here, Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine offers a simple, nuts and bolts approach to the technique of acting oncamera. This useful, direct, how-to book for film actors might be subtitled "Film Acting: The First 100 Mistakes and How to Avoid Them." Highly Recommended Buy it now!
The Camera Smart Actor (A Career Resource Book)
Richard Brestoff Camera Smart provides actors with an exclusive and much needed look at the inner workings of a film set. By following an actor on his first day of work you encounter the jargon, the situations, the people, the failures and successes of a real world camera job. It's the next best thing to being there. This book, written with a rare combination of humor and insight covers all aspects of the camera actor's world including a fascinating look at how the new technologies of video games, CD-ROM movies, interactive multi-media and the 500 channel universe will affect that world. Become camera smart yourself so that when you get the job you'll be ready. Buy it now!
Acting for the Camera
Tony Barr Culled from Tony Barr's 40 years' experience as a performer, director, and acting teacher in Hollywood, this updated edition of a highly praised handbook includes many new exercises for honing on-camera skills. Inside tips and numerous anecdotes from established actors such as Morgan Freeman and Sir Anthony Hopkins make it essential reading for aspiring actors as well as seasoned stars. Buy it now!
Hitting Your Mark: What Every Actor Really Needs to Know on a Hollywood Set
Steve Carlson A Hollywood set is the most intimidating place in the world when you don't know what to do, who to ask, or even where to sit. This book, with an actor's point of view, will help you hit the set running as a working professional. Chapters include dealing with the camera, set etiquette, love scenes and more. Buy it now!
Respect For Acting
Uta Hagen The author is one of the most respected acting teachers in New York, having taught for decades at the famed HB Studios. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
A Challenge for the Actor
Uta Hagen The grande dame of New York acting offered a new perspective on the field for the 1990's and beyond. Buy it now!
The Art of Coarse Acting
Michael Green That's "coarse" as opposed to "polished" acting. That's right, this hilarious little book is a manual for bad actors (and even the greatest actors were pretty terrible in the beginning). You'll howl because you'll recognize how true it all is, (and you may blush when you recognize coarse acting tricks in your own repertoire). Based on his years of experience with British community theatre troupes, Green uses humor to show budding actors and directors how to cope with disasters on and offstage, with incompetent acting partners and inept technicians. And there's even a sample coarse acting play (Tis Pity She's the Merry Wife of Henry VI, Part One). A guilty pleasure for all theatre professionals! Highly Recommended Buy it now!
No Acting Please
Eric Morris One of the most influential of today's acting teachers, Morris is sought after for his intensive acting seminars. He believes the key to successful acting is to break down the actor's inner psychological barriers. Buy it now!
Irreverent Acting
Eric Morris Buy it now!
Being and Doing: A Workbook for Actors
Eric Morris Widely used as a college acting textbook. Buy it now!
Acting Imaging and the Unconscious
Acting From the Ultimate Unconscious
A CAREER IN ACTING
Getting the Part: Thirty-Three Professional Casting Directors Tell you How to Get Work Theater, Films, Commercials, and TV
Judith Searle Now available in a newly revised edition. Buy it now!
An Actor's Guide: Your First Year in Hollywood
Michael Saint Nicholas A comprehensive survival guide for the actor trying to make it in Los Angeles. Information on getting agents, getting auditions, even getting an apartment are covered. There are chapters devoted to audition technique and procedures, unions, professional training, and survival jobs for the actor, as well as interviews with industry professionals. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Your Film Acting Career: How to Break Into Movies & TV & Survive in Hollywood
M.K. Lewis & Rosemary Lewis Buy it now!
How to Be a Working Actor
Mari Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers Newly updated in its fourth edition, this classic how-to book now explores the new online media. Buy it now!
The Film Actor's Complete Career Guide: A Complete, Step-By-Step Checklist of All the Things Actors Seeking Film Careers Can and Should Do and When
Lawrence Parke Buy it now!
