The best Acting & Auditioning books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Great question! This is something that comes up in acting a lot. You, the actor, already know where the story is going, so how can you make it seem fresh for the character in the moment?

What works for me is to clear my head in the moment. When the PCs begin their interaction with the NPCs, I consciously shift focus into that character's head, imagining their life and backstory. I (try to) let everything else drop away and just let that character fill my head. It has to be a deliberate act.

A little improv practice can help with this a lot, particularly the idea of "narrowing and broadening the spotlight". Instead of focusing on the world or the situation, you narrow your attention to just the character. Keith Johnstone's book <em>Impro</em> goes into more on this as I recall.

It takes practice, though!

One book that I learned a lot from was Kristen Linklater's "Freeing the Natural Voice". If you can pick up a copy from Amazon or something, it's so worth it. There's lots of useful techniques and exercises for getting down in your gut even if your natural inclination is to be restricted to your upper level. She talks a lot about the core and nature of animals to make noise from their gut.

Link to the book on Amazon.

Link to her Wikipedia page if you want to learn more about her

Give it a try :) If it doesn't work for you, there are plenty of voice coaches out there who would charge a reasonable fee to get you where you want to be.

If you’re just looking for a good book, I recommend Michael Caine’s “Acting in Film”. It’s a great book, very well written and easy to understand. I always find myself coming back to it now and again. https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Caine-Applause-Revised-Expanded/dp/1557832773/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=michael+caine+book&amp;qid=1559566849&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=michael+cain&amp;sr=8-2 Amazon link 👆

From 2018 Thread:

Truth in Comedy by Charna Halpern, Del Close and Kim Johnson

Art by Committee: A Guide to Advanced Improvisation by Charna Halpern

Well, these are going to be shit on, right?

Ok, so I guess context before roll our eyes and move on: Truth in Comedy was published in 1994 before longform improv, the Harold and iO were on anyone's radar. And let's face it, they're still not on the radar. Anyways, it makes sense that this book is somewhat self-aggrandizing with celebrity namedrops to give the work legitimacy and is basically a book-length ad for taking Harold classes at iO.

This book presents the very basics of improv theory (with name drops), then walks us into longform improv techniques (with name drops) and then culminates with explaining a very basic, training wheels Harold (with name drops). For a pure absolute improv noobie, this is a decent basic book to read...even if the name drops and references are ~~a bit~~ very dated. For anyone with a modicum of experience, it can be a bit of slog to find a nugget of wisdom--that was probably already parroted to you by one of your teachers or coaches.

Loan your copy of Truth In Comedy to an improv noobie then tell them too keep it.

As for Art by Committee, honestly, I was so bored by reading it I skimmed most of of the pages. It also kept referring me to check out a mentioned technique or style on the included DVD (which I still haven't watched). If you're wondering about the 13 pages of just iO photos, I can assure you Charna is in 1/3 of them.

I'll let someone else speak to the DVD and the quality of production and improv therein, but I'm pretty confident that Art by Committee is probably among the lowest tier of improv books on this list.

2020 Update

Remember when there was an iO?

Michael Caine on blinking: https://youtu.be/UTMRufBXhC

I think it's less about conveying a particular emotion and more about grabbing the attention of the viewer. He talks a lot about the camera so I assume this advice is specific to film acting instead of stage acting.

My husband majored in theatre and was the one who told me about the blinking thing. Michael Caine's book on film acting was one of his textbooks!

I've scrolled and scrolled, but still haven't seen improv! Many theaters have a "pay-to-play" structure, wherein you're required to take classes at the theater in order to be considered for stage time. The founder Del Close is a mythical figure who established the founding principles of long-form improv. Lots of insider lingo. Many foundational texts (with Del Close's Truth In Comedy arguably being the most influential). Many who participate form the entirety of their social circles around the theater of their choice -- hell, I met my spouse through improv! There are festivals such as the now defunct Del Close Marathon that are considered quintessential pilgrimages for dedicated improvisers. Theaters also often offer many opportunities for unpaid labor to performers/students in exchange for opportunities/favor amongst leadership. And, as in any arts scene, it can also be a breeding ground for predatory behavior. Also, Second City casts literally work on cruises (shades of Sea Org). There's a whole BoJack ep about it.

Thank you, but I'm looking for the audiobook, not the podcast.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0896762505 - This is what it looks like.

The audiobook was available just a couple of days ago on Audible.

https://www.amazon.com/Freeing-Natural-Voice-Practice-Language/dp/0896762505

Best book/method out there for voice and breath for actors.

These are always such good comments.

/u/ducidni_1, I would really recommend, if not taking a sketch class, then at least reading the UCB Manual. There's a lot of improv-specific stuff there, obviously, but their approach to improv and sketch is essentially the same thing, so everything in there about how to play game is applicable to both.

Accents: A Manual for Actors- Revised and Expanded Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/087910967X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_QB63PQWXDKHRKR4XPM2J?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1

That's a book I've used. It helps being able to see it, read it and hear it. It either comes with CDs or a link for audio samples of every Accents in the book. A usefull tool.

