Acting Article Archives 

There's no way I can improve on Mr. Shakespeare's advice to actors about acting. However, he did not go on to discuss the practical, professional, business side of things – and that's my particular bailiwick. I hope you enjoy these articles about your acting career – which have appeared elsewhere on the web.

Acting School: Inspiration 101 The main and most obvious difference between the successful actors and the "never was's" is that little trick of the mind that allowed the successful ones to ignore "the facts" and just keep pressing on. CLICK TO READ

Acting On Bad Advice People in your family – moms, dads, sisters, brothers, second cousins, and maiden aunts can assault you with their fears, concerns, and prejudices. They will do this because you have decided to go off the beaten path – and they are worried about you. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Success 101 A cursory inspection of any film, television show, or any theatrical production – at any level – will prove that people who look like – well, ordinary – are successfully practicing a professional acting career. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Actor Types 101 One of the basic premises of all marketing (a fancy word for selling) is the USP. This stands for Unique Selling Proposition. For instance, Avis "Tries Harder," or Pepsi "Hits the Spot." These are not just slogans, they are specific words that convey a benefit that will help sell the product. That is if you are looking for something that "hits the spot" – as casting directors are doing every day. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Headshots 101 Most successful actors get hundreds of headshots over the course of their career. The reason? The picture must 'work' – it must get you called in for an audition or a meeting. If it doesn’t get you called -- then it’s not 'working.' CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Headshots 202 You can argue that your talent will be recognized, or keep using the same old picture and insisting that agents and casting directors (against their own better judgement) just aren't looking for new faces – but the reality will still remain ... you need a good headshot to get through that first door. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Auditioning 101 Preparation usually involves several steps. Here are just a few: Know what you are auditioning for. Ask questions, get information, listen carefully. Familiarize yourself with the script (if there is one). If there is a script (or sides), study the character and make a couple of solid choices as to how you will perform it. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Monologues 101 Now you are faced with the challenge of finding a good monologue. I think my experience in high school can help you form the beginning of a good plan of operation – with regard to finding "a killer monologue." CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Acting For Money 101 Acting for the fun of it is a great joy – but it's no substitute for a paycheck earned on the boards. (Which means on a stage or sound-stage.) But how do you do it? Let me tell you how I did it and hopefully give you a sort of blueprint to follow. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Background Acting 101 The most common thing I hear – WHICH IS COMPLETELY WRONG -- is that being a background artist (extra) will somehow stand in the way of becoming an actor in the future. Utter nonsense. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Charm 101 Oh, talent is important – but being a nice, charming person is the secret to working regularly. Always keep in mind that no matter how you behave, you will get a reputation in our 'small town.' CLICK TO READ

