Answers from The Working Actor

Preface

The choice to turn your art into a business is a crucial, difficult, and often under-analyzed decision. Many actors step blithely into the acting profession, expecting to do what they have done throughout their educations—after all, it’s worked so far. You go to class, work on your craft, audition, get cast, and do a show. Then you do it again. Unfortunately, adding elements like money and real-world competition to the equation changes it entirely. While talent, training, and enthusiasm remain assets in the professional world, they’re only part of the picture.

For actors, there’s an inherent conflict: The art of acting requires vulnerability, openness, and sensitivity. You create a performance using your own mind, heart, and body—it’s ...