[NoHo Arts District, CA] – The Business of Show: How to Act When You’re Not Acting is a practical guide to the business side of acting, covering auditions, contracts, networking, representation, social media, reputation and building a professional career.
Acting classes teach the craft, but building a career also requires understanding the business around it. In The Business of Show: How to Act When You’re Not Acting, entertainment industry veteran David Anthony offers a practical introduction to the professional side of an acting career – the things actors need to know when they are not actually performing.
What Actors Will Learn
The book covers the basic tools of the trade, including headshots, résumés, reels and home studios, before moving into auditions, self-tapes, feedback and rejection. Anthony also addresses contracts and negotiation, working professionally on the job, social media and an actor’s digital footprint, networking, building a team of agents, managers and publicists, investing in your career, professional boundaries and reputation.
Rather than teaching acting technique, The Business of Show is aimed at actors who want a clearer understanding of how to navigate the industry surrounding the craft and build a sustainable professional career.
About the Author
David Anthony explains what led him to write The Business of Show and how more than four decades working across different areas of the entertainment industry shaped the advice in the book.
I have been fortunate to spend more than 40 years in an industry that I love. Having started my career as an actor in my native Australia, I also learned every aspect of the business. Through community theatre, I learned lighting, sound, backstage, and front of house. I believed that a full understanding of what was happening around me could only make me a better actor. Little did I realize that it would later afford me opportunities to live and work on four continents and for some of the largest entertainment companies in the world.
In between acting jobs, I went and worked in theatres, and this led to me becoming a stage manager touring Australia, where I also became a lighting designer, production manager and company manager. I transitioned my theatre skills into events and went to work for Walt Disney Special Events and got my first international experience doing events throughout Asia Pacific. I have been fortunate to produce live entertainment for Disney theme parks around the world. I have operated shows for Cirque du Soleil in the US, Asia and Europe, and I’ve managed several shows on the Las Vegas Strip.
How the Book Came to Be
The Business of Show was written after a conversation with a friend who was attending acting school, and while most of it is common sense, I realized that most actors focused mainly on the craft of acting, as actors should. But there is so much more to creating longevity in a highly competitive industry. Especially when you are starting out. I have worked in almost every aspect of the industry to varying degrees of success. I have been on both sides of an audition table; I have been in rooms where decisions are made, and people’s lives are changed. And that is something this industry has the ability to do – change lives. Both for the people in the industry and for those touched by it. Entertainment and the arts are a privilege and not one to be taken lightly.
I currently reside in Las Vegas, one of the entertainment capitals of the world, where I am a freelance producer, writer, director and consultant. I’m grateful for the opportunities that I have been afforded in this industry and look for ways to give back and hopefully inspire the next generation of industry professionals. I hope that The Business of Show will give people looking to start out in the industry the fundamental tools to start out on the right track and have as fulfilling an experience as I have had.
Get The Business of Show
The Business of Show: How to Act When You’re Not Acting is available in Kindle and paperback editions on Amazon. https://a.co/d/0iBr2bno