New Arrivals
What happens when the music stops, the masks fall, and you’re left with nothing but your truth? From the streets of Memphis to Hollywood soundstages, Anthony W. Johnson has lived—and risked—each lesson he shares.​Audacity to Act is a fierce, soulful roadmap for actors who refuse to settle for mediocrity. Drawing from a lifetime across theater, dance, film, opera, theme parks, cruise ships, and his own company, Ballet Magique®, Johnson distills the wisdom of Stanislavski, Strasberg, Meisner, Chekhov, Hagen, Adler, Shurtleff, and Laban—blending in mask work, animal work, Eastern philosophy, Black Drama, and industry realities. The result: a dynamic arsenal of sophistication and tools, wisdom, and inspiration—for the modern performer ready to break boundaries and ignite their craft. Part technical manual, part memoir, Audacity to Act pulls you into the rehearsal room, onto the stage, and in front of the camera. It challenges you to interrogate your “why,” sharpen your mind, body, and voice, and treat every role as a sacred act of creation. This book confronts your excuses and dares you to become what you were meant to be. As Johnson states, “It’s time to stop performing for the shadows and start living as a shapeshifter, prophet, and guardian of human truth. Thank you for traveling these pages—a map drawn in ink and vision, charting an ascent toward artistic greatness.” With unflinching honesty and hard-won wisdom, Johnson invites you to move beyond simply being a “working” actor. He urges you to become a true artist—armed with craft, courage, and the audacity to act.
PRESALE ORDERS MAY 22 Barnes & Noble
Stanley Alexander, Author of Darkest Days Review of Johnson's Audacity to Act
"Audacity to Act demands that the reader sit with a concept longer than feels convenient. That demand reflects Johnson's central argument rather than contradicting it. He has no patience for actors who want the credentials without the formation, and he extends that impatience to the reader with full consistency. The book suits actors committed to a long training arc, teachers who want an integrated curriculum that treats movement, voice, drama, literature, and philosophy as a single organism, directors and writers who need to understand the actor's interior process at technical depth, and performers from minority and LGBTQ+ communities who want to find their histories and realities treated as central craft material rather than supplementary acknowledgment. Anthony W. Johnson, in Audacity to Act, sets a very high bar, and he does it with an authority he’s earned. The book is dense, passionate, occasionally brutal, and often beautiful. It does what good training should: it makes you uncomfortable in the best way, it exposes where you’ve been coasting, and shows you how much more there is to learn."
More About the Book & the Motion Picture, Alexis Colette
April - 2026 - Book Sales on Lulu
What happens when the music stops, the masks fall, and you’re left with nothing but your truth? From the streets of Memphis to Hollywood soundstages, Anthony W. Johnson has lived—and risked—each lesson he shares.
​
Audacity to Act is a fierce, soulful roadmap for actors who refuse to settle for mediocrity. Drawing from a lifetime across theater, dance, film, opera, theme parks, cruise ships, and his own company, Ballet Magique®, Johnson distills the wisdom of Stanislavski, Strasberg, Meisner, Chekhov, Hagen, Adler, Shurtleff, and Laban—blending in mask work, animal work, Eastern philosophy, Black Drama, and industry realities. The result: a dynamic arsenal of sophistication and tools, wisdom, and inspiration—for the modern performer ready to break boundaries and ignite their craft.
Part technical manual, part memoir, Audacity to Act pulls you into the rehearsal room, onto the stage, and in front of the camera. It challenges you to interrogate your “why,” sharpen your mind, body, and voice, and treat every role as a sacred act of creation. This book confronts your excuses and dares you to become what you were meant to be.
As Johnson states, “It’s time to stop performing for the shadows and start living as a shapeshifter, prophet, and guardian of human truth. Thank you for traveling these pages—a map drawn in ink and vision, charting an ascent toward artistic greatness.”
With unflinching honesty and hard-won wisdom, Johnson invites you to move beyond simply being a “working” actor. He urges you to become a true artist—armed with craft, courage, and the audacity to act.
May 23rd - Release - Preorder
AUDACITY TO ACT & ALEXIS COLETTE MOTION PICTURE
Audacity to Act is more than a masterclass for artists; it is a manifesto for survival. Drawing on the 'Musical DNA' of his upcoming supernatural thriller, Alexis Colette, Johnson reveals how to navigate the 'Bardo' of the creative process. He teaches you how to recognize the many masks of the ego—including the antagonist JAW—to finally step into the role you were born to play: The Director of your own destiny.
Whether you are a performer seeking excellence or a seeker looking for the 'Audacity' to live authentically, this book is your guide to growing 'old and wise, not bitter.' It is time to stop performing for the shadows and start conducting the symphony of your life.
FALL 2026 - PRE-PRODUCTION FOR ALEXIS COLETTE
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anthony W. Johnson is an award-nominated creator, visionary leader, and trailblazer in the performing arts. As founder and CEO of Ballet Magique®, he has captivated audiences worldwide for 27 years and earned international acclaim for pioneering “Form Fusion”—a dynamic blend of dance, magic, music, theatre, and martial arts. Johnson’s innovative productions have garnered multiple Lester Horton Award nominations and pushed the boundaries of stage and screen. His remarkable career includes touring with Sir Paul McCartney, becoming the first African American ballet soloist at the Chicago Lyric Opera, and performing principal roles in ballet and theater alongside renowned artists and institutions worldwide.
The foreword is by Executive Producer Franco Sama, a proud Producers Guild of America (PGA) member. Sama has produced and executive-produced over 30 independent feature films, including the acclaimed dark comedy "Guns, Girls and Gambling," starring Gary Oldman, Christian Slater, and Dane Cook, which secured a distribution deal with Universal Home Entertainment.
COMING SOON!
