acting business

Headshots

It’s a new year, a time when we sweep out the old and invite in the new, creating fresh changes for our lives. It’s time for resolutions ranging from dusting off that old gym membership, to signing up for new ...
Online Actors Tools

When you stop for a second and think about how much time people spend online, it’s hard to believe that the internet has really only been in widespread commercial use for a  little over 20 years. Imagine if you were ...
Acting Business

“I’ll always be there because I’m a skilled professional actor. Whether or not I’ve any talent is beside the point.”  –Michael Caine Many people fall into the trap of thinking of our favorite actors as almost super-human: we revere them ...
Focus on Film and TV Auditions

As challenging as it can sometimes be to make a living by acting, you have to admit this is a great time to be in the business. There are more channels, more web-based television and film production, more online opportunities, ...
Acting in Los Angeles

New York, or L.A.? It’s the perennial question asked by up-and-coming performers of all stripes, as well as people working in the myriad of other jobs associated with the entertainment business. Do you prefer sunshine and glamour, and don’t mind ...
Social Media for Actors

Social media in just a few short years has become so ubiquitous that it’s simply an accepted reality of our day-to-day lives. For some of us, it’s more like our minute-to-minute lives. Think about this for a second: Facebook has ...
Great Headshots

In an unseasonably warm Autumn in New York, one can only imagine fashionistas peering shrewishly up at the beaming sun, still wearing last summer’s shorts and t-shirts, frustrated in their desires to switch to that smart new fall sweater that’s ...
Auditions

There’s a trite saying about writing that unimaginative professors like to trot out when they’ve run out of original thoughts: “Writers write,” is what they say, generally with a smug, knowing look. Although this is a meaningless phrase disguised as ...
Make your own work

Actors probably more than any other profession go through peaks and valleys when it comes to working. That’s just the nature of the business. Even the most bankable Hollywood stars have fallow periods where there just aren’t so many jobs ...
Audition mistakes

“An audition’s an opportunity to have an audience.” — Al Pacino As actors we spend a lot of time thinking about auditions, and that’s probably okay. After all, the audition is our version of a job interview! But problems can ...
Casting Director watching actors reel

When we talk about the tools actors need in order to secure auditions, the first thing most people think about is headshots. And of course, having a quality headshot is vital–as is getting the latest casting alerts and submitting your ...
Hugh Jackman

A few years ago the brilliant “Key and Peele” sketch comedy show featured a hilarious parody of “Les Mis” that had even fans of the musical rolling in the aisles. To give you some idea, it currently has some 8 ...
The Understudy

There isn’t an actor out there who doesn’t want to perform. That’s why we got into this game: we love to create characters, we cherish the connection with an audience, we adore making people laugh and cry–and face it, we ...
Acting Success

Often actors just starting out have one burning question that surpasses all the others: what does it really take to succeed? Of course, everybody has a different definition of success. For some it means money, fame and glamour on Clooney ...
Meeting a Talent Agent

It’s a common cry among newer actors: “How do I get an agent?” But it’s also not all that uncommon among actors who have been around for a while. Sometimes you and your agent don’t see eye-to-eye on what sort ...
On-camera audition

Much of what actors encounter on sites like NYCastings–aside from the tremendous opportunity to sign up to receive hundreds of audition notifications every week in your inbox–has to do with auditioning. There are a million articles on preparing for the ...
How to get a talent agent

When you move to Los Angeles, as an actor, one of the first things on your mind is getting that top notch agent or manager. But for most, unless you have been referred over, you’ve got to bring something to ...
Fi-core

Every actor is aware of the union or non union dynamic that is always at the forefront of every performer’s career. But one option that flies under the radar most of the time is the Financial Core Status, or also ...
Union or Non Union

One of the most important decisions you will ever make as an actor is whether or not to join the SAG-AFTRA Union. Now at first glance, this seems like the most viable option for any actor with experience and credits. ...
Acting Business

Ask any actor who has attended an open audition lately: the acting business is crowded. Every day more and more starry-eyed dreamers leave behind their small town successes and head for Hollywood or New York, seeking to parley their star ...