Competition for acting work is fierce, and although talent is important, actors need all the help they can get. Now in its fourth edition, this practical, comprehensive guide contains invaluable information and advice to enable actors to make the most of: drama schools; audition speeches and sight-readings; letters, CVs and photographs; finding and working with an agent; auditions for musicals; the fringe; interviews; TV, commercials and films; voice-overs; the Internet; Equity. The author, an experienced director, has drawn on his own knowledge and also on the experience of numerous other professionals to produce a book that has become the standard work of reference for actors of all ages.
Finding your voice can be used as a resource by actors at all levels, form students and young professionals to established and experienced actors. Drama teachers in schools and committed amateur actors who want to increase their vocal skills and understanding will also find it invaluable.
'Essential reading for any young actor' Dame Maggie Smith Competition for acting work is fierce and talent is not necessarily enough. Actors need all the help they can get with all aspects of the profession. Now in its fifth edition, completely revised and updated, this practical, comprehensive guide contains invaluable information and advice to enable actors to succeed in the business. Written with honesty, humour and thoroughness, An Actor's Guide to Getting Work draws on the author's rich experience in the field to offer advice to both the novice and the seasoned performer. New material in this fifth edition includes what drama schools are looking for, approaching Shakespeare for audition, professional email etiquette, using the internet as a self-marketing tool, and many more useful checklists and updated insights into the profession.
The Actor's Business Plan is a self-directed practical guide for actors graduating from formal training programs, as well as for those already in the business whose careers need to move ahead more successfully. Using the familiar language of acting training, the book offers a method for the achievement of dreams through a five-year life and career plan giving positive steps to develop a happy life as an actor and as a person. It assists performers to flourish using the same kind of business/career planning that is a necessary part of life for entrepreneurs and business people. This introduction to the acting industry provides essential knowledge not only for how the business actually works, but also describes what casting directors, agents, and managers do, demystifies the role of unions, discusses how much things cost, and offers advice on branding and marketing strategies. It differs from other such handbooks in that it addresses the everyday issues of life, money, and jobs that so frequently destroy an actor's career before it is even begun. While addressing NYC and LA, the guide also gives a regional breakdown for those actors who may wish to begin careers or to settle in other cities. It is loaded with personal stories, and interviews with actors, casting directors, and agents from throughout the US. The Actor's Business Plan is the answer to the common complaint by students that they were not taught how to negotiate the show business world while at school. It is the perfect antidote for this problem and can easily fit into a ten or a thirteen-week class syllabus. Offering support as a personal career coach, empowering the actor to take concrete steps towards their life and career dreams, The Actor's Business Plan: A Career Guide for the Acting Life is a must-have book for actors who are determined to be a part of the professional world .
The MAP: An Actor's Guide to On-Camera Acting teaches on-camera acting in a practical and technical way—helping new actors understand the rules of on-camera acting as if they are learning a foreign language and applying that language to their acting skill set. The book gives actors a step-by-step technique on how to audition for on-camera acting jobs and what to do on set after booking them. Many on-camera acting books are written by established movie stars and aren't geared toward actors in an undergraduate acting program or those who are just starting to audition for on-camera jobs for the first time. Stef Tovar teaches his proven on-camera acting technique, shows actors how to make the perfect self-tape, and prepares them for life on set—detailing the differences between working in the theater vs. working in television and film. The author peppers the text with his own stories from set as examples, including auditioning for Lee Daniels and working with Matt Damon, Steven Soderbergh, and many others. The MAP is a funny and encouraging perspective from a seasoned actor who shares with aspiring actors things no one tells you before booking your first on-camera acting job.
William Esper, one of the most celebrated acting teachers of our time, takes us through his step-by-step approach to the central challenge of advanced acting work: creating and playing a character. Esper’s first book, The Actor’s Art and Craft, earned praise for describing the basics taught in his famous first-year acting class. The Actor’s Guide to Creating a Character continues the journey. In these pages, co-author Damon DiMarco vividly re-creates Esper’s second-year course, again through the experiences of a fictional class. Esper’s training builds on Sanford Meisner’s legendary exercises, a world-renowned technique that Esper further developed through his long association with Meisner and the decades he has spent training a host of distinguished actors. His approach is flexible enough to apply to any role, helping actors to create characters with truthful and compelling inner lives.
A Step-by-Step Guide for the Actor Pursuing a Career in New York A great deal has changed in the industry in the last decade. In this new, third edition of An Actor’s Guide—Making It in New York City, Glenn Alterman provides everything actors need to know. You’ll discover the ten things that it takes to make it as a successful actor in the city, how to support yourself, where and how to start your life as a New York actor, understanding and marketing “your brand,” the best acting schools and conservatories, effective ways to contact agents and casting directors, and more. The author, a successful working actor, also shares many insider tips on topics such as: how to network effectively headshots, photographers, and how to have a successful photo session creating your actor websites the best Internet resources and casting sites how to give winning auditions and interviews finding and developing great monologues off and off-off Broadway opportunities TV and film opportunities voice-overs commercial print modeling commercials survival jobs appropriate behavior in the business scams and rip-offs to avoid information for actors with disabilities information on diversity and LGBTQ concerns a listing of agents, casting directors and theaters Among the book’s many interviews are legendary show business figures, such as actors Henry Winkler, Alison Fraser, Dylan Baker, Lisa Emery, and Charles Busch, as well as casting directors Juliet Taylor, Ellen Lewis, Jay Binder, Donna DeSeta, and Liz Lewis, among many others. With Alterman’s essential guide, you’ll be prepared to launch and maintain your dream career in the city that never sleeps.
"I was totally unprepared for the transformation that Seth's technique created in me. . . . I realized that what I thought I knew about acting up to that point was largely misguided . . . but I now had a great, talented, dedicated teacher who generously wanted to share his tools with everyone. There is muscularity, not to mention wisdom and truth to Seth's techniques. He is a wonderful teacher, and I know that having him as my first guide is one of the luckiest things to have happened to me in my career and life. And when I can't get back to class with him, I am so grateful I have this book to turn to."—Anne Hathaway "This book is truly unlike anything else I know—these pieces are haikus on specific elements of performance and character building."—Philip Himberg, executive director, Sundance Theatre Institute A collection of practical acting tips, tools, and exercises, An Actor's Companion is ideal for both the seasoned professionals and actors-in-training. The tips—all simple, direct, and useful—are easy to understand and even easier to apply, in both rehearsal and in performance. Seth Barrish is an actor, teacher, and the co-artistic director of The Barrow Group in New York City. In his thirty-year career, he has directed the award-winning shows My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (Lucille Lortel Award for Best Solo Show, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Solo Show), Sleepwalk With Me (Nightlife Award for Outstanding Comedian in a Major Performance), The Tricky Part (Obie Award, Drama Desk nominations for Best Play and Best Solo Show), Pentecost (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), Old Wicked Songs (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and Garland Award for Best Direction), and Good (Straw Hat Award for Best Direction), among dozens of others.
In this follow up to his most famous book, An Actor Prepares, Stanislavski develop his influential 'system' of acting by exploring the imaginative processes at the heart of the actor's craft. Building a Character deals with the physical realisation of character on the stage through such tools as expressions, movement and speech. It is a book in which every theory is inextricably bound up with practice - a perfect handbook to the physical art of acting. The work of Stanislavski has inspired generations of actors and trainers and - available now in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth - it remains an essential read for actors and directors at all stages of their careers.
