Recommended Reading: Theatre/Film

(See my Recommended Fiction here, and my Recommended Non-Fiction here. These are not static lists. I already want to go into these two and add stuff, take stuff away. But so be it.)

Theatre/film a huge genre, obviously, and there are many different components – actual training books for actors, biographies of famous writers and actors and directors – books written by film directors …

I decided not to differentiate and put all of my favorites together in one list.

My criteria?

That the books on the list have helped me to grow as an artist. That the books on the list gave me insights, or lessons which I have found applicable in the every-day life of being an actress. That the books on the list are damn good reads. Because acting books can be really boring, or theoretical – like any genre geared towards a specific discipline.

There are books on this list which I have not only enjoyed, but which have changed the course of my life.

A high bar? Yes. As it should be.

So. Here we go. The books are not in any particular order – it is a mish-mash. I will feel free to add to this list later, if I find that I have forgotten some.

Recommended Reading: Theatre/Film

1. Conversations with Billy Wilder

This book is a goldmine. Cameron Crowe, director of Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous (a major talent, obviously) basically bent the 90-something arm of Billy Wilder (director of more classic movies than can even be listed here) – to have long conversations about each and every one of his films.

My favorite (and semi-autistic thing) to do is rent a Wilder film (or to watch the ones I already own, like Some Like it Hot) – read the sections having to do with this film, and then sit down and watch it. In AWE. Seeing HOW he put it all together – knowing the stories behind the film – how insecure Fred MacMurray was when he got the part in Double Indemnity – when he finally accepted the role, after hemming and hawing, he took Billy Wilder and said, “You must PROMISE me to tell me when I’m bad.”

The conversations Cameron Crowe has with Wilder are not ironed out, or edited. We get to see when Wilder has had enough, saying stuff to Crowe like, “Okay, I’m tired. Leave now.” And Cameron Crowe asks the most detailed questions – asking for shot-by-shot analysis at times.

And the stories from Wilder – about Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, Walter Matthau, Kirk Douglas, Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray – it is juicy juicy stuff. I mean – this man directed Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, Double FREAKIN’ Indemnity, Witness for the Prosecution, Sunset Boulevard, Sabrina … and a ton of others. Truly, there were giants in those days.

The book is gorgeously put together as well – glossy pages, with movie stills, great photos of Wilder whispering in Marilyn Monroe’s ear, or showing Jack Lemmon how to tango for that hilarious scene in Some Like It Hot … I recently watched this movie again for the 700th time, and I laughed JUST as hard during that tango scene as I had the first time I saw it. When the couple whips around so that Lemmon (in drag) is facing the camera, and he has the rose in his teeth – with these dead serious eyes – I crack UP every time.

At the end of the book, Billy Wilder, who wrote most of his own screenplays, gives his own list of Suggestions for Writers. Here is my favorite suggestion, one I reference time and time and time again in my own work:

“If something’s not right in the third act, then look for the problem in the first act.”

Brilliant man. A great book, a great tribute. And it makes me love Cameron Crowe even more.

2. Acting in Film, by Michael Caine

A laugh-out-loud funny book. If you have ever watched Michael Caine accept one of the numerous acting awards he has in his pocket, you will not be surprised at the hilarity. The man is a legend in Hollywood for very good reason: He makes brilliant art-house films, he makes Hannah and her Sisters, and then he turns around and makes Jaws 3-D. To him: work is work. And that is the most admirable thing about him.

He chooses his jobs based on the weather of the location where they will be shooting. One of my favorite quotes from the book is:

“I close the script very quickly if the first sentence is: “Alaska. Our hero is seen struggling through a blizzard”.

This is a book which became an instant classic upon its publication amongst teachers and students, and for very good reason. It is a Master Class in the art of film-acting. A lot of the book is practical advice. Seemingly simple and obvious, but you would be surprised. The first time I did a film, one of the crew guys came over to me on a coffee break and said, “It is so refreshing to work with actors who … come in prepared.” This shocked me, since I’m a preparation freak – but I appreciated the compliment – and I realized something: “Huh. There are a lot of boneheads out there who are working. Maybe I have a shot.” So Michael Caine focuses a lot on being an autonomous professional, like: “Know your lines. Do NOT do your own stunts. Take a walk through the set before they begin shooting.”

One of the great tips in the book (which I have used) is: “During a close-up, don’t blink.” May seem simplistic – but it is essential. You lose all your power if you blink. And not only that, but: the audience relates to actors through the eyes. More so in film than in theatre. And the great movie stars, the ones who don’t even seem like actors, they seem more to be part of some collective unconscious, categorically DO NOT BLINK THEIR EYES during close-up.

Michael Caine doles out his tips for how to act in film by telling stories from his own life. Most of them hilarious, things I will never forget.

Maybe someday I’ll do a compilation of anecdotes from that book.

