"The New Business of Acting: The Next Edition" looks at a very "new" industry ...

The New Business of Acting: The Next Edition
Arriving on September 1st!

I started writing about the business of acting back in 2000. Nearly two decades later, I'm really excited to announce that my third book, The New Business of Acting: The Next Edition, will be published on September 1st!

This book is loaded with everything you would expect, with some significant differences and additions. I write about the #MeToo movement and its impact on new-to-the-business actors, as well as what it all means to former or current "working" actors seeking to rebrand their careers. 

The book also explores the struggles of an industry to rebrand its own tainted image. The necessity to be and how to become a Hollywood hyphenate and how to produce an A+ self-taped audition are a big part of the new book. 

All in all, it's 20 new and revised chapters that I have been working on for almost a year. The Next Edition has just arrived on amazon.com for pre-order at amazon.com. 

I'm looking forward to a fall book tour and lots of important and meaningful conversations about where we go from here and how we're going to get there.

Fiscal Fitness vs. Career Opportunity: An Age-Old Question in the New Landcape

The new business of acting landscape generates an age-old question: What are you willing to endure and what are you willing to sacrifice along the journey to build a professional career as a working actor?

 

Specifically, let's talk money. 

It has always been a challenge for most actors to earn a living from acting work alone -- and the cut-rate contracts SAG-AFTRA have created, introduced and deemed as acceptable work wages for their members (ultra low budget, new media, etc.) have only added to this challenge. 

The goal for most (all?) actors has always been to perfect that delicate balance between building your resume, keeping relevant and being able to support yourself and the costs of your career. The truth is that a lot of actors work for free for the opportunity, the exposure, the footage, the experience, a current resume credit and, perhaps most importantly, the joy of engaging with both the art and craft of the work with a like-minded community of fellow artists. 

The article in today's Los Angeles Times explores the latest impact on the new landscape that has been moved forward by the newly formed Independent Theatres of Los Angeles. 

The dismissal of what has been (previously) known as the small theatre/99 seat-plan from AEA, specifically for Los Angeles small theaters and Los Angeles theatre artists, has shaken up and challenged local theatre producers in significant ways that have challenged their creative and political muscles -- and, most importantly, their economic futures and their ability to survive. 

Can we make this work in Los Angeles? 

ITLA has a plan -- and it seems tailor-made to young and still not union-affiliated actors. This is an important article to take a few minutes to read. 

It's also an important conversation for all of us in the (new) business of acting to engage in. 

Most non-union actors will eventually become union affiliated. In the meantime, opportunities for professional development for artists, for economic sustainability for small theaters and for audiences to see and support local theatre need to be key components of any plan moving forward. And then there's the no pay/work-for-free piece of this -- and in the bigger picture of the development of an actor's career, does working for free still have long term added value?

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-99-seat-itla-auditions-20170529-story.html

BL

Dreams vs. Reality: A Price Check

I have been teaching The Business of Acting for nearly two decades; I have been practicing The Business of Acting for much longer ... which is why stories of young (and no-so-young) hopefuls who fall victims to their dreams pushes all of my buttons. 

Today there is a report of yet another scam operation.

The lessons seem simple enough. But it's easy for dreams to cloud judgment. 

Here is a teachable moment reminder: Legitimate agents and managers will never charge clients for fees other than the commissions due them for acting work they are involved with/responsible for securing for their clients.

Class dismissed ... for now.

Brad Lemack

"Pay-To-Audition" Workshops - Opportunity & Access vs. Cost & Value

The dreaded pay-to-audition workshops are in the business of acting news again in the current edition of The Hollywood Reporter. We address this every semester in my Emerson College Los Angeles Business of Acting class. 

While there may be "pros" to this endeavor (some of my clients and past students have participated and actually benefited from the experience), there are just as many "cons" (other clients and other past students have participated and felt otherwise). Like in any service industry, there are good players and there are bad players. Vetting is crucial. How valuable might it be to pay to see anyone? That depends both on the results of the research you do (IMDB) and how legitimate the provider is.

I have never been asked to participate in one of these workshops. But I have agent and manager friends who have -- and have actually signed actors they have met as a result. 

Assignment 1: Actors ... Know what you're buying before you commit. Have realistic expectations of the experience. Be sure that the person you are considering paying to meet is worth the investment (some are; many are not). 

It's an important discussion to have. Have you paid to play before and what was that experience like for you?

You can read a related story here, also from The Hollywood Reporter:

BL