Self-Management for Actors: Getting Down to (Show) Business / Edition 4

by Bonnie Gillespie

Overview

No other book for actors focuses so succinctly on the business of self-management. Whether an actor has an agent or manager or is building toward assembling that team, "Self-Management for Actors" will provide a roadmap for surviving—and thriving—in the entertainment industry.

There is nothing magic or even a little mystical about the business side of the business. There is, however, a cloak of protection around some industry information. The good news is, "the edge" that actors are seeking is in your hands already! Knowing your type, researching the target buyers of that primary type, staying on the radar in organic and meaningful ways, producing your own content to showcase what you do effortlessly, and learning how to network like a ninja is all within your control!

Sure, there's work involved, but once you come at it from a place of owning your "bullseye," it doesn't feel like work. It feels like living your dreams!

These self-management principles are simple, accessible, and do-able! No silly "actor busy work" here; SMFA is about balancing your creative fire with the organizational skills that will allow you to navigate this business without "leading from need," as so many actors tend to do.

Peppered with real-world examples from working actors and behind-the-desk advice from industry pros, "Self-Management for Actors" has quickly become the most well-worn book on every actor's bookshelf. Author Bonnie Gillespie has taught the SMFA principles all over the world, helping actors navigate tier-jumps from the very beginnings of their creative careers on up through crafting that first acceptance speech!

With a pocket companion guide and interactive support, this book is an actor's best friend. It's Hollywood grad school... in book form!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780972301961
Publisher:	Cricket Feet Publishing
Publication date:	01/15/2014
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	440
Sales rank:	661,470
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Bonnie Gillespie has been named in the Back Stage "Best of Los Angeles" Issue for her casting and writing. Her weekly column, The Actors Voice, is at ActorsAccess and her podcast, The Work, is on iTunes. Her books include "Casting Qs," "Acting Qs," and "Self-Management for Actors," which was named one of The Top Ten Best Books on Acting Ever Written. Bonnie facilitates seminars based on her books and has demystified the casting process and the business side of pursuing an artistic career as a guest instructor at colleges, universities, and private acting studios all over the world.

Read an Excerpt

I was advising an actor who was talking about how hard this whole "moving to LA" thing was feeling. Stress from the family. Doubts introduced by well-meaning friends. Leaving behind a decent job and a network of support. Choosing to follow a dream, thousands of miles away, alone (starting over on building up friendships and connecting with a community).

I said, "Living your dreams is hard. Moving across the country alone is hard. Finding (and keeping) a good survival job is hard. Starting over is hard. The thing is, that's where most people stop the list. And here's what you need to know: NOT living your dreams is hard. Staying in a place just because it's where all of your relatives are located is hard. Rolling around on a plastic pad behind a desk at a passionless job because it pays well and provides security that others in your life seem to value is hard. Staying stuck and wondering what would've been if you HAD chosen to live your dreams is hard. So, PICK YOUR HARD."

That's the whole point: We get to pick our hard.

There's no one course of life that's easier, predictably, before we start out on its path. We can't know what twists and turns any of our life's choices will present to us. Just as we can't take two routes to our vacation destination simultaneously, we can only drive the road we're on, and there are times that road is going to be hard. But just as some folks prefer the "hard" of freeway traffic to surface streets, some artists prefer the "hard" of pursuing their dreams, unapologetically, sometimes alone, but focused and committed, to the "hard" of a regular paycheck, health insurance, a 401K, and "casual Fridays."

When it gets hard—and it will—remind yourself that you get to pick your hard. Bad audition? Stuck on a plot point in a script you're writing? Released from avail after being sure the gig was yours? Dropped by your agent just when things were starting to pick up? Edited out of the final cut of the film you told everyone you'd shot? Told you're too old or too skinny or too ethnic or too anything else for whatever particular role you really want to play? Snubbed in the casting room? Hating your reel after having spent a ton on it? Missing your family back home?

Yep. It's all hard. The only thing harder is not pursuing your dream.

Table of Contents

Foreword Bob Clendenin 11

Introduction 13

Acknowledgments 19

Part 1 Mindset

Chapter 1 What's Important 23

Chapter 2 The Costs of Acting 35

Chapter 3 Premature Moves 53

Chapter 4 Actor Mind Taffy 57

Chapter 5 The Web of Trust 61

Part 2 Prep

Chapter 6 Your Bullseye 73

Chapter 7 Your Show Bible 87

Chapter 8 Targeting Buyers 91

Chapter 9 Your Business Plan 101

Chapter 10 The Right Training 109

Part 3 Materials

Chapter 11 Your Headshots 115

Chapter 12 Your Resumé 123

Chapter 13 Your Reel 137

Chapter 14 Your Bio and Cover Letter 149

Chapter 15 Your Online Presence 157

Part 4 People

Chapter 16 Agents and Managers 165

Chapter 17 The Casting Office 187

Chapter 18 Publicists 195

Part 5 Practice

Chapter 19 Become a Booking Machine 201

Chapter 20 Auditions 217

Chapter 21 On the Set 237

Chapter 22 Content Creation 251

10-Self-Management for Actors

Chapter 23 Self-Promotion 261

Chapter 24 Working It 271

Chapter 25 Money Management 293

Chapter 26 Gratitude 311

Part 6 Do What You Do

Chapter 27 Mastering Your Market 319

Chapter 28 Moving to Los Angeles 331

Chapter 29 Casting Director Workshops 351

Chapter 30 Niches 361

Chapter 31 Union Membership 377

Chapter 32 SMFA for Young Actors 381

Chapter 33 When to Quit 393

Chapter 34 Life as a Hyphenate 401

In Closing 405

How to Stay Plugged in with SMFA 411

About the Author 413

Index 415

Editorial Reviews

"This straightforward guide offers advice about marketing yourself as well as managing your acting career." — Tom Cruise's Resources, Training & Tools

"... right on target!" — Dave Williams, ACTORSandCREW, The Only Ten Acting Resources You Will Ever Need

From the Publisher