Actor's Business

In order to be a successful actor, you must learn how to sell your product-yourself. This book tells how to do just that and how to set yourself apart from the "herd." Reilly, who has achieved success as an actor, director, writer, and teacher, shares his experiences with the reader. The tips on how and where to find work in New York City, Hollywood, and the regional markets are invaluable. His advice to actors on packaging and promoting themselves as a small business should be of interest to all types of professionals seeking to advance their careers. The author's breezy, witty writing style makes this an enjoyable read. Highly recommended for theater arts collections in high school, college, and public libraries. --Library Journal This is a great book to give someone about to graduate from an acting program. It fulfills the subtitle completely, and instructs the reader in marketing techniques used in the 'real world' (like a survey of 100 people to determine your 'type'). It encourages the neophyte to start in a smaller market than NY or LA-and explains how-and then covers the move to 'Fortress Hollywood' or 'Gotham' once you have union cards, credits and demo reel in hand. --Theatre Directories An Actor's Business, by Andrew Reilly, is more helpfully subtitled How to Market Yourself as an Actor No Matter Where You Live. And that pretty much sums up the focus of this helpful book. This is no simple compendium of insider tips, but rather it's a thoughtful and thorough guide to virtually all aspects of the acting profession. After an overview of acting opportunities, Reilly discusses unions, preparing yourself for the marketplace, 'the actor as small business,' regional markets, Hollywood, and New York. Appendices include a useful glossary of industry terms (which is a major service in itself), a list of regional talent agents and casting directors. In short, Reilly has managed to pack in just about everything a would-be professional needs to know about starting and managing a career. Well done in every respect, this book receives our highest recommendation. -- Stage Directions Magazine This is an extremely useful little book for any actor but especially for rookies. The book purports to explain how show business works and how to market yourself as an actor no matter where you live. On both points it succeeds admirably. There's a generally realistic and well-balanced discussion of unions (SAG, Equity, and AFTRA), which largely control your life and death if you want to be a professional. Reilly gives a fair representation of work conditions in Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia, Washington/Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, and of course, New York and L.A., among others. I've worked in all these places except Seattle, and he's dead on. There are some agents and casting directors listed in the back-enough contacts to make the book useful for its lists alone. Unless you are particularly skilled in marketing yourself as actor-I've met bloody few who are-I urge you to consider adding this book to your bookshelf. -Florida Blue Sheet