Hollywood Here I Come: An Insider's Guide to a Successful Acting and Modeling Career
Cynthia Hunter Readers will learn: 1. Getting started in your hometown today! 2. How to spot charlatans who want your money, clothes or soul. 3. Special help for parents of child actors. 4. Seven questions for filmmakers, separating the players from the playboys. 5. Is nudity right for you? 6. All tax forms for performing artists. Not only career building and empowering but a treasure chest of 500 telephone numbers never before published. Buy it now!
Breaking into Commercials : The Complete Guide to Marketing Yourself, Auditioning to Win, and Getting the Job
Terry Berland & Deborah Ouellette The wisdom of a veteran casting director and the viewpoint of a photographer-writer mix well to give newcomers to commercial acting all the how-tos, tips, and references to break in. Here, aspiring actors are walked through every stage of the process, from resume preparation and getting head shots to residual and contract explanations. A good reality check about acting for both kids and adults. Buy it now!
Secrets to Auditioning for Commercials
Iris Acker Learn how to read a script or a cue card, how to improvise, how to eat & drink on camera, how to deal with rejection, and all about agents, pictures, resumes and much more. This book is based on Iris Acker's popular audition classes, where she shares the secrets that have led to her appearing in over 250 commercials. Buy It Now!
Breaking Into Acting For Dummies
Larry Garrison & Wallace Wang Provides the expert advice you need to get your big break! From preparing for auditions to finding an agent, the acting business is a challenging and competitive field. This indispensable guide is what every aspiring actor needs to get a foot in the door. Discover how to market yourself, choose a dynamic head shot, create a stellar acting resume, join unions, and pay the bills while you pursue your acting dreams. Covers movies, TV, live theater, voiceover work and more, and shows the novice how to steer clear of the many scams and con artists that plague an industry built on dreams. Buy It Now!
NEW! Model and Talent Directory: International Directory of Model & Talent Agencies & Schools Gregory James, Jean Walkinshaw This standard reference covers talent and modelling agencies worldwide, as well as casting directors, modeling schools, scouting agencies. Newly updated for 2004. Buy It Now!
VOICE AND SPEECH
Dialects can be a vital tool for developing characters, and far too many performances are spoiled because the performer did a dialect "by ear," rather than taking the effort to learn the actual vowel and consonant substitutions. Clear speech and good vocal technique are vital skills for any performing artist.
NEW! Voice and Speech in the Theatre
Clifford Turner, Malcolm Morrison (ed.) This is an excellent introduction to proper voice technique, emphasizing correct breathing, voice production, articulation, and melody. This is a newly updated edition of the 1950 classic. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Pronouncing Dictionary of American English
John Kenyon, Thomas Knott No definitions, just pronunciations rendered in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). An indispensable guide for actors and broadcasters. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
English Pronouncing Dictionary
Daniel Jones Updated regularly since 1908, this is an authoritative pronunciation guide to the Southern British dialect (also known as Received Pronunciation or BBC Standard). Uses the International Phonetic Alphabet. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Accents: A Manual for Actors
Robert Blumenfeld Book and Compact Disk demonstrating dozens of dialects. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
Stage Dialects
Jerry Blunt Excellent introduction to a wide variety of American and foreign dialects. Uses International Phonetic Alphabet. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
American Dialects
Lewis Herman, Marguerite Herman Actor's manual of American regional and ethnic dialects, originally compiled in the middle 1940's, rendered in a form of respelling, rather than IPA or Webster's Diacritics. Buy it now!
Foreign Dialects
Lewis Herman, Marguerite Herman Manual of foreign accents and dialects, including some obscure ones (Pidgin English, for instance). Some of the generalizations about foreigners' character traits are unintentionally hilarious. Buy it now!
Dialects for the Stage
Evangeline Machlin A manual and two cassette tapes. Buy it now!
