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Books for Actors

Great acting requires curiosity and constant learning.  Reading books for actors on acting technique, the history of theatre and film, and books on the business will increase your knowledge base and make you a more competitive artist. Reading contemporary and classical plays will give you a frame of reference for auditions, finding monologues and more. Further your skills with these great books and plays.

Our Favorite:

Our Core Program is based on Michael Shurtleff’s Audition. It is the heart of what we teach in all of our classes and is an essential for any actor.

Audition book


Books by Our Awesome Faculty:

Acting In Chicago, 3rd Ed.: Making A Living Doing Commercials, Voice Over, TV/Film And More. by [Chris Agos, Sam Samuelson]
actor's business plan
ultimate voiceover
The Voice Over Startup Guide: How to Land Your First VO Job (Voice Over & Voice Acting Series Book 1) by [Chris Agos]
Commercial Voice Over Strategies: Tell A Story, Land The Job (The Voice Over and Voice Acting Series Book 3) by [Chris Agos]
The Voice Book

Other useful books:

Actor and his Text
Backwards and Forwards
Challenge for the Actor
The Empty Space
Impro
Meisner on Acting
practical handbook
True and False

It is the task of any actor to be up to speed on the works and styles of the playwrights whose work you’ll be auditioning for. Educate yourself!

Playwrights You Should Know:

Edward Albee
David Auburn
Samuel Beckett
Bertolt Brecht
Anton Chekhov
Caryl Churchill
Noel Coward
Nilo Cruz
Rebecca Gilman
Richard Greenberg
David Hare
Lorraine Hansberry
Tina Howe
Henrik Ibsen
Eugene Ionesco
Tony Kushner
David Mamet
Arthur Miller
Moliere
Lynn Nottage
Eugene O’Neill
Harold Pinter
William Shakespeare
John Patrick Shanley
George Bernard Shaw
Sophocles
Tom Stoppard
August Strindberg
Oscar Wilde
Timberlake Wertenbaker
Tennessee Williams
August Wilson

Hot Chicago Playwrights:

Rebecca Gilman
Ike Holter
Keith Huff
Laura Jacqmin
Robert Koon
Rohina Malik
Brett Neveu
Tanya Saracho
Marisa Wegrzyn

New Student Acting Seminar at the Acting Studio Chicago

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My first Actor's training I ever took was Intro to Shurtleff with Joshua, and On Camera Intro with Sarah Charipar. Both classes- because of the instructors- unlocked my brain into the world of immersing myself into imagination and critique of self. Because of ASC, I have been able to dive deep into an evolution of my auditions. Last year, I worked on a short film that was nominated for multiple film festival selections. I recently booked another short film, which begins filming next week. The current training with Christina [Gorman] allowed myself to be warmed-up and prepared for my booking. I'm extremely grounded in the fact that out of all training types I have received so far, ASC is a hidden gem of Chicago and possibly the U.S. Thank you ASC--I'm so happy to have learned everything I have so far from you. Best, John Stripe Tiggemann