Excerpts
“It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.” (Erma Bombeck) Just about everyone who wants to be an actor is pursuing some kind of dream. To actually dive in takes courage. Congratulations for taking the plunge! (Or at least congratulations for thinking about it!) Whether you’re already working as an actor, or your “inner actor” has yet to make a public appearance, I’m glad you’ve found this book.When I left my full-time teaching job in 1990,
I auditioned all over town and sent my headshot and resume to agents,
trying to get a foot in the door ― any door that I could find.
Some doors opened to interesting opportunities, some doors led nowhere,
some simply slammed shut and still other doors led to people who
wanted only my money. However, I found no one who would or could
answer all of the questions I had about the acting world in the Twin
Cities. My learning was strictly by trial and error.
I swore to myself that if I ever figured it
all out, I would share what I had learned with whoever needed it.
That vow of 18 years ago has finally resulted in this book.
Lots of folks in town could have written this book. I'm not the only expert; however, I'm writing from a unique vantage. In the past 18 years, I've learned all about this business from a variety of perspectives:
- As an actor in hundreds of commercials, industrials and voice-overs,
- As an actor on a handful of Twin Cities’ stages and in a few independent films,
- As an acting student with over a dozen local acting teachers,
- As an agent interviewing and auditioning new talent, directing on-camera and voice auditions and booking actors for jobs,
- As a teacher and coach in classes on the business of acting, on-camera acting, ear prompting and voice-overs,
- And finally as a documentary video director and producer.
I've also answered thousands of questions
from new actors. It’s
amazing to me that I can now answer the same questions I was asking
almost two decades ago.
In New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, it’s easy to find resources with all kinds of information for actors. Some of that information will apply to the Twin Cities; much of it does not. This is a thriving market, but it is quite different from the acting world in the three biggest markets. That’s what makes this book unique. There has never been one single reference book that will answer questions about how the biz really works here in the Twin Cities. I hope this book will do that for you.
THE ACTING BIZ: |
| Introduction |
| Chapter 1. The Business in the Twin Cities (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and then us!) |
| Chapter 2. Your Product and Your Survival in the Biz (Just say “no” to angst.) |
Chapter 3. The Tools to Support and Enhance Your Product |
| Chapter 4. Agents (Doorway to the commercial/industrial world.) |
| Chapter 5. Union / Non-union (The grass is always greener…) |
| Chapter 6. Casting Directors (No “casting couches” in this town.) |
| Chapter 7. Auditioning (Learn to love it.) |
| Chapter 8. At the Shoot (Hurry up and wait.) |
| Chapter 9. Training and Classes (Just do it; but don’t spend a fortune!) |
| Chapter 10. Theater in the Cities (The best part of the biz.) |
| Chapter 11. Film and TV (You want to be a star? You’re in the wrong town.) |
| Chapter 12. Voice-overs (Nice work if you can get it.) |
| Chapter 13. Kids and the Business (With the emphasis on the word business!) |
| Chapter 14. Modeling and Print Work (Look is everything.) |
| Chapter 15. Standup Comedy (By Joe Lovitt) (The Twin Cities: a good place to start.) |
| Chapter 16. Legal and Accounting Issues (My least favorite subject!) |
| Chapter 17. Other Markets: Resources (Know before you go…) |
APPENDICES:
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