What do you think?
Rate this book
Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part
The casting director for Chicago, Pippin, Becket, Gypsy, The Graduate, the Sound of Music and Jesus Christ Superstar tells you how you can find your dream role!
Absolutely everything an actor needs to know to get the part is What to do that moment before, how to use humour; create mystery; how to develop a distinct style; and how to evaluate the place, the relationships and the competition. In fact, Audition is a necessary guide to dealing with all the "auditions" we face in life. This is the bible on the subject.
Absolutely everything an actor needs to know to get the part is What to do that moment before, how to use humour; create mystery; how to develop a distinct style; and how to evaluate the place, the relationships and the competition. In fact, Audition is a necessary guide to dealing with all the "auditions" we face in life. This is the bible on the subject.
208 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1978
581 people are currently reading
3826 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
June 20, 2007
This is a book I have bought many times over. I keep lending it to people and never getting it back.
I use this book to remind me of what goes into good drama.
Here is a link to a blog entry that I wrote about this book:
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2006/12/...
I use this book to remind me of what goes into good drama.
Here is a link to a blog entry that I wrote about this book:
http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2006/12/...
April 23, 2021
This was a delight. After reading Elisa Gabbert's fabulous book "The Unreality of Memory," I began to follow her on twitter. She mentioned this book recently as a way to read-what-you-don't-know. She expressed delight in reading text in quite unfamiliar territory. I found myself pleasantly surprised at how much fun this book was to read - particularly the first 2/3 of the book where I found the book, it's stories so delightful. Quite a number of auditioning and actor related real-life moments that I had never considered before. Then of course the sarcastic comments about an actors' life that people do assume is the case. The reviews on this book are also top notch and I intend to recommend it to quite a few friends. I give it more a 4.5 out of 5 - even though the last 1/4 of the book had me drifting elsewhere, this was still a 5.
August 8, 2022
Holy hell I wish I had this book sooner. So many years of so many poor auditions and even performances, not even knowing how much more I could be doing. This is a must read book for anyone and everyone who is more than passively interested in getting involved in theatre. There is not one negative I can say about this. If you think you already know everything about auditioning, you're dead wrong and this book is going to show you why and how you can fix that. 10/10
October 15, 2008
The BEST Acting book I've ever read! I refer to this book constantly.
Read
September 19, 2020Still one of the best books on acting. There are definitely quite a few tips in here that are a bit antiquated and/or relevant only for theatre, but most of it is super relevant for every kind of acting. Michael Shurtleff really knows his stuff obviously and he writes so well, in a very easy-to-grasp style with lots of great examples interwoven. His advice is very practical and none of his explanation are overly technical. A must-read for every actor!
September 11, 2009
Definitely read this if you want to do anything in the field of drama. Or if you like philosophy. Or if you like weird, random stories about Barbra Streisand.
March 11, 2025
This book is one I didn’t know I needed to read. It covers a topic I didn’t know you could write a 250 page book about. As a hobby actor, the insights, especially in the first half of the book are really valuable.
The first half of the book…the 12 guideposts of a successful audition…is where this book shines.
Then later half of the book, while well written, is more anecdotal with lots of name dropping by the author.
The book was written nearly 50 years ago, so some of the advice is pretty dated, but reading it from an understanding of the time frame it was written helps you glean the good advice found here.
Worth the read if you are an actor or aspire to be.
The first half of the book…the 12 guideposts of a successful audition…is where this book shines.
Then later half of the book, while well written, is more anecdotal with lots of name dropping by the author.
The book was written nearly 50 years ago, so some of the advice is pretty dated, but reading it from an understanding of the time frame it was written helps you glean the good advice found here.
Worth the read if you are an actor or aspire to be.
January 16, 2025
Interesante
Una lectura demasiado técnica si no te quieres dedicar a actuar... me ha aburrido un poco
Una lectura demasiado técnica si no te quieres dedicar a actuar... me ha aburrido un poco
February 6, 2017
Anyone who wants to be an actor needs to read this book. It is, by far, the best book on acting I've ever read.
