''Stephen Book is a gifted and deeply experienced teacher with both encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary practice and the wisdom to know that no two actors approach the work in the exact same way. In Secret Magic Stuff for Actors, he has arrayed voluminous prompts and instructions in craft: there are treasures for any actor with a growth mindset."
—James Bundy, Dean, Yale School of Drama; Artistic Director, Yale Repertory Theatre
''Secret Magic Stuff for Actors is a treasure trove of advice for professional actors. In this pragmatic guide, Stephen Book assembles a myriad of tips, drawn from a broad range of actor training approaches and tempered by his experience in the industry. Open and read whenever you need a specific suggestion or a boost in your acting!"
—Sharon Marie Carnicke, author of Stanislavsky in Focus and Dynamic Acting through Active Analysis
"Improvisation is essential to acting and Book is a terrific teacher."
—William Hurt
"Stephen Book is a genius! I immediately saw vast improvement in my stage and film work."
—Sanaa Lathan
"Coming as I did from stand-up comedy—and with a movie part in hand I was greatly in need of a teacher and a system which could bring out and begin to develop my natural skills in a short time. Stephen Book and his workshop were just such a combination."
—George Carlin
Every film or stage actor at some point confronts a problem to be solved. Stephen Book's Secret Magic Stuff for Actors is an extraordinary reference book of unique and powerful solutions. If you need to respond to a director's note, or any of forty-four different problems, you can consult Book's table of contents and easily find appropriate tips.
The book includes ''Special Stuff" -- seven remarkably useful tools unfamiliar to most actors. They will enable you to instantly create the emotions of your choice, think spontaneously as the character instead of for the character, and discover the character's physicality, personality, and essence. Secret Magic Stuff for Actors will open a worid of possibilities. Stephen Book is an internationally renowned acting teacher whose students have included Academy Award winners William Hurt, Rita Moreno, and Robin Williams, as well as Val Kilmer, Maura Tierney, Sanaa Lathan, Carla Gugino, Tim Matheson, David Boreanaz, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, and 9'eorge Carlin. He has been teaching and coaching at his Hollywood workshop for 39 years andlrs also a former long-time faculty member of The Juilliard School and USC.
Book has directed productions Off Broadway and in regional theaters. He is the author of Book on Acting: Improvisation Technique for the Professional Actor in Film, Theater and Television, and The Actor Takes a Meeting.
Stephen Book is a director and acting teacher best known for creating Improvisation Technique: improvisational acting applied to scripted performances for film, stage, and television. In 1985 he opened the Stephen Book Acting Workshop in Hollywood, now in its 39th year.
His students have included Academy Award winners William Hurt, Rita Moreno, and Robin Williams, as well as Val Kilmer, Maura Tierney, Sanaa Lathan, Carla Gugino, Tim Matheson, Valerie Mahaffey, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, David Boreanaz, Tate Donovan, Janis Paige, Larry Drake, Kurtwood Smith, William Schallert, Grant Heslov, and stand-up comics George Carlin, Adam Ferrara, and Christopher Titus.
Stephen has coached singers for roles in film and TV including Randy Travis, Michael Hutchence (INXS), Mindy McCready, and Ozzie Osbourne. He was creative consultant to Melissa Manchester on her Grammy-nominated “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and to the director Vincent Ward on the Oscar winning film What Dreams May Come, starring Robin Williams.
As an undergraduate at Sarah Lawrence College, Stephen studied with the legendary Viola Spolin. They later co-designed the Spolin Theater Game Center in Hollywood, where he served as executive director and principal teacher. He received an MFA in directing at Stanford University and studied with Lee Strasberg in the Directors Unit at the Actors Studio.
At the age of twenty-eight, he joined the faculty of The Juilliard School (1973-1981). He has also taught at Stanford, Brown, Bread Loaf School of English, USC (1977-1991), UCLA, the Esalen Institute, Circle in the Square Theater School, in London at the Globe Shakespeare Center, and in Moscow at both the Russian state theater school (GITIS) and as keynote speaker at the international conference on Modern Methods of the Actor’s Psychotechnique at the Stanislavsky Center.
He has directed productions Off Broadway and in regional and university theaters, including Washington Theater Club, Los Angeles Actors Theater, Stanford Repertory Theater, Equity Library Theater, New Dramatists, Princeton, Brown, Sarah Lawrence, USC, and the Theater of Dionysus in Athens.
His books include Book on Acting: Improvisation Technique for the Professional Actor in Film, Theater and Television (also translated and published in Poland) and The Actor Takes a Meeting.
Praise for Stephen Book and his books
“A very intelligent and highly skilled teacher of acting. Actors find him exciting to work with and get a great deal from his particular form of teaching.”
—John Houseman, Academy Award, founding Director of the Drama Division/The Juilliard School
“I have been intrigued and impressed with Mr. Book’s special abilities and with the progress immediately observable. I find his work most valuable.”
—Alan Schneider, Tony award; the “most favored director” of Albee, Pinter, Beckett; former Director of the Drama Division / The Juilliard School
“I commend Stephen Book’s work and highly recommend him to the theater community.”
