Boeing-Boeing: A Farce in Two Acts


Beverley Cross - 2011
    He keeps "one up, one down and one pending" until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris and Bernard's apartment at the same time.

Improvisation for the Theater


Viola Spolin - 1963
    Viola Spolin's improvisational techniques changed the very nature and practice of modern theater. The first two editions of Improvisation for the Theater sold more than 100,000 copies and inspired actors, directors, teachers, and writers in theater, television, film. These techniques have also influenced the fields of education, mental health, social work, and psychology.

The Mystic in the Theatre: Eleonora Duse


Eva Le Gallienne - 1965
    She disposes of the hard-dying myth that the great Italian actress played simply on the inspiration of the moment. Miss Le Gallienne's thesis is that Duse's artistic triumphs resulted from her victories over herself, triumphs of character achieved through intellectual and spiritual struggle. In support of her title Miss Le Gallienne adduces evidence of Duse's long and earnest study of the writings of mystics and philosophers. This book is thoughtful, sensible, candid and literate. Miss Le Gallienne's own memories provide a fascinating glimpse into both herself and the tired, fading great actress whom she adored.

The Anarchist


David Mamet - 2011
    With a nod to his mentor, Harold Pinter, Mamet once again employs his signature verbal jousting in this battle of two women over freedom, power, money, religion—and the lack thereof. Broadway premiere, under the direction of the playwright, in fall 2012 starring Patti LuPone and Debra Winger.David Mamet is a playwright, director, author, essayist, screenwriter, and film director. His plays include Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow, American Buffalo, A Life in the Theatre, Oleanna, The Cryptogram, and Race.

This is How it Goes


Neil LaBute - 2005
    Typical except that Cody is black--"rich, black, and different," in the words of Belinda, who finds herself attracted to a former (white) classmate. As the battle for her affections is waged, Belinda and Cody frankly doubt the foundation of their initial attraction, opening the door wide to a swath of bigotry and betrayal. Staged on continually shifting moral ground that challenges our received notions about gender, ethnicity, and even love itself, This Is How It Goes unblinkingly explores the myriad ways in which the wild card of race is played by both black and white in America.

The Sixpenny Winner


Alexandra Connor - 2002
    Ada falls in love with Clem Hargreaves, a young man also from the slums whom her mother strongly disapproves of, and fate plays a cruel hand when a tragic accident occurs. But worse is yet to follow and when Ada’s mother is found dead, she is left with guilt and remorse. Ada’s strength and determination pulls her through and together with her husband, they work hard to achieve their ambition of owning their own pub. The Sixpenny Winner soon becomes successful despite the depression and Ada and Clem Hargreaves find love and fulfilment with their two daughters. However when two brothers join them to help with the heavy work, Ada goes against her instinct and soon realises that her family is being torn apart and discovers evil and revenge of a kind she has not encountered before where all their lives are never the same again. Dramatic, heartbreaking and heart-warming, betrayals and full of passion, The Sixpenny Winner is the best yet from Alexandra Connor.

The Actor and the Text


Cicely Berry - 1987
    Berry's book will insure that the speaker and the text gets heard - accurately and with true emotional range. Never again will one be accused of simply "reading a prepared statement." Berry's exercises to develop relaxation, breathing and muscular control will literally help everyone breathe easier when confronting the printed page.

Shattered: 67 days to a family's self-destruction


Travis Winks - 2020
    Told through the eyes of a hurting brother and son, this tragic story follows three family members through a series of decisions that bring the family together and then tear them apart. Almost every family has a tumultuous chapter and this story is about the real impact mental illness and domestic violence can have.  The consequences are not only catastrophic for sufferers, but also for those who love them. Travis tells his story with rawness and honesty, but also with hope and humour.

Improving Your Storytelling: Beyond the Basics for All Who Tell Stories in Work or Play


Doug Lipman - 1999
    Once you take storytelling into the more formal contexts of performance or occupational uses, however, you may be faced with challenges you hadn't anticipated. You need information that goes beyond the basics. And you need it in a form that does not just tell you what to do but helps you make your own informed decisions. This book is meant for the reader who has already begun to tell stories and is ready to learn more about the art. Instead of rules to follow, it gives you a series of frameworks that encourage you to think on your feet. Doug Lipman has written and taught extensively on the art of storytelling. With the same generosity and warmth that characterize his workshops, he considers the teller's relationship to the story, the teller's relationship to the audience, and the transfer of imagery in a medium that is simultaneously visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.

On Acting


Laurence Olivier - 1986
    A unique guided tour of the techniques of acting.

Why Is That So Funny?: A Practical Exploration of Physical Comedy


John Wright - 2007
    It then presents graduated sequences of over a hundred games and exercises devised to demonstrate and investigate the whole range of comic possibilities open to a performer. The result is an intensely practical and thoroughly stimulating investigation of how comedy works in physical terms.

Freeing Shakespeare's Voice: The Actor's Guide to Talking the Text


Kristin Linklater - 1992
    Detailing exercises and analyzing characters' speech and rhythms, Linklater provides the tools to increase understanding and make Shakespeare's words one's own.

Thinking Shakespeare: A How-To Guide for Student Actors, Directors, and Anyone Else Who Wants to Feel More Comfortable with the Bard


Barry Edelstein - 2007
    Based on Barry Edelstein's twenty-year career directing Shakespeare's plays, this book provides the tools that actors need to fully understand and express the power of Shakespeare's language.

Jade Goody: How It All Began - My First Book


Jade Goody - 2009
    TV glamour was a far cry from her life growing up in Bermondsey, where Jade had taken on the role of ?carerOCO for her disabled mum from an early age. With her father in prison, she didnOCOt have an easy childhood, and one of her first memories was waking up, aged six, and dragging her mum out of their burning house when it caught fire. She discusses what really happened under the Big Brother sheets with PJ on live TV, meeting Jeff Brazier and falling pregnant (twice), as well as struggling to conquer a dangerous eating disorder. Always with her children, Bobby and Freddy, in mind, Jade went back to college in 2003, qualified as a beauty therapist, and established her own salon. There have been many trials and tribulations along the way, but thatOCOs how things often were for Jade, and she took it all in her stride. Heart-rending, hilarious and shockingly revealing. This book gives a fascinating insight into JadeOCOs extraordinary life."

Trust Me


Blake O'Connor - 2016
    Finally heading home to the ranch he inherited, Brendon McMahon has a lot on his mind. He’s tortured because he needs to tell complete stranger, Allison Hartley, that he was the one responsible for her husband’s death. As he is heading home, he saves a starving dog at a lonely rest stop. It’s a pivotal decision that will change not only his life, but others. Allison Hartley has finally made peace with the past, living through her own tragic events. She has built a new life with her son, and she now owns a successful local business. Staying busy fills her time, but not her heart. When she meets Brendon, her fluttering heart tells her he could be the one.As their love intensifies so does the secret that Brendon holds, causing old demons to surface – ones that Brendon thought he had extinguished. Will the secret tear them apart or will they be able to weather the firestorm coming their way? A richly textured story with emotion and unexpected twists, Trust Me is a reminder of how fragile and precious life is, how life is a journey filled with love and despair, and how true love can inspire the hero within all of us – even the four legged kind. OTHER AWARD-WINNING BOOKS BY BLAKE O'CONNOR:Unspoken BondMiracle on Wolf Hollow Lane