It is filled with fantastic advice--some of it kind of obvious, much of it I've already been following for years, but still several good reminders of how to audition well. Of course, I've already read this twice since I bought it about a decade ago, so I shouldn't be too surprised that not much seemed new to me.
Michael Shurtleff was a major Broadway and Hollywood casting director. He often worked with David Merrick and helped find such stars as Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler and Gregory Hines. He has worked with Bob Fosse (who wrote the meta-foreword) and Andrew Lloyd Webber and helped cast the films The Graduate and The Sound of Music. He seems to know his stuff having seen thousands (if not millions) of actors audition for various roles over the years.
The book has many interesting anecdotes from his years of experience, several classroom dialogues illustrating his different guideposts, a few leads on plays with good scenes and indispensable advice for anyone trying to land a role (whether in Hollywood or Hicksville). I wasted nearly half a pen re-highlighting this book (my yellow highlighter from 10+ years ago had almost completely disappeared on these yellowing pages), there's just that much good advice within.
It is filled with fantastic advice--some of it kind of obvious, much of it I've already been following for years, but still several good reminders of how to audition well. Of course, I've already read this twice since I bought it about a decade ago, so I shouldn't be too surprised that not much seemed new to me.
Michael Shurtleff was a major Broadway and Hollywood casting director. He often worked with David Merrick and helped find such stars as Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler and Gregory Hines. He has worked with Bob Fosse (who wrote the meta-foreword) and Andrew Lloyd Webber and helped cast the films The Graduate and The Sound of Music. He seems to know his stuff having seen thousands (if not millions) of actors audition for various roles over the years.
The book has many interesting anecdotes from his years of experience, several classroom dialogues illustrating his different guideposts, a few leads on plays with good scenes and indispensable advice for anyone trying to land a role (whether in Hollywood or Hicksville). I wasted nearly half a pen re-highlighting this book (my yellow highlighter from 10+ years ago had almost completely disappeared on these yellowing pages), there's just that much good advice within.
June 2, 2022
Very practical book on how to understand and approach auditions as a performer, and how they differ from other performances.
Key takeaways: Bring the best of yourself, Shed your limitations and accept every possibility for your character, use love as your driving motivation, and above everything, look for the humour everywhere - in even the darkest scenes.
This guy discovered some of the greatest American performers of the 20th C, so trust that he knows what he's talking about. Highly recommend to all striving actors.
Key takeaways: Bring the best of yourself, Shed your limitations and accept every possibility for your character, use love as your driving motivation, and above everything, look for the humour everywhere - in even the darkest scenes.
This guy discovered some of the greatest American performers of the 20th C, so trust that he knows what he's talking about. Highly recommend to all striving actors.
April 22, 2022
If you’re an actor, it’s about auditions but for everyone else this is a beautiful extended metaphor about emotions and motivations.
It doesn’t hurt that the book is funny and insightful, the author offers incredibly astute examination into inter-personal relationships.
This book is an amazing tool for figuring out how emotions connect, It asks the reader to consider the emotional threads of their art, to move past passivity and negativity and instead push a narrative forward.
It doesn’t hurt that the book is funny and insightful, the author offers incredibly astute examination into inter-personal relationships.
This book is an amazing tool for figuring out how emotions connect, It asks the reader to consider the emotional threads of their art, to move past passivity and negativity and instead push a narrative forward.
March 9, 2025
While there are certainly a few things in this book that have not held up, the majority of Shurtleff’s advice does. This read was a great reminder that while audition processes have changed greatly with the growth of technology, the content has not. Good drama is good drama. Good acting is good acting. Also, even the very 70s opinions (I’m looking at you “lesbians, whores and gays are people too”) give the reader a sense of the theater community then and now.
February 17, 2022
I don’t believe this book should be limited just to actors (although an actor will gain more from it). A lot of the guidelines and advice Shurtleff offers is applicable to many parts of everyday life: work, relationships, self growth. Everyone has some form of an “audition” every single day, like meeting someone new or making a presentation. This book tells you how to nail that audition.