If you ever find yourself doing a film, or if you are an actor who wants to get into film, then you have NO business not reading this book.

3. Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov

This book is definitely for people already immersed in the world of the theatre. It’s not a beginner’s book. It’s also a wee bit obsessive. Hence – I LOVE this book.

Stella Adler was one of the most famous stage actresses during the 1920s and 1930s – she came out of the vibrant Yiddish theatre tradition in lower Manhattan, and was one of the founding members of the Group Theatre. If you don’t know what the Group Theatre is … well, there will be a book later down this list for you.

Stella Adler eventually became one of America’s premiere acting teachers, and opened up a studio in New York, which still exists.

She was, by all accounts, a piece of work. With her fake eyelashes, and apartment full of crystal and pug dogs, and her bleached blonde do, etc. And a genius with actors. Nobody has a bad word to say about her. Robert DeNiro credits HER with making him into an actor, with believing in him. The list of other actors like that whom she trained and influenced is endless.

But anyway, this book came out recently, and it is a compilation of Adler’s lectures on the three playwrights: Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov.

The interesting thing about Stella, as a teacher, is that she, unlike other Group Theatre founding members who became teachers (like Sandy Meisner, Lee Strasberg) did not have a set SYSTEM – she did not think that there was one way to be good as an actor, or one way to train an actor. Since she had been such an amazing actress herself, her advice for actors is very different. Very passionate, not as articulate perhaps, but completely coming from her gut.

If you want to understand script analysis – then Stella Adler is your gal. Stella Adler’s true genius lay in script analysis. I am sorry that she died before I could take her class in script break-down.

But these collected lectures are the next best thing.

I’ve worked on Chekhov, I’ve worked on Ibsen, I’ve worked on Strindberg – and these deeply impassioned fantastic lectures MOVE me to WORK.

That’s what you want, in acting books, by the way. You want them to move you to get up and DO.

This book is a prime example. I can barely finish the chapter on Uncle Vanya before I want to leap up and try it myself.

4. Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet

Another classic. This book, written by the (once-great, in my opinion) Sidney Lumet, is geared more towards directors of films, but actors can get so much out of it too.

As the man whose FIRST FILM WAS 12 ANGRY MEN (he was such a damn prodigy) – he has a lot to offer, so many great stories – and a lot of terrific practical advice – down to how to work with the Director of Photography, how to work with different camera stops, how to cajole the Teamsters, even … and also – how to deal with big massive stars like Katherine Hepburn, who are, quite rightly, out to test you on the first day. Out to see for themselves: Who is going to be in charge here, you or me?

His stories about Katherine Hepburn bring tears to my eyes just thinking about them, sitting here at my desk.

I’m addicted, by the way, to great anecdotes about actors. Please send any along if you think of them!

For example, on the first day of rehearsal for the film of Long Day’s Journey into Night – Sidney Lumet immediately could feel that Katherine Hepburn was pushing him, testing him, throwing around her ego to see what he would take. You have to EARN the trust of massive movie stars, because they have so much to lose, and they are not gonna just hand over their careers to you – an unknown, a nobody. You have to prove that you are WORTH directing them.

And rightly so, in my opinion.

I’m no huge star, but I certainly know how much it SUCKS to be in the hands of an incompetent director. If I became a huge star, I would do my best to avoid such a situation at all costs. Even if it meant bull-dozing right over somebody.

Hepburn was subtle about the testing, I can’t remember the details – but it was something along the lines of placing herself at the head of the rehearsal table, rather than moving aside to let HIM sit there. Symbolically, the leader. Sidney Lumet summoned up his courage and put her, gently of course, in her place. He took charge. He sat down at the head of the table, and, firmly, began the rehearsal.

Later in the day, after the first read-through of that most difficult (some might say impossible) script, there was a long tense silence … as everyone waited to see what would happen next … who would speak first … would Sidney take control … what was going to happen? And suddenly, from Katherine Hepburn, came this teeny little voice, “Help?”

Meaning: “Okay. Yes, I know I am Katherine Hepburn, and I am a huge movie star, but this role is a bitch, and I’m scared, and I trust you now, and can you help me to play her correctly?

See, I have tears in my eyes right now.

THAT is an actor. THAT is a giant.

5. Year of the King, by Antony Sher

There is a reason why this gem of a book is on every acting teacher’s short list of recommended books.

Antony Sher kept a journal and a sketchbook during the year he was preparing to play Richard III at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1984.

Sher was, understandably, terrified at being asked to play the role, terrified of the long long long shadow of Lawrence Olivier’s interpretation. Sher needed to find his own way in, his own interpretation, he could not imitate Olivier.

