Breaking and Entering: A Manual for the Working Actor

From Auditions to Agents to a Career

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Breaking and Entering: A Manual for the Working Actor

By: Philip Carlson

Narrated by: Philip Carlson

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About this listen

Philip Carlson was the first agent to sign Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Billy Crudup, Liev Schreiber, Claire Danes, Idris Elba, Kyra Sedgwick, Adrien Grenier, and Paul Giamatti. He has represented Viola Davis, Kathy Bates, Brian Dennehy, and W.H. Macy among many and gifted others. He shares his practical trade secrets in this extraordinarily comprehensive guide on how to get into show business.

Topics include:

The schools
The business
Showcases
Casting directors
Agents
Auditions
Which coast?
Producers
Staying real
Negotiating 101
Where do I fit?
Movies
TV: Where the real money is (these days)
And more!

Acting & Auditioning

Art

Business Aspects

Career Success

Employment

Entertainment & Performing Arts

Career

Entertainment

Business

Celebrity

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Critic reviews

"Philip Carlson was my 'guide in shining armor!' Smart, honest and hardworking, this book is his thinking and experience on a shelf." (Idris Elba)

"I was so fortunate to have found Philip when I did. I can't imagine a better introduction to the world of acting and the business of getting there." (Liev Schreiber)

"Philip Carlson is one of the wisest people on the subject of building a career that will last. Luck didn't have him representing New York's top character actors; wisdom, intelligence, patience and loyalty did. He was, and is, as good as it gets." (Tim Blake Nelson)

Most relevant

This book is simply remarkable. From the outset, author Philip Carlson grabs your attention and doesn't let go for one second.

Told from the point-of-view of a Talent Agent, the focus of this book is not how to be an actor, but how to approach the business of creating an acting career, which Carlson covers via a series of pseudo-workshops, in which he takes an imaginary group of students through the challenges of working in the modern world of Theatre, TV and Film. He discusses and explains the various pitfalls and strategies to Getting an Agent; How to behave at an Audition; Securing your next Job: Using Social Media; and many, many more.

Every chapter is gold-dust, and although primarily aimed at young actors on the verge of their working life, the subjects covered resonated very much with my 60yr-old actor's brain, and have already made me revise my approach to the whole business of finding work.

His teaching style is direct but supportive, so that even when the student's approach is flawed, he can suggest alternatives to make this more effective without making them feel bad.

If I have one slight observation, it's that this book is almost wholly US-focussed, focussing on New York for theatre, and Los Angeles for TV and film. London theatre gets a mention now and then, but that's about it. That slight niggle aside, this is easily one of the best books I've ever listened to.

Overall, this book really gave me pause for thought, and made me re-assess my current approach to the acting profession. That said, many of Carlson's ideas and strategies translate easily into other industries; Know your market and your place in it; Understand where you want to go, and be honest with yourself; Realise the areas you cannot go and concentrate on those where you can make an impact.

Highly recommended for any aspiring actor or performer