October 22, 2025
Thank you Jackie Apodaca
February 22, 2020
The New York casting director who writes this book focuses almost entirely on cold-readings including only a section on monologues which says, essentially, 'all the same stuff applies'. However, my friend, the son of a New York Actress informed me that most New York Theatres audition with monologues and not cold-reads.
'When was the book written?'
'The 70s.'
'Ah, that must be it. I suppose, after they all read the book, they realised how mad the idea really was.'
And so the matter was resolved.
I enjoyed the light humour that pervaded this book. I don't read much non-fiction cover to cover, but Shurtleff took this beyond the informative into the enjoyable with all his anecdotes and experiences.
'When was the book written?'
'The 70s.'
'Ah, that must be it. I suppose, after they all read the book, they realised how mad the idea really was.'
And so the matter was resolved.
I enjoyed the light humour that pervaded this book. I don't read much non-fiction cover to cover, but Shurtleff took this beyond the informative into the enjoyable with all his anecdotes and experiences.
October 1, 2024
Really excellent to read—it’s a testament to my acting mentors throughout the years that not a lot of this advice was new to me, and a greater testament to Michael Shurtleff that I still found it incredibly helpful to be reminded of. Oh right, I CAN do this! Oh right, I already have the tools I need—now I just need discipline, discipline, discipline.
August 8, 2023
Some parts of it definitely haven’t aged well (why does r*pe get mentioned SO MUCH??), but looking past some oddities, this is hands down one of the best books on acting, period, I’ve ever read, let alone about auditioning! A conversational and relatively easy read, but certainly a dense one. I’m prepared to come back to it many times in the future.
March 3, 2024
Phenomenal. A wealth of practical, applicable advice that goes deeper than rules and tips. Super inspiring — after reading 50 or so pages I signed up for an audition I wasn’t gonna do just because I was so excited to try out what I’ve learned! This book absolutely made me a better actor/auditioner/artist.
July 12, 2024
i loved the stories of barbara streisand and bette middler auditioning for a panel and not booking the job from the person behind the table 40 years ago like that was the slayest parts of the book for me. good stuff in here :) good to look back on
January 3, 2025
This was a reread before I use it in my class next semester.
There's so much valuable information in this little guy. It's also....veeeeery much so a product of the late 70's and I would say a good 10% of it should be received with that in mind.
There's so much valuable information in this little guy. It's also....veeeeery much so a product of the late 70's and I would say a good 10% of it should be received with that in mind.
February 22, 2021
In many ways, the book offers insights into our day-to-day relationships and how we might better understand our own motivations and those of others.
August 23, 2017
Good tips. Direct, no bullshit advices.
Every actor or director should read once.
a bit boring though. Was really hard to read more than 20 pages a day.
Every actor or director should read once.
a bit boring though. Was really hard to read more than 20 pages a day.
July 23, 2021
Quick and wonderfully written. Amazing inside out of stage audition and actor need to know. Very useful for an actor.
December 18, 2016
As an aspiring actor, I loved reading this book. Shurtleff takes you into the audition scene and gives you real life examples of what to do and what not to do. Some of the advice he gives is pretty self-explanatory but still extremely helpful. For me, I have referred back to this book to help me get into a good acting mindset. It emphasizes being yourself during an audition, while taking advantage of the many parts of the audition so the auditor gets a well-rounded view of what you can do.
This book gives information that is not only helpful in auditions, but can be implemented in basically every part of acting. I really like how this book talks about human nature and integrating that into character development. I'd say the most helpful section for an actor would be the Twelve Guideposts. In these chapters, Michael Shurtleff gives great outlines for making the character come to life using things like relationships, conflict and motivation. My favorite guidepost is number 6, Discoveries. In this guidepost, it talks about being involved in the moment, which can lead to new discoveries about other characters, themselves, the scene, or the show as a whole. It explains that the more discoveries the actor makes in a scene, the better it will be. I recommend this book to actors, directors, and anyone involved in the show-biz, but it can be useful in real life as well. It gives good tips on how to present and market yourself that can be useful in job interviews and meeting new people.