You go through Sher’s process, step by step – his ideas about Richard – intellectual ideas – and then trying to physicalize those ideas, which is the actor’s MAIN job. You read about Sher’s insomnia, his insecurities, his anxiety that playing the part of Richard III will injure him (many many actors, due to the physical challenges of playing Richard, hunching their backs over, limping, whatever, have ended up with permanent physical problems after a long run of Richard III – Antony Sher tried to counter-act that, by meeting with physical therapists, meeting with chiropractors). His approach is intensely detailed – no stone left unturned. And the IMAGE he comes up for Richard III – the image from which all else followed (costume, staging, performance) is … mind-bogglingly cool. And original. You’ll have to read the book to find out what it is.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about when I say “the image he used”, I will give you an example: Anthony Hopkins, when he began to play Hannibal Lectre in Silence of the Lambs used the image of a CAT. He wanted the character to be sleek, and focused, and capable of great stillness. He felt, quite rightly, that that would be far more terrifying than an openly jibbering lunatic. So the sleek costume and the receding hairline, and the huge eyes – all of that stuff came from Hopkins’ original interpretation of this psychotic character as a CAT.

Sher’s book is also a great lesson in script analysis. After reading it, you will feel compelled to take up Richard III again as well. I saw the play in a whole new way.

Antony Sher’s interpretation of Richard III has been called ‘one of the most critically acclaimed Shakespearean performances in the 20th century.’

A wonderful book. One of my favorites.

6. Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940, by Wendy Smith

This book changed my life.

I read it in Chicago, while I was living there. I read it in the freezing winter of 1994-1995. I remember crying on the El train, when reading about the world premiere of Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty. It’s an amazing story – I will relate it in here someday.

Anyway. I put down the book and realized, like a flash of lightning:

I am playing it safe.
I am not living the life of my dreams.
Where did all my dreams go?
I am hiding from myself.
I must shake things up.
I must not be afraid.

I literally was a changed woman.

I was in Chicago – I was involved with the Cactus Theatre – an ensemble of actors and directors who used, as our primary inspiration, the Group Theatre in the 1930s.

The characters from this book (Ruth Nelson, Phoebe Brand, Morris Carnovsky, John Garfield, Lee Strasberg, Elia “Gadget” Kazan, Clifford Odets) were like old friends – or like someone holding a lantern out in front of me on a dark night.

The book said to me, “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”

I immediately applied to graduate school in New York, flew to New York, auditioned, got in, did 2 more plays in Chicago, boom-boom, and then left Chicago for good – in less than 4 months after putting down that book.

I may have eventually left Chicago – but not with the same intense focus and drive as that book gave me.

It is also a classic of American history. The Group Theatre should be TAUGHT in schools. Truly. As a country with no “national theatre” – this was the closest we ever got. We should honor the memory of their attempt.

7. Elia Kazan: A Life, by Elia Kazan

A big rambling tangent MESS of an autobiography.

But it is chock-full, I’m tellin’ ya – chock-full of those damned ANECDOTES I love so much!

He and Lee Strasberg and Cheryl Crawford (the all-important producer of the Group Theatre) created the Actors Studio together in the late 1940s – so you can get the inside scoop – you hear the conversations – you get mini-portraits of Strasberg, of Marlon Brando, of Tennessee Williams.

Elia Kazan knows how to tell a tale. He sure does.

He can’t edit himself for shit, but this book is a towering contribution to my life. Every time I have read it, I find something new. I learn something deeper.

8. The Devil’s Candy, by Julie Salamon

Okay, so this CYNICAL book is a bit of a departure from the rest of the list – but it is AS essential to any theatre/film book library as the other more inspirational ones.

It is the story of the making of the film DEBACLE Bonfire of the Vanities. The film was such a massive financial disaster that it is continuously referenced when other huge BOMBS come down the pike.

This book is the story of WHY and HOW this debacle occurred.

It is the ugly side of Hollywood, the cynical side, the ignorant side. And not only that: Bonfire of the Vanities had all this hype attached to it – I mean, Brian DePalma! Tom Hanks! Melanie Griffith (who was really hot at the time)! And Tom Wolfe’s hit book! It’s a slam-dunk, right?

This book tells the inexorable story of how the film kept stepping wrong, how one bad decision had a domino effect, another bad decision had another domino effect – until finally, the entire film was a runaway train.

This is a FANTASTIC book. A must-read. Don’t miss it.

9. Audition, by Michael Shurtleff

I think this book is in its 5,876th printing right now or something like that. And rightly so.

It is the Bible. It is the Torah. It is the Dead Sea Scrolls. Whatever.

It is IT.

Michael Shurtleff talks about the art of the “audition” – a stumbling block for most actors, who freeze up, or they try too hard to please – or they make it through 3 or 4 callbacks, and then give up – whatever. Every actor is different.

This book (to quote a line from Odets’ Golden Boy): “stiffens the space between my shoulderblades”.

