Back Stage article serves up important advice for those about to graduate ...

I am so happy to be included among the "experts" quoted in the terrific article in the new edition of Back Stage titled "Things They Don't Teach You in Acting School." For young actors about to make the transition from college to the real world, I think it's important reading.

As I see it, the greatest challenge for all of you, including the seniors currently in my Emerson College Business of Acting class who are soon to graduate, is to turn your degree and your training into marketable materials that can actually help get you a paying job -- and launch your career. I hope you will find some of my suggestions and advice in the BS article to be helpful.

I'm also happy to answer any questions on the topic that you might have.

Thanks and much appreciation to BS's Jessica Gardner for asking for my input.

BL

TheBusinessOfActing.com debuts a new, redesigned and improved website ...

Happy to announce that we have just launched our brand new Business of Acting website!

It's in support of the new book, or course, and the Resources page is packed with access to great information and free downloads (like resume, bio and head shot samples).

One of the most interesting links is the one to the California Department of Industrial Relations where you can read about challenges to the Talent Agencies Act by actors seeking to get out of paying management commissions. Chapter 4 in The New Business of Acting goes into this in great detail, but the opportunity to peek into the actual cases that are impacting the new landscape is quite eye opening.

Thanks to Trang Caos for her fabulous work on this complete redesign, also for the new landscape.

BL

Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival workshop teaches actors how to approach the new business of acting after graduation ...

Thanks to all of the people who attended my New Business of Acting workshop last night at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Nice meeting all of you!

The transition from student of the performing arts to becoming a professional, working actor was the primary focus of our session. It can be rocky road at the beginning of this journey, unless you have clear, empowered perspective and a smart, strategic and realistic action plan in place.

Chapter 10 in The New Business of Acting: How to Build a Career in a Changing Landscape teaches you how to do it. For a sneak peek and a condensed overview, take a look at my recent Back Stage article on the topic.

In short, as I told the group of terrific, young actors last night:

Don't rush to find and secure representation (by an agent or manager).
Don't rush to join any of the unions (work to build your resume however you can first).
Start taking professional level classes and workshops taught by professionals.
Have a head shot session only when you can afford to do it right.

There was a wide range of questions that came up during our session. I will be addressing a lot these topics here in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, if you have a New Business of Acting-related question, post it or e-mail me directly at blemack@TheBusinessOfActing.com

BL

LOGO stand-up debut for Kelly Mantle this Monday night ...

Congratulations to my amazing client Kelly Mantle on his hilarious, knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark performance* in LOGO's "Dragtastic" standup comedy special airing this Monday night, 1/17/11, at 10:00ET/9:00CT.

Don't miss it!

Here is a link to a sneak peak:





BL

*The phrase is deliberate. His uncle was the baseball great Mickey Mantle.

More than just "Monkee" business ...

Looking back, 1966 was a very good year for American pop culture. “Star Trek” began boldly going where no other television series had gone before. Adam West was a hit as TV’s “Batman” and one of Billboard’s number one songs of the year* came from a group that until September 12, 1966, no one had ever heard of.

Enter “The Monkees.” Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz found fame, notoriety and a place in both television and music history as a group of actors cast to play a group of musicians, who went on to find real-life fame as the musicians they portrayed.

Micky Dolenz who had amassed many acting credits before landing “The Monkees” talks about the formation of the group, the success that followed and his perspective on success in the business of acting in our 1994 interview, just added to the collection at RerunIt.com.

I was huge fan and the opportunity to talk “Monkees” was beyond cool.

I’m happy to be able to share this with you.

BL

* “I’m a Believer”

Morey Amsterdam ... From "The Dick Van Dyke Show" to JFK

Throughout the 1980’s, I used to see actor/comic Morey Amsterdam frequently at the Hamburger Hamlet, a local “industry” restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, on the West Hollywood/Beverly Hills line. It is still there today, still serving up the burgers that made the once thriving chain (now whittled down to just a few locations) so popular. My office was across the street from the Sunset location at that time. I was there a lot. When friends and family would come into town for a visit, the Sunset Boulevard Hamburger Hamlet was a sure bet for a celebrity spotting – and not just a “spotting,” but an actual, real-life “encounter.”

These weren’t necessarily the level of “A” list celebrities we think of today (Cruise, Hanks, Bullock, Witherspoon), but older, iconic celebrities who had long ago paid their dues, earned their fame and continued to have loyal fans thanks to series and syndicated television. They were celebrities who became famous in a simpler era. Fans weren’t so much star crazy as they were respectful; paparazzi (or celebrity photographers) weren’t so much bounty head hunters as they were kinder (many even fans themselves).

What does this have to do with the addition of our interview segment with Morey this week on RerunIt.com? Everything.

Morey always seemed as eager and happy to meet with and chat with fans as he was to dine with friends and colleagues. It was great to observe – and it was even greater to talk with him about his life and career when we met over coffee for our Beverly Hills-based chat show on June 1,1992.

It was “The Dick Van Dyke Show” that brought him massive fame from television in 1961, but Morey had had a prolific and sustaining career since before the days of live television, including his own show. The popularity that found him in 1961 continued long after the “Van Dyke” show ended its original network run in 1966. The show has remained a fan favorite in worldwide syndication and U.S. cable networks for decades keeping both the characters and the actors who portrayed them forever etched in American pop culture.

Dick Van Dyke’s “Rob,” Mary Tyler Moore’s “Laura,” Rose Marie’s “Sally,” Richard Deacon’s “Mel” and Morey’s “Buddy” were key among the plots and twists that earned “The Dick Van Dyke Show” a rightful place in television history.

But there was a serious side of Morey Amsterdam, as well. He talks about meeting the soon-to-be presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in the early 1960’s and the relationship that followed in our 1992 interview. Clips from that interview in a package we call “From Van Dyke to JFK” is now available for viewing on-demand on the RerunIt.com Home page.

Morey died in 1996 at the age of 87 leaving behind a legacy of his own. As much fun as it was to hear the tales, observations and perspectives from a rich life and career, I must admit, his revealing story about JFK was the most remarkable for me then and now.

I’m happy to be able to share it.

BL

Everybody loves ... Doris Roberts

When I interviewed Doris Roberts in May 1992, “Everybody Loves Raymond” wasn’t yet a factor in either her life of her career. It would be four more years before the role of a lifetime that came to define (or refine) both her life and career would find its way to her.

Up to that point, Doris was the definition of a “working actor.” With a career built on first theatre, then television roles, Doris gained a regular audience of television fans from her role as Mildred Krebs on the series “Remington Steele,” in 1983 (the series ran from 1982 – 1987), starring a pre-James Bond Pierce Brosnan.

As that series was released in syndication around the globe, Doris enjoyed a level of international fame she never knew even from years and years in theatre playing to sold-out houses.

It changed her life. But her life would change again as she earned added fan and industry recognition (and five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series) for “Everybody Loves Raymond,” as Ray’s know-it-all mother, Marie Barone.

In 1992, Doris joined me for a chat about her life, her choices, her challenges and her career. The success of “Raymond” that we all know about now, but that was still ahead of her then, gives added meaning to her words and her perspective.

We have just added that interview to our RerunIt.com collection.

BL