Oh, one more thought...Jenna Fischer's book (I have no vested interest) is a great read for anyone just getting started (or reentering after decades like I am)...

https://www.amazon.com/Actors-Life-Survival-Guide/dp/1944648224

It's about improv comedy, but I think the UCB manual is the comedy book I'd keep if I had to get rid of all but one. It explains the broad concept of "Game," which is the UCB's term for "the funny part." The gist of it is that you have a "normal" as the base layer that you build your comedy on top of. And the concept of Game applies to all comedy imo: improv, sketch, stand up, prose, film, TV...

Look at something like Parks & Rec. It takes place in the real, "normal" world, and every character has their own weird point of view or personality quirk (their Game) where the comedy comes from: Ron Swanson is an anti-government government employee, Tom Haverford is obsessed with swag and being a hip hop business mogul, Chris Traeger wants to be the healthiest man alive, Andy Dwyer is a total idiot, etc. The show puts these characters in various situations, and the jokes come from how they react to those situations through their unique lenses.

I would also recommend the How to Write Funny series (but really, you probably only need the first book). I'm not a fan of the terminology used, specifically the "funny filters," which I think sounds cornier than Nebraska, but overall I think the methodology explained is pretty good (a lot of it is just Game, but a little more dialed in).

Edit just to add that I think /u/TheBaconBurpeeBeast is right on: performing comedy is the best way to get better at it. Write some jokes, do some open mic nights, you will get immensely better at writing jokes that people will laugh at

While I can’t help you find that specific article, I can suggest a book that might help. If you really want to learn how to improv, I HIGHLY recommend you get the UCB Improv Manual. While it is focused on real long- and short-form improv, it will teach you all of the components of good improv and what you can do and think of to get better. It is all agnostic from “humor” or how to make things funny as you might expect from an improv manual, so you can apply everything you read to games.

As for coming up with consequences, it’s really hard to give advice that will help you without some examples of where you struggled. My advice would be to follow the fiction and choose what is most obvious, not what you think is coolest or most original. If nothing in the scene jumps out as being an obvious consequence, think off screen and see if one of the factions involved might have an opportunity to get involved.

And lastly, this might be a controversial take, but IMO improv requires everyone buying in and putting in the work. I see a lot of people in other TTRPG-related subs thinking that they the GM need to try harder to make improv work at their table, but not acknowledging that their players may or may not be interested in/knowledgeable about improv. I think there is SO much value in running a few improv games or exercises as warm ups before sessions, and if your table is willing expanding on those games with a tiny bit of improv theory that you have gleaned. Nobody wants a lecture for a game, but if you keep it short and to the point -and most importantly - relevant, in my experience nobody will bat an eye. Do what you can to get everyone feeling free, loose, and un-judgmental before you kick off and you might be surprised how easy ideas flow, for all of you.

Here's a database of speaking audio separated by region of origin, and labeled with their age and education: https://www.dialectsarchive.com/

And here's "Accents: A Manual for Actors" (Amazon link), a guide to speaking English so you sound like you're from anywhere, including sound changes, pitch, and stress (maybe vocabulary? I can't remember)

With any comedy there are set rules that have to be followed for it to be successful (at least with the way comedy is currently structured). The beats, the characters, the story arcs, and joke patterns are the same across almost every modern comedy in existence. If you’re curious about it, here is a great book about comedy writing and acting.

You might wanna try an improv class - this kind of theater acting lessons where you just say the first thing that comes into mind. There's a great book on it written by Keith Johnstone titled impro - improvisation and the theatre. It's well worth a read.

You could also create some fake social media profiles and experiment with it. Just say the first thing that comes into mind.

Jenna Fischer wrote a book that you might enjoy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1944648224/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HQmnFbCSVBEFQ. I believe there are other sites you can get it cheaper.

Best advice is to have a strong backup plan. It's worth at least a try to get into acting if you enjoy it, take some acting classes and see about trying out for local theatre.

Funny enough, FizzBuzz is an improv theatre technique for groups: "the loop" consists of the people on stage. It is mentioned in the book Impro

https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Characters-Comedy-Sitcom-Writing/dp/0977064123 This is the price of three starbucks coffees.

I remember it having some really good notes on the logic inherent in a dumb person's reactions to situations.

I like this one. It's a fairly easy read and gives you a good idea what some of the struggles are in an acting class.

https://www.amazon.com/Sanford-Meisner-Acting/dp/0394750594

I'd also suggest learning something along the lines of physical theater, especially if you like working with your body.

https://www.amazon.com/Towards-Poor-Theatre-Routledge-Paperback/dp/0878301550

That's more experimental and probably a more challenging read.

You'll have to make some of your own decisions about what direction you want to take your learning. Usually this is done with the guidance of a teacher, but it isn't completely necessary if you have some initiative about what you hold important.

You will want to eventually get into a class and work with other actors. Acting ultimately happens in the space between people.

My range improved dramatically studying Linklater as an actor. Freeing The Natural Voice. It's not for everyone, but if you can grasp it and consistently practice, you can reach new depths vocally & frankly, emotionally. It's a technique many stage actors have studied.

False. Humor = Reality. One of the core tenants of joke creating is to tell the truth. There is truth in comedy and nothing is funnier than real life.