BOOKS ABOUT THEATRE
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
Gerald Martin Bordman (editor) Fully updated and expanded, this encyclopedic volume is packed with information about the American theatre from its beginnings to the present day. In addition to comprehensive coverage of America's leading actors, playwrights, directors, songwriters, playhouses, and dramatic movements, there are entries on the people and productions from overseas that have helped shape the US stage tradition, most notably Shakespeare, Beckett, and Pinter. There are also summaries of hundreds of celebrated plays as diverse as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cats, The Iceman Cometh, Arsenic and Old Lace, My Fair Lady, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Ranging from Clifford Odets and Lillian Hellman to George Gershwin and Neil Simon, from Florenz Ziegfeld and Mae West to Lee Strasberg and Jessica Tandy, this is the standard one-volume reference for everyone who loves the American stage. Highly Recommended Buy It Now! Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre John Russell Brown (editor) This authoritative and lavishly illustrated new history celebrates the stage's greatest achievements over 4,500 years, from festival performances in ancient Egypt to international, multicultural drama in the late twentieth century. Here are the playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, dramatic movements, and more, accessibly and attractively arranged so that everyone with a passion for the stage can follow the glorious procession of this triumphant art throughout history and across cultures. The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre guides readers through the full spectrum of dramatic representation as well as giving due weight to how the scene backstage evolved through the centuries--the role of musicians, light, sound, and equipment, and the art of set design--and to the crucial role of the audience and critics. Finally, there are stimulating essays on the history of Asian theater and a concluding account of theater since 1970 by editor John Russell Brown that highlights the contributions of our best-loved contemporary playwrights, directors, and lyricists. 592 pages. Highly Recommended Buy It Now!
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre
Phyllis Hartnoll, Peter Found (editors) Now completely revised and up to date, this concise version of The Oxford Companion to the Theatre (Fourth Edition) covers all aspects of theatre worldwide and throughout the ages. Readers will find entries on a vast range of theatrical styles, dramatists, performers, and directors, as well as information on theatres, festivals, and such technical topics as lighting, sound, and method acting. The Concise Oxford Companion also provides current entries on people such as Athol Fugard, Anthony Hopkins, Glenda Jackson, Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, Trevor Nunn, Peter O'Toole, Willy Russell, and Stephen Sondheim, as well as up-to-date information on places and companies. With over 2,500 entries, ranging from Laurence Olivier, to the Shubert theatre in New York, to a new entry on Harvey Fierstein, The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre is an indispensable handbook for all enthusiasts of the theatre. Highly Recommended Buy It Now!
The Oxford Companion to the Theatre
Phyllis Hartnoll (editor) Arranged alphabetically in a dictionary format, it is an amazing resource covering individual actors, designers, and playwrights, as well as theatrical movements, national theater traditions, and famous stages of the world. Illustrated. Highly Recommended Buy it now!
BOOKS ON WRITING
The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not
John Vorhaus A lighthearted but thorough lesson on the structure of comedy, including the development of comedic scripts. Buy it now!
Comedy Writing Secrets
Melvin Helitzer How to think funny, write funny, act funny and get paid for it. Buy it now!
Comedy Writing Step By Step
Gene Perret, Carol Burnett (intro.) The author was a veteran joke writer for Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Bill Cosby, Tim Conway, and others. He shows how word association can be used to jump start a gag. Buy it now!
Make 'Em Laugh
Steve Allen For five decades as a writer, performer, and keen observer of the social scene, Steve Allen looked into every aspect of who's funny, what's funny and why. Now he shares his discoveries in a book designed to help every reader develop his or her unique talent for funniness. Buy It Now!
