Actors at Work - by Rosemarie Tichler & Barry Jay Kaplan (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

It's extremely difficult to be an actor, for many reasons: It's mostly unrewarding financially. It takes a lot of hard work before an actor even gets a part. A career is apt to be short-lived. The field is incredibly competitive. Cream does not always rise to the top. And yet actors young and old line up by the thousands wanting to do it. What fuels this desire? What is it that drives actors to withstand the frustration of not getting parts, of getting bad parts in bad plays, of being mistreated by directors, misundertood by audiences, misinterpreted by critics?

With a nod to the Paris Review's Writers at Work model, Actors at Work looks at the way some of our most respected stage and film actors today approach their calling. In a collection of interviews with a dozen artists, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Patti LuPone, and Billy Crudup, the book explores not only the impetus to perform but also key topics about the process and profession, including the way actors approach a role, what techniques they use to deal with directors and other cast members, the ways in which they use their own personal lives in their work, and their influences, idols, and insecurities. The result is a book that actors will find indispensable and fans will find irresistible.

Review Quotes

"It's so wonderful to finally read a collection of anecdotes where the practices and experiences of actors are described so uniquely, yet depict how each individual ultimately performs the same job. From a casting director's point of view, it was delightful to find actors such as John Lithgow, Marian Seldes, and Patti LuPone so eloquently and clearly describing their performances in a manner in which I could relate and truly understand. It was almost as if I was getting an individual lesson in 'succeeding in show business' by each of the interviewees. By providing a myriad of different actors' perspectives, processes, triumphs, and failures, what clearly emerges is the need for a strong sense of true individualism--something that I believe is crucial for newcomers, as well as veterans. Rosemary Tichler and Barry Jay Kaplan's compilation of dialogue is something that will certainly be of infinite value for so many in the performance industry and should be a necessity for all those breaking into the business. For any actor who strives for success in theatre, film, or television this book is an educational and intellectual goldmine." --Bernie Telsey, Casting Director

"Actors at Work is an amazing resource and inspiration for anyone who loves theatre or film, and certainly for anyone interested in actors and acting. The interviews, conducted with great sensitivity and knowledge by Rosemarie Tichler and Barry Jay Kaplan, give the reader a rare glimpse and a deeper understanding of the process and struggles of an actor. This book is an invaluable read." --Ellen Lewis, casting director

"Because of their provocative, empathetic, and insightful interview techniques, co-authors Rosemarie Tichler and Barry Jay Kaplan manage to reveal both the working methods as well as the deeply personal perspectives of fourteen of America's most gifted actors. In the book's depth of purpose as well as in its sheer entertainment value as a great reading experience, Actors at Work sets a standard that subsequent actor-interview books will be hard-pressed to match." --Ron Van Lieu, Lloyd Richards Chair of Acting, Yale School of Drama

"Actors at Work not only offers a fascinating insight into the personalities of these extraordinary actors, but also provides a glorious read for anyone interested in an artist's ineffable creative process." --Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer/director James Lapine

"Fourteen leading American Actors come alive as human beings and as artists in an exchange of intimacies about their individual way of working, their lives in the theatre and how they happened to be drawn into it. Conversations sensitively led by the authors circle this thing called 'acting, ' a mysterious process of being Me/Not-Me while others are watching and also a craft that can be taught and learned. If you have ever felt serious about this process and the talented committed people who risk it, read this one-of-a-kind book. I couldn't put it down." --Zelda Fichander, Chair of the Graduate Acting Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts

About the Author

Rosemarie Tichler spent a decade working closely with the city's most gifted actors as artistic producer of the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre. Barry Jay Kaplan is a playwright and novelist