David Mamet’s “True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor” is essential reading for any actor navigating the jungle of acting training.
Mamet’s book is indispensable, as it exposes the dirty underbelly of this industry by calling nonsense “techniques” out for being undoable, running actors through hoops, stealing their money, and offering little in the way of practicable, or actionable advice.
Mamet exposes the fact that character is an illusion created by the personality of the actor and the circumstances within the writing. For him, “There is no character. There are just lines on the page.” This concept is at the core of my work with actors—I help them to use their singular personalities to book the role and reach their Oscar potential on set.
This article was originally posted on Backstage