If you want to act—and make a living at it—but don't know where to begin, here are six books that will start you off in the right direction (no matter what direction you're coming from or going in). Many of them are interactive, with assignments and exercises that will guide readers to personal and professional breakthroughs. All of them will propel you to pursue your chosen profession in new and intriguing ways.
Those familiar black-and-yellow "Dummies" reference books "for the rest of us" have finally gotten around to covering a topic near and dear to our performing careers. Breaking Into Acting for Dummies is chockfull of info about the biz, touching on everything from resumes and auditions to landing a job and managing your money. Whether you are aiming for employment in film, television, theatre, commercials, voice-overs, or even extra work, this guide offers advice, examples, addresses, and anecdotes that will lead you to your dream job.
Authors Larry Garrison (producer-actor) and Wallace Wang (standup comedian) explain almost every facet of the industry, from the preparation involved to the pitfalls that can occur. If you want to know what it's like on a typical day on the set, or how to spot con artists looking to charge you for worthless services, you'll find the details here. The easy-to-read formula of the "Dummies" series, and the sly sense of humor that the writers sneak in every once in a while, make this book both informative and enjoyable.
Aspiring performers who are thinking about moving to the West Coast to find work in Hollywood will benefit from packing Twelve Step Plan to Becoming an Actor in L.A. in their suitcase. In addition to specific people, places, and things to look up in Los Angeles, this book also offers questions, worksheets, charts, and lists that provide motivation and inspiration to keep moving closer to your career goals.
Both of the authors have years of experience working in the Los Angeles milieu. Dawn Lerman is an actress-producer-writer-drama therapist. Dori Keller is a stage and screen actor as well as a casting director. Although they came to Tinseltown from different backgrounds, they found a common dilemma once they arrived there—the difficulty of surviving and thriving while pursuing an artistic career in L.A.
Luckily for themselves (and readers of their book), they were able to recognize the challenges inherent in the process and discover realistic solutions to overcome these challenges. The 12 sections cover the first year of the actor's journey, with month-by-month checkpoints that will clearly gauge the reader's progress. The secrets of inventing yourself, doing successful mailings, and handling callbacks are just some of the topics explored. From audition information grids and tax worksheets to "Theatre Companies We Really Like" and "Great Places to Network," the duo spells everything out in a way that's simple to follow and also simple to follow-through.
A more cerebral approach to acting can be found in Declan Donnellan's The Actor and the Target. Delving into the gray area of a performer's thought process, the book dissects each choice one can make while forming a character. In addition, the process eliminates the many "blocks" that actors confront while in rehearsal for a part—from "I don't know what I want" and "I don't know who I am" to "I don't know how I should move" and "I don't know what I'm playing." By pinpointing what is at stake and what is the specific target, the author—who has worked extensively in British, Russian, and American venues—raises exciting, revealing questions that performers can ask themselves while inventing a stage or screen persona.
Throughout the book, Donnellan offers the example of a young performer's multiple paths to tackling the role of Shakespeare's complex heroine Juliet. This practical application is helpful and allows one to envision exactly how the suggestions can be applied. Also featured are seven "uncomfortable choices" that will really make readers think, shedding light on the differences between such aspects as concentration and attention, faith and certainty.
Author Kathryn Marie Bild maps out an alternative way to achieving your career goals in Acting from a Spiritual Perspective. A teacher at the New York Film Academy, Bild is also a writer, director, actor, and coach, as well as a Grammy-winning producer. Her book is filled with imaginative tips, tasks, warm-ups, and follow-ups for actors that will test their talents and evaluate their expectations.
Bild takes performers on a tour through all the aspects of the business, with constructive comments on streamlining resumes, soliciting representation, defining character, and determining castability. Her upbeat advice will lead performers to feeling better about themselves while getting a handle on the necessities of being a working actor. A chapter devoted to fending off stage fright is particularly illuminating and useful. By facing your prospects with both an assertive attitude and reasonable expectations, as suggested in this book, you can be both safeguarded and satisfied in your career as an actor.
Sometimes one can learn more about acting by looking at it from the opposite direction—through the eyes of the director. That is the outcome of reading Notes on Directing, a thin but thorough tome by British director Frank Hauser and his American apprentice Russell Reich. Yes, it is an indispensable resource for anyone faced with staging a theatre project, and a straightforward glimpse into the art of playmaking. But it also lets actors in on what is expected of them and how they can more effectively take direction, by giving them insights into what the director thinks and sees.
This book is set up in sequential order, from casting to first read-through, all the way up to the moment the curtain rises and beyond. If you don't know what the director is getting at with a particular note, if you don't know the importance of thanking the stage manager, if you don't know how to recreate that hilarious bit of business after opening night, then this is the book for you. Only by understanding what is being asked of you can you fully comprehend what you are supposed to be giving. Who knows, maybe it will also lead you into a new career choice—directing your own plays.
Another work that attempts to demystify this symbiotic bond between stager and performer is Friendly Enemies—Maximizing the Director-Actor Relationship. If there is one person whom an actor can rely on besides him or herself to construct a credible character (and hopefully catapult a career), it's a good director. Author Delia Salvi has worked on both sides of the curtain, and currently teaches at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. She breaks down the process from the director's point of view in a comprehensive guide that covers a wide spectrum of subjects, including blocking, beats, back stories, and physical and mental exercises.
Interviews with industry experts such as Mark Rydell, Geena Davis, Todd Holland, and Brad Silberling are both entertaining and educational. A section that analyzes how a director examines and envisions a script (in this case, the classic film "On the Waterfront") displays how a director's interpretations can immeasurably shape a performance.