It is an empowering book, a beautiful book – a book of practical tips, and a book of soaring inspiration.

Yes, it’s about the getting-a-job aspect of being an actor. But the reason the book is in its 10,348th printing is because it is about so much more than that: It is about NEVER FORGETTING, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of job-getting, and callbacks, and nonsense – WHY you are doing this in the first place. NEVER forget what drew you to this profession in the first place. Keeping your own dreams alive is just as much a part of an actors job as learning lines. This book helps you to do that.

It is a beloved book.

10. The Kid Stays in the Picture, by Robert Evans

Robert Evans – the producer responsible for bringing us Harold and Maude, Love Story, The Godfather, Barefoot in the Park, Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown (for God’s SAKE!) – the youngest head of a studio – a one-time actor turned head-of-Paramount pictures – a self-described “bad boy” – describes his journey is this insta-classic.

He writes the way he speaks, in this hard-boiled tough-guy prose.

“Lemme tell ya. This broad was hard as nails.”

Stuff like that. It’s a fun read.

But more than that: it is the ultimate insider’s look at the power structure of Hollywood, how deals are made, how these producers live, how they lose their minds – how they LIVE their jobs – Robert Evans, obviously, blended art and commerce in a way rarely seen in producers.

He developed the script of The Godfather with Puzo, he nursed projects to life, he gave Coppola his first chance to direct, stuff like that. This was unheard-of for producers before his time. He was truly a revolutionary. And kind of lovable, too.

The following anecdote (which I posted in here before, so I will post it here again) – kind of blew my mind, I have to say. It was literally something that had NEVER entered my mind before – very exciting. Here’s the setup:

He had to wine and dine Ali McGraw (an unknown model at the time, and his future wife) in order to get her to agree to do Love Story. She told him she wanted to approve of her co-stars. An unknown making such a demand? Robert Evans went to set her straight. I just LOVE his prose – it’s dee-lish – and if you have ever actually heard him in an interview – he actually talks like this:

I set up a lunch date with Love Story’s mentor and star, MacGraw, at La Grenouille. By the time dessert was served, I would have made the phone book with her. Would you say she got to me? I sure in hell knew I didn’t get to her. With all my props, my position, my “boy wonder” rep, she was as turned off to me as I was turned on to her. My competition was a model/actor she had been living with for three years, sharing the bills in a 3 1/2 room apartment on West 77th Street. Almost purposefully, she kept on interjecting how in love she was. Leaving the restaurant, I hailed a cab. As it pulled up she gave me her last zinger.

“Hope we shoot in the summer. Robin and I are getting married in the fall. We plan to spend October in Venice. Ever been there?”

“Nope.”

“Then wait. Only go there when you’re madly in love.”

That’s it. I grabbed her arm, whispering, “Never plan, kid. Planning’s for the poor.”

She tried to snap back. “No way–”

“Let me finish, Miss Charm. An hour ago, Love Story was even money to end up in the shredder. You win, I lose. Got it? Stop being Miss Inverse Snob, will ya? It doesn’t wear well. Don’t turn your nose down to success. If anything goes wrong with you and Blondie between now and post time, I’m seven digits away.”

There is so much that I love about that. Needless to say, Ali McGraw agreed to stop being a snob, agreed to do the film, on his terms and became world-famous over the course of one damn weekend.

But the line that really blew me away, which – sort of shifted the wiring in my brain a bit, was:

“Never plan, kid. Planning’s for the poor.”

Robert Evans took risks. BIG risks. He risked it all. And he paid a huge price for that. But still: the point is to risk it all.

11. Tom, by Lyle Leverich

Fantastic biography of HALF of Tennessee Williams’ life. Sadly, tragically, Leverich (the author) died before he could complete the other volumes.

This book takes you up to the fabled opening of Glass Menagerie in Chicago, with Laurette Taylor as Amanda. The story of that opening night in Chicago is another great anecdote. Maybe that would be a great series for me to put together: Favorite theatre anecdotes. That one, along with the opening of Waiting for Lefty are my all-time faves. They make me proud to be an actor.

Tom is almost beyond praise. It is an exhaustive look at the man – at his childhood – his sister Rose – who was institutionalized – and finally – lobotomized – which was the key event in Tennessee’s life – the wound he never recovered from. But thank God, in a horrible way, that he never recovered from that wound, because it was FROM that pain that he wrote Glass Menagerie, Streetcar Named Desire, and everything else. It was a desperate desire to try to make things right, to try to heal the memory of his poor sister, to try to run away from the fact that he had abandoned her – HE had gotten out! HE had found the theatre and fled that house, never looking back, leaving her to her demons.

It is a wonderfully written book, sensitively told, filled with excerpts from Tennessee’s voluminous correspondences with friends and family, diary excerpts – not to mention his amazing ascent to the pinnacle of his profession.