The Comedy Bible: From Stand-Up to Sitcom: The Comedy Writer's Ultimate How-To Guide
Judy Carter Using the hands-on workbook format that was so effective in her bestselling first book, Stand-Up Comedy: The Book, Carter offers a series of day-by-day exercises that draw on her many years as a successful stand-up comic and the head of a nationally known comedy school. Also included are practical tips and advice from today's top comedy professionals -- from Bernie Brillstein to Christopher Titus to Richard Lewis. She presents the pros and cons of the various comedy fields -- stand-up, script, speech and joke writing, one-person shows, humor essays -- and shows how to tailor your material for each. She teaches how to find your "authentic" voice -- the true source of comedy. And, perhaps most important, Carter explains how to take a finished product to the next level -- making money -- by pitching it to a buyer and negotiating a contract. Buy It Now!
The Power of One
Louis E. Catron The best piece of advice to give an ambitious actor is, if nobody else is hiring you, hire yourself! You don't have to start a whole theatre company (though many do). You can create a one-person show, and many famous performers have solo shows that have sustained them for years. Hal Holbrook did Mark Twain for decades, and James Whitmore has done Harry Truman and Teddy Roosevelt. And of course, theatre chameleon Eric Bogosian has built his career on his one-man shows, where he plays many different characters. For those who want to follow this route, Louis Catron shows you step by step how to create a compelling script. Buy It Now!
STAND-UP COMEDY
Improvisation is a radically different artform from stand-up comedy, but there are some performers who excel at both. [Improvisation is created on the spot, while a stand-up routine is constructed from prepared monologues.] Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy
Greg Dean Essential for the aspiring comic or the working comedian interested in updating his or her comedy routine, Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy is a comprehensive and useful book on the art of the stand-up comedian. Buy It Now!
Jerry Seinfeld on Comedy
Jerry Seinfeld Not a book but an audio CD of a very serious interview that Seinfeld gave to Larry Wilde where the comedian dissected his approach to creating a stand-up comedy act. Seinfeld describes his own evolution as a comic, the role of quasi-musical elements such as pacing and rhythm in a performance, and many points of technique that comic wannabes will find of interest (it takes him at least half a year to hone a routine into a finished project, he observes). Seinfeld closely links successful humor with logical discipline--needed to trick your audience into believing in the setup--and declares that "laughs contain thought." Buy It Now!
How to Be a Working Comic: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Stand-Up Comedy
Dave Schwensen The author is the former talent coordinator for A&E's An Evening at the Improv. His book tells you how to get onstage experience, and contact bookers, agents, and managers. He also interviews Drew Carey, Jeff Foxworthy, Rhonda Shear, Bobby Collins, Micky Dolenz, Tommy Smothers, Carrot Top, Jeff Dunham, Dom Irrera, the Amazing Johnathan and more. Buy it now!
Stand-Up Comedy: The Book
Judy Carter This bestselling workbook for the aspiring stand-up comedian uses a step-by step approach to allow you find your own comic voice. Buy it now!
Successful Stand-Up Comedy: Advice From a Comedy Writer
Gene Perret Perret has a long comedy career: he wrote material for famous comics, went on to TV writing, and retained a love for stand-up comedy which contributes to this appreciation for the medium and its special challenges. Any would-be comedian will relish the candid advice here: from getting good material to polishing an act, this covers all the basics essential to professional productions. Buy it now!
Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy
Jay Sankey This unique insider's look explores the finer points of stand-up comedy, including sources for ideas and writing the jokes, taking the stage, delivery and timing, dealing with nerves, breaking in new material, relating to the audience, marketing and self-promotion, and much more. Sankey enriches the understanding of anyone who is thinking about a career in this profession. Much more than a how-to manual, this is the most detailed and comprehensive book on the topic to date. Buy it now!
How to Be Funny: Discovering the Comic You
Steve Allen, Jane Wollman, Bill Maher Steve Allen was a modern Renaissance man. A successful talk show host, actor, and author, he entertained millions when his groundbreaking TV shows first hit the airwaves in the 1950's, and he remained active as a writer and lecturer until his untimely death in December, 2000. Buy it now!
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