Acting QS: Conversations with Working Actors [Paperback]

Bonnie Gillespie (Author), Blake Robbins (Author), Tom Fontana (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2005

Real conversations with working actors at all levels --Broadway darlings, feature film heartthrobs, commercial pitchmen, sitcom series regulars, standup comedians, and on-air personalities. These candid stories focus on the creative process and maintaining emotional balance in a difficult profession and are humorous and motivational. A photograph and biography accompany each first-person account. Includes:

* how they got their first agents

* how they prepare for roles

* who their favorite actors are

Acting Qs is both an inspirational volume for aspiring actors and a delightful peek into the personal lives of the actors whose work we know so well.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fantastic reminder that acting is a grand and noble profession, filled with artists absolutely passionate about what they do. -- Liz Tuccillo, He's Just Not That Into You, May 2005

From beginner to novice to working actor--great stuff for every level! -- Jeannine Burkart, TV Guide Channel, May 2005

I will pick up "Acting Qs" again and again when I need inspiration to keep up the good fight! -- Judy Kerr, Acting Is Everything, May 2005

Replete with high-achieving actors' stories, unveiling a wealth of practical information necessary for creating an influential professional acting career. -- Joan Baker, Secrets of Voiceover Success, May 2005

So many observations are very comforting or educational even for those in tiny markets making baby steps in this industry. -- Lisa Winston, USA Today, May 2005

From the Publisher

Practical insight and information from people who actually pay their bills as entertainment professionals!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 365 pages
• Publisher: Cricket Feet Publishing (July 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972301917
• ISBN-13: 978-0972301916
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,356,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bonnie Gillespie is an author, producer, and casting director. She specializes in casting SAG indie feature films and has been named in Back Stage's "Best of Los Angeles" Issue multiple times. Founder and producer of Somebody's Basement, Your Actor MBA, the Cricket Feet Casting Actors Showcase, and Hollywood Happy Hour, Bonnie's weekly column, The Actors Voice, is available at Showfax.com and her weekly podcast, The Work, is available on iTunes and at PodcastingTheWork.com.

Her books include Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews, Self-Management for Actors: Getting Down to (Show) Business, and Acting Qs: Conversations with Working Actors. She facilitates a weekly seminar based on the top-selling Self-Management for Actors (now in its third edition) and has traveled internationally to demystify the casting process and the business side of pursuing an artistic career at colleges, universities, and private acting studios.

Bonnie has been interviewed on BBC Breakfast, on UTV-Ireland's Gerry Kelly Goes to Hollywood, on CBC Radio One, on Judy Kerr's series, Acting Is Everything, and for E! gossip column The Answer B!tch. She is currently exec producing the series Casting Qs (based on her column and book of the same title) and developing a television series based on her Self-Management for Actors-related work with hyphenates worldwide. For a ridiculously more detailed bio, please visit CricketFeet.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asking The Right People The Right Questions, July 28, 2005

By 

Bob Fraser "You Must Act" (Burbank, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting QS: Conversations with Working Actors (Paperback)

I am a voracious reader of books about acting, actors, and show business in general. I am always on the look-out for more information that will help actors achieve greater success in their own acting careers.

Well, I've found another one. It's called Acting Q's (subtitled; Conversations With Working Actors) and it's from Bonnie Gillespie and Blake Robbins. (Bonnie is a well known LA casting director and Blake is an accomplished actor himself.)

I must admit up front that this is one of my favorite kinds of book. Ever since I first read Actors Talk About Acting, back in the early sixties (I've still got two, yellowing, paperback copies on my bookshelf) - I've been hooked on the stories, experiences and personal histories of working actors. The main reason for my addiction is the panoply of fabulous advice, insight and career tips that can be gleaned from the conversations of successful performers.

This book is no exception. First, it contains more than two-dozen interviews with some of today's most interesting and thoughtful performers - and (a plus for me) there are conversations with several of my personal favorites.

Reading Acting Q's is akin to pulling aside the curtain on the Wizard of Oz: The facts come out, the truth is revealed, the past is revisited and I, like the Cowardly Lion, catch a glimpse of what real courage is all about.

Reading the stories of actors who have overcome all the natural difficulties we actors face and have accomplished solid careers, is the kind of thing that almost always motivates, inspires and instructs me. I'm sure it will do the same for you.

Acting Q's never fails to amaze. Bonnie and Blake have managed to gather together some of the finest actors working today and picked their brains on subjects as diverse as handling rejection, dealing with family, choosing a home-base, auditioning, having a life, and reacting to recognition (to name just a few of the subjects they cover in their Q and A's).

If you are eager to discover how these many wonderful actors have faced the struggle and rejection of acting professionally, used their own personal methods and means to achieve success, and managed to land on their feet in a business of famed for treacherous footing - then Acting Q's is a must have for your acting library. It is packed from cover to cover with good information about the real day to day life you will have to live in order to be known as a "pro." And it's information from people who know what they are talking about - "working actors."

Kudos to Bonnie Gillespie and Blake Robbins who have taken the time to ask the right people the right questions and put it all into this wonderful, heart-felt volume. Acting Q's is destined to become a perennial - so do yourself a big favor and get your copy as soon as you can.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Every Actor!!!, August 5, 2005

By 

Kevin Alan Roberts (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Acting QS: Conversations with Working Actors (Paperback)

Each and every chapter of "Acting Q's" is a personal story shared by some of the most incredible people who just happen to be creative and talented artists. Through Bonnie and Blake, these wonderful actors share information along with life lessons learned in a very touching and personal manner. There is so much that every actor can relate to within these pages and so much invaluable advice that is past on that this book is the ultimate gift.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Working Actors Tell It Like It Is, July 28, 2005

By 

Denise Winsor (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting QS: Conversations with Working Actors (Paperback)

This inspiring collection of interviews takes you on the journeys of several artists that share a passion and a common goal - to become a working professional in the entertainment industry. In response to Bonnie Gillespie's and Blake Robbin's thoughtfully posed questions, each working actor shares their heartfelt stories and life experiences that lead them on their road to success.

From aspiring and veteran actors to the fans that show their undying support, all will be able to learn from and relate to the many challenges and similarities of each actor's chosen path. From how they got started to where they are now, the reality in these actor's lives is motivating, enlightening and helps us all to appreciate just how hard working they are.

Thank you, Bonnie and Blake, for giving all of us a book that is filled with so much life and is a joy to read.