This book gives information that is not only helpful in auditions, but can be implemented in basically every part of acting. I really like how this book talks about human nature and integrating that into character development. I'd say the most helpful section for an actor would be the Twelve Guideposts. In these chapters, Michael Shurtleff gives great outlines for making the character come to life using things like relationships, conflict and motivation. My favorite guidepost is number 6, Discoveries. In this guidepost, it talks about being involved in the moment, which can lead to new discoveries about other characters, themselves, the scene, or the show as a whole. It explains that the more discoveries the actor makes in a scene, the better it will be. I recommend this book to actors, directors, and anyone involved in the show-biz, but it can be useful in real life as well. It gives good tips on how to present and market yourself that can be useful in job interviews and meeting new people.
July 11, 2010
Shurtleff shares many nuggets of wisdom for actors in this book, though those nuggets are sometimes buried due to the book's lack of clear structure.
I am an improvisor, and I haven't auditioned for a scripted play since I was a kid. Some of the advice in this book is particularly useful for actors auditioning for scripted plays, but I still found a lot of useful advice for acting in improvised scenes as well.
The core of the book sets forth the 12 "guideposts" for reading a script in an audition. Though I do not do script readings myself, these guideposts can still be useful when doing improv scenes. When practicing improv, I could focus on a particular guidepost to develop my ability in that arena. Hopefully, this would eventually lead to performing in accordance with all of the guideposts after practicing enough.
I am an improvisor, and I haven't auditioned for a scripted play since I was a kid. Some of the advice in this book is particularly useful for actors auditioning for scripted plays, but I still found a lot of useful advice for acting in improvised scenes as well.
The core of the book sets forth the 12 "guideposts" for reading a script in an audition. Though I do not do script readings myself, these guideposts can still be useful when doing improv scenes. When practicing improv, I could focus on a particular guidepost to develop my ability in that arena. Hopefully, this would eventually lead to performing in accordance with all of the guideposts after practicing enough.
May 24, 2016
4.5 stars
An absolute staple for anyone interested in acting, there's a reason it's nicknamed the acting bible! It goes above and beyond the title, because although it's an indispensable tool for auditions, it's just as useful for learning about acting in general. I would also recommend it for writers, as a lot of the advice helps writers gain a deeper understanding of their characters.
The reason it's not a full 5 stars (even though it really does deserve it) is because there were a couple of times I found it difficult to understand what Shurtleff was trying to say, particularly with regards to comedy. These times were few and far between though, it truly is excellent.
An absolute staple for anyone interested in acting, there's a reason it's nicknamed the acting bible! It goes above and beyond the title, because although it's an indispensable tool for auditions, it's just as useful for learning about acting in general. I would also recommend it for writers, as a lot of the advice helps writers gain a deeper understanding of their characters.
The reason it's not a full 5 stars (even though it really does deserve it) is because there were a couple of times I found it difficult to understand what Shurtleff was trying to say, particularly with regards to comedy. These times were few and far between though, it truly is excellent.
August 27, 2016
Lots of valuable information. Best excerpt for me .. is to give an ENTIRE range of who you are in an audition. An audition is NOT the performance.
This rang very true for me. An audition is the chance to show the auditor WHO you are. Your personality.. and all facets of it.
This book is a staple for any serious actor & with each new set of sides I receive.. I touch base with my highlighted parts and get renewed :)
This rang very true for me. An audition is the chance to show the auditor WHO you are. Your personality.. and all facets of it.
This book is a staple for any serious actor & with each new set of sides I receive.. I touch base with my highlighted parts and get renewed :)
May 21, 2015
The absolute must read for actors. If you want to have successful auditions you have to get this book for yourself and read it a few times. Known by all in the business as the "bible" on how to audition and very good just to go deeper into characters after you've been cast in a play.
December 28, 2007
I thought this would be cheesy, but damned if it's not really, really helpful.
June 24, 2008
A must read for anyone who aspires to be an actor.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews