Acting is Your Business - (Introductions to Theatre) by Wendy S Kurtzman (Hardcover)

About the Book

"While performing arts schools do a great job of teaching students how to act, most don't teach them how to launch and sustain a career. This book addresses this fundamental aspect of the creative journey. It delivers a formula based on the syllabus Kurtzman has taught for years, arguing that if acting is your business, you must run it as a business. Positioning you as CEO of your own company, it uses a boardroom table as a visual model with 7 key positions, each representing an area of expertise that you must understand and manage to build a successful career"--

Book Synopsis

After training and studying for years, you've earned a degree: now what? How to get a job and have a career as an actor is the number one question facing emerging artists and one which this book answers for you.

While performing arts schools do a great job of teaching how to act, most don't teach you how to launch and sustain a career. This book addresses this fundamental aspect of your creative journey, delivering a precise formula to help you organize the next chapter of your life. It helps you to find work and proactively build a career by providing the tools you'll need to connect with working professionals within the industry.

If acting is your business, you must run it as a business. Positioning you as CEO of your own company, this book uses a boardroom table as a visual model. At that table are 7 key positions, each representing an area of action and expertise that you must understand to build a successful career. With worksheets and tools, supplemented throughout with interviews with industry professionals from North America, the UK and Europe, and Australia, and further supported by a companion website, this action plan will empower and equip you to achieve your career goals.

Review Quotes

Aspiring actors will benefit tremendously from the real-world practical advice provided by Wendy Kurtzman. As a well-respected casting director with a big picture understanding of both the actor's creative process and the nuts and bolts of the entertainment industry, she offers a holistic approach to an acting career-supporting creative passion with day-to-day achievable goals. Wendy connects the dots between artistic dreams and pragmatic results with a plan that will no doubt empower actors and hopefully guide them to fulfilment and success.
David Rubin, Emmy and Artios Award-winning Casting Director, Former President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences

Every actor who wants to work at their craft should take the time to read and practice the concepts contained in this book. It will help lead to a very successful and rewarding career.
Sharon Bialy, Artios Award-winning Casting Director, Bialy/Thomas Casting, Barry, The Handmaid's Tale, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul

Untold numbers of young people dream of becoming actors. Many invest good money in learning their craft. But few, if any, know how to navigate the industry once they complete their studies. Now they have a means to do so. Wendy Kurtzman's book provides a guide to aspiring actors to take charge of their own careers rather than waiting for others to deem them worthy.
Harry Winer, Film and Television Director/Producer/Screenwriter, and Associate Professor, Kanbar Institute of Film & Television, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, USA

About the Author

Wendy S. Kurtzman is an adjunct professor at Chapman University and Pace University, USA, guest lecturer at UCLA and NYU, and an Emmy-nominated casting director with more than 35 years of experience in television and film. Her extensive credits include Independence Day, Auto Focus, Stigmata, The Replacement Killers, and many others. www.wendykurtzman.com.