Customer Reviews

Acting QS: Conversations with Working Actors

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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.

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.

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.

Savvy Casting Director Bonnie Gillespie scores a direct How-To hit with this latest effort, "Conversations with Working Actors." As anyone in Hollywood can tell you (especially BG), there is no greater feat in Tinseltown than to make your living by performing. And that's why this book is such a helpful tool to those artists who are on their way...as well for those who have already arrived!

Insightful interviews, commentary and anecdotes will inform and inspire even the most jaded showbiz type---whether it's from a name you recognize (eg Joy Behar) or someone whose face is so familiar but name doesn't ring a bell (Michael McManus). Learn and laugh from this well edited and always interesting actor's essential!

This book reads as smoothly as a novel. Each chapter is a slice-of-life vignette that delves into the lives and minds of working actors. Actors will learn something from each of their peers. Fans will love the insights into the personalities, hopes, and some of the usually-hidden fears of these noteworthy actors. Bonnie and Blake get the real stories behind these hard-working actors of all ages.

Actors will recognize Bonnie as both a casting director, book writer, and creator of columns on the business of show business. Get a copy today. You will be enthralled.

Acting Qs: the real reason actors act--not the Entertainment Tonight version. It includes a great selection of working professionals as well as the stars of tomorrow-people who you may have seen on tv but don't yet know their name. Acting Qs gives great insight into why actors pick the career they have and how they got to where they are today. I couldn't put the book down.

Another "must have" book for every aspiring actor from Bonnie Gillespie. This book is full of straight talk from working actors about the business we love. NY vs. LA, how to prepare for a role, what working actors wished someone had told them at the beginning of thier career and many more questions that we all ask ourselves once we know that acting is in our blood.
Thank you Bonnie and Blake for creating this amazing book!!

That book was amazing.It includes interviews with 29 working actors who they are asked about the challenges of the profession, the triumphs, the disappointments, the dreams that came or didn't came true and why.Through reading these discussions, you feel like you are talking to these people in person, that natural and realistic they are.It is a beautiful journey, that i feel will be equally worthy to everyone, whether he is in the profession or not.I am not in the profession, however i always wanted to learn how actors live their lifes and that book provided me valuable knowledge that i will always cherish.