One of the core books for teaching and learning improv is book called, Truth in Comedy. It goes through many different lessons, but one of them is don't be ridiculous. Play things honestly as you would any situation.

I think with English being your secondary language, there'll be challenges. Humor is so culture dependent and people have vastly different senses of humor. Things like idioms - topics that have a fixed meaning, might be funny to you but not to her and vice versa. You could end up being insulting or just not funny & awkward. You can't really watch a video and "learn humor", however, a general rule of humor is that the truth is funny. Making silly observations of the truth is funny and anyone can relate. It starts by simply paying attention to the world around you.

• "Have you ever noticed when..."

• "Don't you hate it when..."

Comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, and more recently Louis C.K. have made their mark in comedy for simply being observant about life, common sense, and putting their opinions out in the world.

If you can find this book: <em>Truth in Comedy</em>, it's a guide I picked up doing improv comedy, but applies to just being better overall with social interactions.

You keep her interested through your own stories and adventures to share. Your beliefs, and your ideas. This is where guys make the mistake of doting and putting all their focus on finding a girl and they have no hobbies or nothing interesting to share.

I don't really know. There's a foundation of guidelines in improv that helps you to construct good scenes and make solid jokes. There's a bunch of different philosophies around what's funny, but the best things I've seen have come from different improvisers just being themselves.

Letting what comes naturally for one person tends to have a humorous impact on others because of the differences in the way people think. There's a book called Truth in Comedy That speaks a lot about this.

What's your goal?

Not knowing that, here's my recommendation:

Buy the UCB Improvisation Manual and Truth in Comedy.

If the UCB book resonates more with you, take a UCB class. The classes are all about putting the tenants of their textbook into practice.

If Truth in Comedy resonates more with you, take an iO class. Their classes are likely to follow the spirit of that book.

Maybe this tip can help you. I am an actor (hence the username lol). I have studied a little bit of comedy and I can tell you this. Truthfullness is funny! Use inspiration from your real life as a source of comedy. I know an uprising comedian that is doing the same thing. It can also work in improv comedy. Maybe look into this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Comedy-The-Manual-Improvisation/dp/1566080037

I admire the fact that you have done stand up comedy. I want to try it one day.

I learned a lot by reading Michael Caine's book on acting. I never would have thought to learn about directing from that book, but I asked an acting teacher the same question you've posted here and that was her immediate answer.

To be clear, it's not like he discusses how to direct actors in the book. He just explained what actors go through and what actors tend to need during prep and on set in a way that was helpful to me.

Michael Caine - Acting in Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making (The Applause Acting Series) Revised Expanded Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1557832773/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Szf.ub0DNA53A

Edit: sorry for whatever that price zombie bot post is. I'm new here and didn't know that crap would happen if I posted a link.

I am not an auditory learner, so I have a huge amount of difficulty with accents. I primarily differentiate my NPCs by their word choices, not by accents, though I can pull off a Texas accent pretty well. However, this book has helped me some, better than nothing at least. I'm working on a couple of accents and am hoping to eventually expand my repertoire, but at the moment all I can do particularly well is my own American accent (don't ask me for the region, I moved around enough as a kid that it's a mutt accent with elements of the places I've lived and my parents' accents), a Texan accent, a semi-passable "Southern belle" accent, and a decent Welsh accent.

Though the Welsh I mostly learned from watching scenes in Torchwood repeatedly and repeating all of Merrill's lines from Dragon Age 2.

I'm working on a Manchester accent and attempting to learn whatever Tali from Mass Effect's accent is.

His book &quot;Acting in Film is brilliant. I am not an actor and do not intend to pursuit acting in any way but a former roommate left it when he moved away and I think I read it in one sitting - it was very interesting. The principles he outlines in that book translate to many life situations. Learned a thing or two about film as well...

Girls got me a bit excited about comedy again. Then I went to a comedy show that turned out to be mostly improvised, which is so fascinating! Started watching some long form improv videos on YouTube (UCB, etc)... Then I bought the e-book of Keith Johnstone's <em>Impro</em>, which turned out to be a great, great book (and relevant to this forum if you ask me). Johnstone mentioned Kozintsev's King Lear, and I realized I haven't seen any Shakespeare plays except Romeo and Juliet (in Baz Luhrmann's version, which I admit to loving). Hamlet always attracted me—I had some suspicion that I might be something of a Hamlet type, i.e., moody, brooding, somewhat insane—so I decided to watch that first.

A quote from Impro:

> "I now feel that imagining should be as effortless as perceiving. In order to recognise someone my brain has to perform amazing feats of analysis: 'Shape ... dark ... swelling ... getting closer ... human ... nose type X15, eyes type E24B ... characteristic way of talking ... look under relative ...' and so on, in order to turn electromagnetic radiation into the image of my father, yet I don't experience myself as 'doing' anything at all! My brain creates a whole universe without my having the least sense of effort. [...] It's only when I believe my perceptions to be in error that I have to 'do' anything. It's the same with imagination. Imagination is as effortless as perception, unless we think it might be 'wrong,' which is what our education encourages us to believe."