Books like The actor and the target by Declan Donnellan

A practical guide to Sanford Meisner’s acting technique, illustrated through fifteen months of classroom work with eight men and eight women, culminating in polished scenes from contemporary plays.

"Book on Acting begins with immediate training in how to improvise. Book's fundamental principle of improvisation is "Acting is doing, and there is always more to do." The actor learns what to do to keep himself in a spontaneous improvisational state.". "The Improvisation Technique is then applied to exercises with scripted lines, developing sophisticated improvisation skills for enhancing character, emotions, conflict, and agreement as well as improving the actor's audition process. Also included is a unique process for breaking down scripted scenes into improvisation choices."--BOOK JACKET.

The Actor's Art and Craft offers a systematic, step‑by‑step exploration of Sanford Meisner’s technique, developed by William Esper after 17 years of collaboration, with real‑world classroom examples from co‑author Damon DiMarco.

In The End of Acting, Richard Hornby critiques the American adaptation of Stanislavski’s Method, arguing it has become restrictive and detached from its original intent.

A practical guide to Uta Hagen’s influential acting techniques, featuring her famed Object Exercises and lessons in sense memory, identity, and substitution.

"In order to create a living character on the stage, the actor needs more than masterful technique. He must work on the play in a way that will enable him to understand the meaning of each of the roles in it, and the nature of the relations between these roles. Stanislavsky developed his method of working on the play and the role over many years, but because it was constantly being modified and improved, only fragments of the method were ever recorded. Now Irina and Igor Levin have systematized the method, clearly setting forth its principles and demonstrating precisely how they are put to use. Using the complete text of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and breaking it into individual "events," they take the reader through each situation in the play, exploring the motivations and feelings of the characters. The reader emerges with a fine understanding of the play and its roles, and with a method that can be used successfully to analyze any drama."--Jacket.

Describes the role of the imagination in acting, suggests a variety of acting exercises, and discusses psychological gestures, tempo, rehearsal, and the creative process.

This book describes techniques developed by Augusto Boal as part of Theatre of the Oppressed. These are theatre techniques used to work with communities and groups, to help members find resolutions to conflicts.

A concise, practice‑oriented guide that distills a method developed by young actors working with David Mamet, W.H. Macy and Gregory Mosher, offering clear, objective tools for actors frustrated by unclear teaching.

A practical guide that examines the actor’s mindset and provides exercises to deepen thought‑into‑action performance.