Larry Garrison is President of SilverCreek Entertainment. He's worked as a producer/actor in TV and film in Los Angeles for more than 30 years. His company has produced news stories for ABC and NBC News.

Wallace Wang is a stand-up comedian and the author of more than 10 bestselling For Dummies books. He focuses on screenwriting, movies, and comedy.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Figuring Out the Business of Acting 5

Chapter 1: Staying on Top of the Changes in Show Business 7

Understanding the World of Acting 8

What You Need to Succeed 8

An attention-grabbing head shot 9

A five-star acting resume 9

Polished talent 10

Taking Your First Steps in Show Business 11

Marketing yourself 11

Finding your first ally: An agent 11

Showcasing your talent: Auditioning 12

Discovering the Many Ways to Make Money as an Actor 12

Managing Money (A Little or a Lot) 13

Knowing What to Expect from an Acting Career 14

Chapter 2: Discovering How Show Business Has Changed and Adapted 15

Understanding the Business of Show Business 15

Taking It "from the Top" - It All Begins with an Idea 16

Selling an Idea 17

Producing a Script 18

Going into Production 20

Action: It's Showtime! 21

Cleaning Up in Post-Production 22

Distributing the Product 23

Chapter 3: From Agents, Managers, and Unions: Introducing the Movers and Shakers 27

Producers: The Champions of Every Project 28

Directors: The Bosses on the Set 29

Writers: The Idea Makers 29

The Studios: The Ones That Make Everything Possible 30

Financing a project 31

Marketing and distributing a project 32

Casting Directors: The Gatekeepers 33

Agents: Your Door to Show Business 34

Personal and Business Managers: The Guiding Forces Behind the Scenes 34

Actors: The Talent in Front of the Spotlight 35

Unions: An Actor's Best Friend 36

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) 37

Actors' Equity Association 38

Part 2: Packaging and Marketing Yourself 41

Chapter 4: Making a Great First Impression with a Head Shot and Samples of Your Work 43

Introducing the Head Shot: An Actor's Calling Card 44

Examining Variations on the Standard 46

The commercial head shot 47

The theatrical shot 47

Creating the Perfect Head Shot 48

Hiring a professional photographer 48

Picking the right look 50

Making the most of your photo session 50

Getting Your Head Shot Ready 51

Publicizing Your Head Shot with a Twist 52

Avoiding Problems with Head Shots 52

Is that really you? 52

Technical problems: You look great but your head shot still stinks 52

Using Film to Represent Your Work 53

Chapter 5: Creating a Five-Star Acting Resume 55

Tackling the Basics of Creating a Resume 56

Creating an Online Resume 56

Identifying the Info to Include 57

Your name, union membership, and contact information 57

Your physical characteristics 58

Your acting experience and education 59

Your knowledge of special skills 60

Avoiding Resume No-Nos 61

Examining Sample Resumes 62

The beginner's resume 63

The intermediate actor's resume 63

The veteran's resume 66

Chapter 6: Training to Improve Your Acting Skills 69

Mastering the Art of Auditioning: Taking Classes 69

Benefiting from an auditioning class 70

Advancing your auditioning skills 70

Improving Your Performing Skills 73

Stand-up comedy workshops 75

Improvisation classes 75

Speech and accent coaching 76

Singing and dancing lessons 76

Developing Physical Fitness Skills 77

Improving Your Unique Skills 78

Part 3: Taking Your First Steps into Show Business 79

Chapter 7: Representing Yourself, Networking, and Promoting Yourself on Websites 81

Looking for Your Own Work 82

Relying on the actors' unions 82

Staying in touch 82

Reading trade publications 83

Using casting websites and social media 83

Contact casting directors on your own 84

Advertising Yourself 86

Showcasing Yourself 86

Chapter 8: Seeking Representation: An Agent, Manager, and/or an Entertainment Attorney 89

