The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor Paperback – December 27, 2005

It's an amazing book with more hands on information than you can imagine. But it, read it. You'll love it

I've been taking acting classes for years, and have also read basically all the acting books. Most of the books are pretty useless, because most of what you need to learn comes from *doing* in classes which you can't get from reading, and the books treat aspects of acting either too superficially (e.g. a single page on substitutions) or else are too opinionated and polemical (you *must* do it this way and not that way).This is the book to read *after* you've taken classes for a year or two. Larry covers *everything*, describes everything with tremendous detail and justification, and tends not to take sides but explain how different techniques work for different people. Basically, he goes a level deeper that most acting coaches do, so you get a lot of the "why" you might be missing from class, or just fills in gaps of knowledge you have.So, it's just a masterpiece.BUT... the book bothers me because the cover is SO, SO, SO bad, SO cheesy. I had refused to buy it for years because with a cover so tasteless -- looks like it's from 1985, with the blood-red handwriting, the super-dramatic author headshot, that I couldn't believe any good coach would ever approve a cover so "slick" and faux-"serious" and completely devoid of life or joy. Even the title "Intent to Live" sounds fake-dramatic. It was only after an acting coach of mine told me it was the best book out there, that I took the plunge and read it.So buy the book and ignore the cover. Hopefully someday a new edition comes out with a cover that seems to actually reflect the book's content, instead of communicating the exact *opposite* of what's inside.

Wow! This is a great bookOne of the jobs of an actor when interpreting a part is to put into place his or her experiences, to take advantage of the past in the present moment. In his book, Larry Moss not only gives us, actors, tools for acting, for the technique of acting, but he shares his personal experiences, showing that acting is also living and being able to re-create specific moments in your life. That is the secret that makes this book different from many other acting books.Moss's personal experiences tie The Intent to Live together with a thread of powerful emotional content. I responded particularly strongly, for example, to his account of a dinner party with Stella Adler. The conversation and inspiration felt so personal and true that I found myself weeping together with everyone around the table.In addition, Mr. Moss offers many exercises that, as a professional actress, I believe useful, creative and unique: "The System of Wants" and "Thesaurus" exercises are a couple of my favorites.Larry Moss tells us his truth. He reveals himself as a human being and as an actor who benefits from lived experience. When he talks about his life, it could be my life he's talking about. When he talks about his path as an actor and growth as an artist, his story resonates so closely with my own that he becomes a companion in the quest for the career as well as the art of acting. I applaud his honesty and humility.

Buy Larry's book. It will not only enrich your acting, but it will also enrich your life. I have had this book for two years now and am constantly referring back to it (I especially love the "Monologue Workout Program" near the end of the book). I keep it on the bookshelf next to my bed so that it's always within reach.Along with Betsy Polatin's The Actor's Secret and Bill Connington's Physical Expression on Stage and Screen (both books on the Alexander Technique that are the perfect complement to Larry's book), The Intent to Live is as good as it gets outside of actually taking classes with him. Just wait and see what his approach does for you.

This is one of the books I use as a text book for the acting classes that I teach. Moss is able to clearly and succinctly share with the reader, the tools needed for acting (and *directing). Divided into useful chapters he breaks the process down in such a way that the reader can apply and fairly quickly put into action what they are reading. Universally my students have found it incredibly useful.*Any student of directing will find this book useful as Moss articulates the acting process in such a way that it parallels script analysis.

The book is very inspirational and very informative. I suggest this to anyone that would like to self educate themselves in the art of acting

I decided to purchase this book shortly after I had finished Sanford Meisner's book on Acting. Larry Moss has a wonderful no nonsense approach that will help you become a better Actor. For example, pointing out an Actor's own laziness as their demise is just one of the many useful lessons to keep in mind. Larry goes in depth in Script Analysis, Personal Acting Exercises, and much more in this thorough and well-written book. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Acting who's looking for new motivation to become better and "Achieve Your True Potential as an Actor".