Bonnie Gillespie - Self-Management for Actors: Getting Down to (Show) Business

Self-Management for Actors

Getting Down to (Show) Business

4th edition

by

Bonnie Gillespie

Cricket Feet Publishing

Los Angeles

Self-Management for Actors: Getting Down to (Show) Business

2014 by Bonnie Gillespie

Fourth Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Inquiries should be addressed to:

Cricket Feet Publishing

PO Box 1417

Hollywood, CA 90028

323.397.7576

cricketfeet.com

SCB Distributors

scbdistributors.com

Unattributed quotations are by Bonnie Gillespie.

Contributed essays are used with permission of the copyright holders.

Cover design by Shelley Delayne.

ISBN 978-0-9852511-1-6

Cricket Feet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for promotional or educational purposes. Inquiries regarding sales and distribution, textbook adoption, foreign language translation, editorial, rights and permissions, and future editions should be addressed as above.

Cricket Feet Publishing is a registered trademark.

What Others Are Saying about

Self-Management for Actors

Beyond mastering your craft, Bonnie Gillespie believes actors should learn how to manage the business side of the industry to establish a successful career. This straightforward guide offers advice about marketing yourself as well as managing your acting career.

Team Tom Cruise, tomcruise.com

Im blown away by Bonnie Gillespies wealth of industry knowledge. She makes us believe that it is possible; its just a matter of having the tools and the knowledge to be proactive.

Stef Dawson, actor

What a great resource for actors! The advantages this book gives you are endless. Bonnies advice and insight will enable you to have the leading edge over many actors. This book is a must-read if you are ready to turn acting into a career, yourself into a professional, and auditions into roles!

Michelle Metzner, casting director

Bonnie Gillespie is one of the most prolific and readable writers out there. A must-have book, I give Self-Management for Actors my highest recommendation. Few books are as well-written as this one, and even fewer cover this critical information in the caring and concerned manner. SMFA is filled with specific action advice and thoughtful strategies. Every actor who has a tenacious desire to succeed in our little biz needs this excellent book.

Bob Fraser, author-producer-showrunner

Self-Management for Actors is a practical, usable, insightful book that every aspiring actor and every working actor should absorb in detail. This will be the best money youll spend this year.

Bob Souer, voiceover artist

It is so crucial that actors realize they have to take control of their careers. Each chapter covers the actions to take and examples of how to take them. I love Bonnies writing! Self-Management for Actors is really wonderful!

Judy Kerr, actor-author-coach

At last! Someone who tells it like it really is. Bonnie has a handle on this mysterious process of being an actor. Bonnies book is the best demystifying of this wacky industry and a must for every actor, beginning as well as advanced. Brilliant!

Joel Colman, director

Bonnie Gillespies wonderful book should be required reading for all actors! Every word, every sentence, and every idea is so clearly presented to help actors take charge of and manage their own careers. Its pure gold! Bonnies eminently qualified, pure-gold advice should be treasured and followed.

Lawrence Parke, Acting World Books

The authors common sense and good humor make reading this book like having a long chat with an experienced friend in the business. Whether youre just starting out or a seasoned veteran, you will surely find both useful advice and amusingly identifiable anecdotes to keep you motivated and prepared for that next audition. Gillespies smart and savvy expertise smiles through on every page.

Nelson Aspen, Sunrise Australia

I really had an epiphany thanks to SMFA . I was able to start thinking about my career and this industry in a totally different way.

Lindsay Hollister, actor

Between the specific advice and the anecdotes that prove their effectiveness, SMFA comes across more as a conversation than a mere how-to list. Theres really something for actors at every level. There are the very practical and extremely helpful tips for those just starting out, through the insights best described as: I never heard it stated just that way before. Now I understand! to the countless realizations: I never thought of that. Thats something I should do immediately. Self-Management for Actors is an indispensable handbook that should be in every actors possession.

Richard Riehle, actor

This book has changed everything about the way I think about the industry, the way I do business, and the way I market myself. When I moved to LA from Orlando, I hit the ground running. I started booking right away thanks to SMFA .

Mike Kalinowski, actor

Bonnie Gillespies book is insightful, informative, and nurturing. This book should be read by producers as well as actors to make that process as productive and creative as possible.

Nancy Meyer, producer-television development exec

Finally, someoneand its no secret its Bonnie Gillespiehas laid out in a clear, concise manner a way for writers, producers, casting directors, and even your own mother to see your work and hire you. Because remember, if we dont see you, you dont get hired. Not even if your mother owns the studio.

Mark Troy, writer

Self-Management for Actors is the ultimate step-by-step guide to success in the industry! There is no reason to find yourself adrift in the industry when you have expert guidance at your fingertips. Bonnie is well researched, intuitive, and wise beyond her years.

Lynn Stallings, Atlanta Workshop Players

Miss Bonnie will blow your mind. Her genuine passion, focus, and kindness is contagious. I credit her as my secret weapon.

Cassie Silva, actor

Bonnie Gillespie has the best hair in Hollywood!

Jos Eber, celebrity stylist

Dont ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Howard Thurman, author

Dedicated to all the supporters

who ensured that there would be

a physical copy of the 4th edition of

Self-Management for Actors for you to hold.

Listen to the mustnts, child. Listen to the donts. Listen to the shouldnts, the impossibles, the wonts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me: Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.

Shel Silverstein, writer

Foreword

Shortly after receiving my MFA in acting, I came to the realization I was not particularly interested in the gypsy life of a regional theatre actorI needed roots. The four people in the world that have ever heard me sing will tell you that Broadway wasnt the answer. I had been told, however, that my unique look (a nice euphemism for being weird-looking) might be well-suited for film and television. Everything was settled. I moved to Los Angeles in 1992 with the intention of pursuing a career in film and television and perhaps doing some supplemental theatre to prevent any artistic stagnation.

I had received excellent training at a well-regarded institution. I had played clowns and villains, lunatics and straight men. I also vaguely remember wearing rope sandals and some kind of tunic but that memory is foggy. I was a good actor with a professional attitude and an interesting character face. How could Hollywood resist? Well, they were about to show me.