Differentiating between Agents, Managers, and Entertainment Attorneys 90

Getting the Ball Rolling to Find Representation 91

Discovering potential representation 91

Contacting potential representation 93

Calling for an appointment 94

Staying determined and be positive 96

Interviewing with Prospective Representation 97

Preparing for your interview 97

Arriving for your interview 98

Conducting yourself during your interview 99

Ending the interview 102

Signing On with an Agent 104

Working with Your Agent 106

Staying in touch 106

Following your agent's advice 107

Sharing auditioning information with your agent 107

Releasing Your Agent 107

Letting your agent go: Why you'd want to 108

Leaving your agent: The how-to 110

Chapter 9: Auditioning: The Art of What You Need to Know 113

Looking at the Types of Auditions 114

Going to open casting calls (cattle calls) 114

Attending casting auditions 115

Auditioning from Home 116

Preparing for an Audition 118

Planning ahead of time 118

Deciding what to wear 119

Grooming 120

Arriving at the Audition or Callback 120

Impressing a Casting Director 121

Auditioning: What to Expect 122

Speaking your lines 123

Making your exit 124

Preparing for the Next Audition 124

Evaluating yourself 124

Getting on with your life 125

Hoping for the Best That Can Happen: The Callback 126

Dealing with Rejection 127

Saying Thank You 128

Chapter 10: Understanding Diversity Challenges in Show Business 129

Defining Who You Are in the World of Diversity 130

Finding Representation 131

Seeking Diversity in Casting 132

Acknowledging Diversity in the Academy and Emmy Awards 134

Chapter 11: Adapting to Difficult Personalities 137

Dealing with Professionals 138

Treating the casting director with respect 138

Showing respect to the director on set 139

Considering other professionals 140

Respecting Your Fellow Actor 140

Respecting Everyone on the Set 142

Part 4: Scoping Out the Markets 143

Chapter 12: Acting in Film and Television 145

Landing a Job 146

Filming from Different Locations Using Your Computer and Phone 146

Acting in Front of the Camera Versus Acting on the Stage 147

Fine-Tuning Your Performance on Film 148

Playing to the camera 149

Acting consistently with different takes 151

Successfully acting scenes out of order 152

Hitting your mark 153

Recognizing different shots 154

Dealing with close-ups 154

Performing on a Set 156

A typical day on the set 157

What to do when your scene's done 161

Participating in Post-Production: Looping 161

Gaining Experience and Exposure by Working in Different Markets 162

Chapter 13: Acting in Commercials 165

Understanding How a Commercial Gets Made 165

Preparing for a Career in Commercials 167

Taking a class or workshop 167

Studying working actors 168

Hiring a commercial agent or manager 169

Auditioning for a Commercial Role 169

Fitting the part 170

Preparing your part 170

Handling yourself during the audition 171

Understanding the Market for Commercials 173

The Wonderful New World of Commercials 175

Chapter 14: Acting in Theater 177

Mastering Your Skills Onstage 178

Gearing Up for a Theatrical Career 178

Taking the academic route 179

Pounding the pavement 180

Auditioning for Theater 182

Finding auditions 182

Being prepared 182

Familiarizing Yourself with Stage Types 184

Proscenium stages 185

Thrust stages 187

Arena stages 187

Rehearsing for a Play 189

Read-through 189

Blocking with stage directions 190

Scene work 191

Work-throughs 191

Run-throughs 192

Technical rehearsals 192

Dress rehearsals 193

Working in Different Markets 195

Chapter 15: Performing without Being Seen: Voice-Over Acting 197

What You Need to Succeed in Voice-Over Acting 198

What's that you say? Speaking clearly 198

Voice versatility 199

Testing testing: Playing to the microphone 200

Training for a Voice-Over Career 201

Finding Voice-Over Work 201

Preparing Your Demo 202

Including all the right stuff 202

Laying down the tracks 204

Recording subsequent demo 204

Getting an Agent or Manager 205

Auditioning for Voice-Over Work 205

Getting Paid as a Voice-Over Actor 206

Chapter 16: Working As an Extra 209

Delving into the Glamorous World of an Extra 210

Recognizing types of extras 211

Getting work as an extra 211

Examining a day in the life of an extra 213

Appreciating the Advantages of Being an Extra 215

Investigating the technical business of show business 216

Studying the acting side of filmmaking 217

Networking with fellow actors 218

Making a little (emphasis on "little") money 218

Advancing Your Career Beyond an Extra 218

Chapter 17: Getting Your Kid into Show Biz 221

Considering the Commitment 222

Does your kid...