The first place in this list will rightfully take the work of Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky “The work of an actor on himself". The actors get acquainted with this book while still being students of theater universities. And then she accompanies them all their creative life. The great advantage of “Actor's Work” is that it provides both rich theoretical material and practical — techniques and exercises. The main purpose of the book is to teach a young actor to create such a convincing image that people believe in his truthfulness and reality unconditionally. Stanislavsky gives specific and clear recommendations, following which it is possible to reach the heights of professionalism.
Another work of the great actor, director and teacher is “My Life in Art", translated into all major world languages. As can be judged by the title, this is a memoir dedicated to Stanislavsky's creative search, which eventually led to a real revolution in the theatrical sphere. They also set out the basic principles of Stanislavsky's teaching about the skill of an actor.
“The Art of living on stage” Nikolai Vasilyevich Demidov is a unique work of one of the first teachers of the Stanislavsky System. In it, Demidov conveys unique knowledge and experience not only in the field of theatrical skill, but also physiology and psychology. He pays special attention to problems in the acting field, their detailed analysis and analysis.
The largest Western teacher Ivana Chubbak, about the principles of whose activity we talked about not so long ago, has developed a number of original and unique techniques for the development of acting skills. It was with their help that Charlize Theron, Jim Carrey, Brad Pitt and many other Hollywood stars achieved success. These techniques and exercises are described in Ivana Chubbuck's book “The Skill of an actor. 12 steps to Hollywood.” The advantage of this book is that it creates the effect of personal presence at the master class of a wonderful teacher.
Mikhail Chekhov was not in vain a favorite disciple and follower of K. S. Stanislavsky. He left behind a rich legacy — creative, pedagogical. His book “The Way of the actor” is considered one of the best in this field. She describes the Stanislavsky system in more detail and thoroughly, conveys the unique experience of the great generation of theatrical innovators. These are at the same time memoirs, drawing portraits of figures of that time; a textbook on acting, psychological work.
The method of Vsevolod Meyerhold is less known than the methods of Stanislavsky, Demidov, Chekhov. However, the director had his own theory of theater, criticized by many, but very interesting. Meyerhold outlined its principles in his work “To the history of the creative method”, which, of course, will be of interest not only to professional theater critics, but also to actors seeking to expand their understanding of the theater.
The book by playwright Yuri Alshits ”Training Forever" is interesting, first of all, in practical terms. It contains more than a hundred unique practical techniques and exercises for the development of various aspects and skills of theatrical mastery. The book is worth becoming a desktop for many young actors.