Acting School: The Money Part If we are not working at our business to keep things running smoothly on a daily basis, if we ever sit back and wait for things to happen, stop our marketing and promoting efforts, or stop trying new ideas to get people into our store (to buy our product) well ... every business around us will say a big “thank you” and grab our customers. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Getting An Agent They call people who have jobs to fill and they try to "sell" the personnel they represent – actors. They are like salespeople at an office temporary agency. Just because they sell actors doesn't change the basic job. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: The Business Of Acting Entertaining the audience is what you will get paid for. Whether you ply your trade anonymously behind a microphone, appear in Broadway musicals, act in commercials, sing for your supper, do your thing in sitcoms or soaps, make independent films, or interpret Shakespeare in the park - your primary focus (as a business person) should be the audience – the paying customers. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: The Interview In the case of an agent, you are interviewing a prospective salesperson for your business. It's your job to convince a thoroughly professional salesperson (an agent) that representing your product (you) is going to produce a lot of income. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Moving, Dreaming, Learning One of the most serious mistakes made by actors who want to get going in their career, is moving to the 'big leagues' before they've tested their skills where they are. If you have not managed to become a big fish in your small pond, then you may have some work to do ... CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Commitment 101 We are going to make more money by acting this year. We are going to drop the pretense that our love of this business is anywhere near enough to satisfy our longings. We also want the cash. The bucks. In fact, the BIG bucks. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Success 101 ... some words of wisdom from seven very sharp people who have all made their way up the ladder of Show Biz success by following their own advice (and probably the advice of each of the others).CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Success 202 The idea that some people should just forget it because they aren't talented – or that others should go ahead because they have "the look" – needs to be dispelled, by those of us who know the truth about what it takes ... CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Representation 101 The concept that a powerful man or woman can help you skip all the hard stuff in an acting career is "fairy-tale" like in it's naivete. If this were the case, then all the agents and managers would spend their time building Tom Cruise-like careers for any actor they happened to pick. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Commitment 202 We all know, instinctively, what our behavior really means: Actors who keep doing the same thing over and over again – expecting to get different results – probably need the help of a mental health professional, not another pay-for-play showcase. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Brando's Theory It was an amazing moment in my life. Not so much because I was arguing with Marlon Brando, but that it was Marlon Brando and he was enjoying (and provoking) the argument. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Success 303 I will indulge in a little unabashed plagiarism. And so, I offer you my "rewrites" of some classic and not so classic quotations – slanted, naturally, to our narrow show biz interests. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Charm 202 ...one of the nicest men I've ever met. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that he's one of the nicest men most of his co-workers have ever met ... (he's) appeared in about a 120 movies and 100's of television shows – so, that's a ton of co-workers. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Do It Yourself 101 Television executives thought Seinfeld was letting them in on the secret of his success when the storyline of the show prompted George to say, "It's about nothing." ... they didn't even realize that they were the butt of that joke. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Working 101 If you really want to know what it takes to actually accomplish your dream of acting professionally – do what it takes to find out. If you continue to believe that someone else is going to come along and take the steps needed to get you to the top – well, at Disneyland that used to be an e-ticket fantasy ride. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Looks 101 What you look like is part of the whole "you" package. If you are not happy with the way you look – join the billions of humans who feel the same way about themselves. That feeling comes with the territory. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Jobs 101 If you are one of those people who think that these "reasons" for your business being in the dumper are valid, I'd like to point a few things out that you may not have considered. CLICK TO READ

Book Review: Acting Is Everything I believe there is no subject that relates to an actor's life, which is not covered in this huge 600-page book (with 9 point type). Judy has looked into, written about, and listed so many resources; it is hard to imagine that there isn't something in this book to cover almost every conceivable circumstance in an actor’s professional life." CLICK TO READ

Acting Jokes How many actors does it take to screw in a light bulb? 100. One to screw it in and 99 to sit around Starbucks saying, 'I could have done that – if someone would only give me a break.' CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Starting An Acting Career Wanting to be a professional actor is a laudable goal. But if you expect it to be a painless journey requiring very little work or commitment from you – you're in for a bad day that lasts for years, until you give up in frustration. Your attitude about your acting career is vitally important to achieving success. CLICK TO READ

Acting School: Competition 101 Since acting is really just behavior we are getting paid for, it seems self-evident that attitude is pretty doggone important.What shapes our attitude is what we believe... what we accept as the truth. CLICK TO READ

5 Good Reasons To Stop Acting Talent is in the eye of the beholder. If the audience likes you and wants to see you (willing to pay money to see you) then you have talent. Period. Don't let this clearly wrong 'reason' stop you from trying. CLICK TO READ

7 Ways To Fail At Your Acting Career There are two bad results from this tactic. First, once your friends realize that this is how you behave, they will make darn sure you aren't invited to any of their shows. Second, you will probably end up becoming a full-time critic (paid or not) and your acting dreams will be left behind. CLICK TO READ

11 Habits Of The Successful Actor Those actors on sets, who complain about the dressing rooms, the food, the director, the co-star, the costume people, the hours, the script, or pretty much anything to do with the production – are labeled as "complainers" and they are rarely appreciated or tolerated for very long. CLICK TO READ

9 Steps To A Successful Acting Career Here's my 9 step mental conditioning regimen. Practice every day and the inevitable rejection you face will never get the best of you. If you can overcome the rejection ... they become the 9 steps to a successful acting career. CLICK TO READ