Breaking Into Acting For Dummies
by Larry Garrison and Wallace Wang
Breaking Into Acting For Dummies
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright 2002 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201)748-6011, fax (201)748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2002108096
ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-5446-9
ISBN-10: 0-7645-5446-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11
1B/TR/QR/QY/IN
About the Authors
Larry Garrison has been President of SilverCreek Entertainment for more than 20 years. Recently, he executive produced the movie Like Mother/Like Son, starring Mary Tyler Moore and Jean Stapleton, for CBS among other projects. He also created and executive produced Caught In The Act for NBC with Dick Clark. Larry has also produced segments of 20/20, Good Morning America, Extra, and other shows. He was an accomplished actor, and he also owned a photography business, shooting celebrities and individuals who were starting out in the industry.
Wallace Wang has written more than a dozen books over the years, including Beginning Programming For Dummies, Microsoft Office XP For Dummies, and Steal This Computer Book. In addition to writing, he has also performed in theatrical productions and appeared as an extra in several commercials, industrial films, and the film The Hanoi Hilton. In his free time, he also performs stand-up comedy, appearing regularly at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas. He also performed stand-up comedy on A&Es Evening at the Improv. His goal in life is to try something new every day just to keep his life interesting. He tries to follow the advice of his friend and fellow comedian, Roy Edwards, who once told him, Im not afraid of failing. Im afraid of living a boring life.
Authors Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my inspirations: My daughter and her family Jaime, Brandon, and Dylan Lindsay and Dave My son Sean and Chewie Shannon Buckley, and my acting mentors the late Lee Strasberg and Vera Vlosova
My sister Stephanie along with Ed, Brian, Courtney, and Chris My sister-in-law Susan My angels Mom, Dad, and my brother Jim My friends Gayle, Sherwood, and Joey My partner Wally Wang
And Rocke and Debra and Ben and Belinda
My friends and business associates Iris and Bubba My agents Matt Wagner and William Gladstone And thanks to Scott Brazil (Director/Producer) who has been my partner with my company in film and television for more than 20 years. Because of your belief in me and this project, hopefully many people will achieve their dreams. Thank you and God Bless!
Larry Garrison
I would like to thank the many people who had nothing to do with this book but still played an influential role in my life in some form or another:
All the friendly folks at the Riviera Comedy Club, located at the Riviera Hotel & Casino (www.theriviera.com) in Las Vegas: Steve Schirripa (who appears in HBOs hit show, The Sopranos), Don Learned, Bob Zany, Gerry Bednob, Bruce Clark, and Kip Addotta. The Riviera Comedy Club is one of the best places to work because of the tireless efforts of Lynn Snyder, the comedy club manager; and Patricia Weber, the Entertainment Supervisor.
Another big round of thanks goes to Kent Brisby and Ginger Lily Lowe (www.asianstorytheater.com), Brendon Fox (www.theglobetheatres.org), and Larry Lapidus (www.lapidusphoto.com) for their valuable information and advice.
Patrick DeGuire also deserves thanks not because he helped with this book (he didnt) but because he helped me form Top Bananas Entertainment (www.topbananas.com), our company devoted to providing clean, quality stand-up comedy to people who arent drunk. Additional thanks must also go to Chris (the Zooman) Clobber, Leo (the man, the myth, the legend) Fontaine, Judy (the love goddess) Tenuta (www.judytenuta.com), Freddie King and Terry Sanchez at Twin Dragons, Mitzi Shore at The Comedy Store (www.thecomedystore.com), and Mark Ridley at The Comedy Castle (www.comedycastle.com) in Detroit (actually, Royal Oak).
Thanks also goes to my co-author, Larry Garrison, for his wonderful sense of humor in the face of adversity.
Final thanks go to Cassandra (my wife) and Jordan (my son) and Bo, Scraps, Tasha, and Nuit (our cats) for providing my life with lots of interesting tasks that usually involve something coming out of one end of the cat or the other.
Wallace Wang
Dedication
We dedicate this book to our wonderful families and friends who have inspired us to follow our dreams. May every actor and individual know that success equates to luck, timing, and longevity, coupled with desire. Learning the business of acting, or anything that one aspires to, will lead you to your goal. Dont let anyone tell you that you cannot be a success.