Acting for the Screen
1st Edition
By Mary Lou Belli

Publisher: Routledge
256 pages | 34 B/W Illus.
Paperback; ISBN: 9781138311640


Acting for the Screen is a collection of essays written by and interviews with working actors, producers, directors, casting directors, and acting professors, exploring the business side of screen acting.

In this book, over thirty show business professionals dispel myths about the industry and provide practical advice on topics such as how to break into the field, how to develop, nurture, and navigate business relationships, and how to do creative work under pressure. Readers will also learn about the entrepreneurial expectations in relation to the internet and social media, strategies for contending with the emotional highs and lows of acting, and money management while pursuing acting as a profession.

Written for undergraduates and graduates studying Acting for Screen, aspiring professional actors, and working actors looking to reinvent themselves, Acting for the Screen provides readers with a wealth of first-hand information that will help them create their own opportunities and pursue a career in show business.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
Moving Towards a Career: Some Basics
A Q&A with Grant Kretchik
Is This Path Right for You?
What Is My Actor Readiness? A Self-evaluation by Peter Cocuzza
Training. Determination. Organization. A NY Acting Teacher’s Perspective
Getting Started by John Howard Swain
Before College, If College: Where Do I Start?
It Starts with a Dream… by Judith Patterson
A Talent Manager’s Guide to Distinguishing Your Work
Initiating a Sustained Connection to Your Character by Marilyn Atlas
2. Sticking It Out
Growing a Successful Business Called YOU
Be the CEO of Actor, Inc. by Gilli Messer
A Series Regular Shares Her Journey
Welcome to the Numbers Game by Shalita Grant
A Veteran Shares What Got Her and Keeps Her Still Doing It
A Q&A with Anne DeSalvo
Keeping Centered: Even When Things Aren’t Going Your Way
Against the Odds by Robert McCracken
Making the Most When Someone Gives You a Chance
A Q&A with Daryl "Chill" Mitchell
A Casting Director, Industry Coach & Show Biz Author Knows What It Takes to Stick it Out
When to Hire a Coach by Bonnie Gillespie
Everything You Need to Know About Social Media
A Q&A with Ben Whitehair
3. Finding Success
A Director’s Perspective
A Q&A with Andy Wolk
About an Actor Who Works on Both Coasts…and Lives on Neither
A Q&A with Josh Cooke
Maintaining and Growing Your Career
Finding Success by Jason George
He Acts, He Writes, He Directs: Four Decades of Wisdom
A Q&A with Ruben Santiago-Hudson
A Better Way She Accomplishes Her Lifelong Dream
Redefining Success by Tania Gunadi
He Does it All…Including Audiobook Narration
A Q&A with Ron Butler
4. Getting Ahead
All About Commercials
A Conversation with Aaron Takahashi and Isabella Way
Taking Charge and Creating Your Own Work
Self-Producing by Phil Kaufmann
Reality! From Her Little Harry Potter Studio Below Her Basement Stairs
Get a Life! by Marsha Mercant
Deaf Actors Need to Be Heard
A Conversation with Suanne Spoke and Shoshannah Stern
Actor. Entertainer. Crossdresser. Author. Social Media Sensation
A Q&A with Willam Belli
Sketch Comedy to Series Regular
My Biggest Leap by Kirstin Eggers
5. Starting Again
San Fransisco: A Smaller Kinder Market
Bay Area Bound by Catherine MacNeal
Teaching Film School…Everything He Knows from Acting, Editing, and Cinematography
Branching Out…(not standing still) by Charles Dougherty
From Acting to Writing and Beyond
A Q&A with Liz Vassey
Acting Can Lead to Advocacy
A Q&A with Nanci Christopher
Falling in Love with Directing
Backstory by Toni Kalem
She Wants to Direct Commercials
A Q&A with Katie Enright
The View from a Chief Creative Officer’s Chair
A Q&A with Alet Taylor

About the Author/Editor

A two-time Emmy award-winner, Mary Lou Belli has been directing television for over 20 years, with credits including NCIS New Orleans, Bull, Station 19, Monk, Legacies, and Dynasty. She is the Co-chair of the Women’s Steering Committee at the DGA, where she also serves on the Western Director’s Council and the Leadership Council PAC. Mary Lou is an Honorary Board member of the Alliance of Women Directors, Women in Media, and a long-time member of Women in Film.