—Viola Spolin, author of Improvisation for the Theater
Book on Acting: Improvisation Technique for the Professional Actor in Film, Theater, & Television
“Stephen Book manages to articulate a technique that both allows the actor to be specific in silence and active and emotionally affective when speaking. He helps you tap into that endless well which is human.”
—Viola Davis, Academy Award, Tony award, Prime Time Emmy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award
“In adapting improvisation exercises to script work, Stephen Book challenges some of the received wisdom of modern American training and offers a practical method for professional actors who want to learn how to infuse their work with spontaneity. Book’s exercises demonstrate how much further you can go, imaginatively speaking, when acting.”
—Backstage
The Actor Takes a Meeting
“Book so beautifully articulates the psychology behind the interview process that I heartily recommend his book to every actor I know—and to anyone else who interviews often but wonders why his or her success rate is so darn low.”
—Backstage
“Stephen Book’s interview technique is one of the most valuable tools for the actor. It is a ‘how-to’ for making an authentic connection. I vividly remember one of the best general meetings I had—It was easy and fun, and the time just flew by. As we were saying goodbye and I finally glanced at her resume, I saw that she had indeed studied with Stephen Book. I was not surprised.”
—Liz Dean, Casting Director (The Good Doctor, Major Crimes, Star Trek: Picard)
“Until Stephen taught me how to take a meeting, I was always shooting myself in the foot. His technique has cleaned up all that self-destructive behavior and smoothed the way for making the transition from stand-up to acting and starring in a series. Now, I can be in a room with the most powerful people in show business and shine.”
—Christopher Titus (Titus)
“If you are not happy with where your career is at, it might not be your talent; it might be your meeting skills. The Actor Takes a Meeting is the first complete and comprehensive guide to insure a successful meeting. Bravo!”
—Mary Goldberg, Manager, former Casting Director for New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater
“As someone who has worked on both sides of the business, I can tell you firsthand that Stephen Book gets it exactly right. If you want to walk into a meeting or an audition with the kinds of tools and knowledge that give you the confidence to be your absolute best, The Actor Takes a Meeting is a book you should study and enjoy.”
—Grant Heslov, Academy Award, Producer (Argo)
“As a former agent, manager, and producer I’ve taken countless meetings with actors who desperately needed this advice. He even paints a clear picture of how I've been reacting to what you've been doing wrong. I had no idea it was that transparent.”
—Bruce Smith, President, OmniPop Talent Group
“The Actor Takes a Meeting is a guide to changing the actor’s fear into authenticity and presence. This book is a gift to the actor.”
—April Webster, Prime Time Emmy Award, Casting Director (Criminal Minds, Lost, Star Trek)
Stephen’s Workshops
“Stephen’s class is wonderful! You come away feeling that you have secret magic stuff to add to what you already know about acting.”
—Valerie Mahaffey, Prime Time Emmy Award
“Stephen Book’s Improvisation Technique is creatively explosive! It has heightened my presence with new levels of freedom, authenticity, and generosity. Right after completing Stephen's class, I booked Buffy which led to Angel, Bones, and films.”
—David Boreanaz
“Prior to Stephen’s class, I often felt I was flying by the seat of my pants, but his workshop has given me invaluable tools that I can use forever. He’s the man!”
—Malcolm-Jamal Warner
“The training gave me a brand-new perspective on my work. It allows you to keep the techniques that you already know and use as a point of departure! It turns acting into ‘play’ again. Stephen Book is wonderful!”
—Tim Matheson
“From the first rehearsal to the last take, his work is invaluable. It helps you to get out of your own way and gives you a feeling of doing improv while using text. He’s a great coach. Don’t do a film without him!”
—Tate Donovan, Prime Time Emmy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award
“Working with Stephen helps keep my work fresh, colorful, and interesting. When I’m on the set, I feel more and more prepared, and at the same time, ready for anything. Stephen contributed immeasurably to my receiving two Emmy nominations in 1986.”
—Peggy McCay, Prime Time Emmy Award, two Daytime Emmy Awards
“Stephen Book’s Improvisation Technique has made me a better actor and a better stand-up—both in performance and writing. I’ve learned how to think and do bigger and better.”
—Adam Ferrara
“I learned how to improvise (with confidence!), and to use it as a tool in performance—without changing one line of script! It’s no coincidence that one year after joining Stephen’s workshop I won an Emmy.”
—Leann Hunley, Daytime Emmy award
“I strongly recommend Stephen’s workshop. It gave me a new sense of freedom and spontaneity in my work and helped me to break those old and stale habits.”
—Veronica Cartwright, Prime Time Emmy Award
“Thelonious Monk once said, ‘The only cats worth anything are the cats who take chances. Sometimes I play a song I never even heard.’ In a song or in a scene, Stephen Book’s technique will lead you to take that kind of chance. You will sing a song you’ve never even heard.”
—Jack Riley
“Simply put, Stephen’s Improvisation Technique workshop transformed my craft and career. From breaking down a script to all the invaluable tools that address every need of the working actor, his technique has helped me create fuller characters, make better acting choices, and raise immeasurably the quality of my work.”
—Anna Khaja
“Book is truly a master teacher. He is the only teacher I ever worked with who teaches pure technique—tools for handling every situation, problem, and role.”
—Larry Drake, Two Prime Time Emmy Awards
