| Introduction: Acting Is a Job | p. xv |
| A Brief History of the Actor: (or How to Respond to the Statement, "I'm Doing a Restoration Comedy, Mom") | p. 1 |
| The Greeks: Fathers of It All | p. 3 |
| Romans and Christians: A Very Brief History | p. 6 |
| The Italians, the French (Women Start Reading Here) | p. 7 |
| The Brits: Renaissance, Shakespeare, Restoration | p. 8 |
| The Nineteenth Century: From Melodrama to Modern Drama | p. 10 |
| From Stanislavski to Brando | p. 12 |
| The Russian Manifesto | p. 12 |
| And the Beat Goes On | p. 14 |
| Brando and the Chicken | p. 16 |
| The Film Age | p. 17 |
| The Lay of the Land, Part One: The Neon Lights May Need Replacing: About the Theater Industry | p. 19 |
| Broadway | p. 21 |
| Off-Broadway | p. 23 |
| AEA Off-Broadway Agreement | p. 24 |
| Off-Off-Broadway | p. 26 |
| The Regional Theatre | p. 27 |
| Lort Salary Scale | p. 27 |
| Major Regional Theaters You Should Know and be Happy to Work At | p. 28 |
| The Touring Landscape | p. 29 |
| The Unions | p. 30 |
| Union Yes! | p. 33 |
| The Balancing Act: Plays, Musicals, and Celebrities | p. 34 |
| The Lay of the Land, Part Two: Hurry Up and Wait: The Film and Television Business for the New York Actor | p. 37 |
| The Barren Television Landscape in New York | p. 39 |
| Soaps (Yes, They Still Exist) | p. 42 |
| AFTRA TV Pay Rates | p. 43 |
| Sketch, Late Night, and Cable | p. 45 |
| Film | p. 46 |
| Low Budget | p. 47 |
| The Windfalls: Commercials and Pilots | p. 49 |
| Residuals | p. 49 |
| Pilot Season | p. 50 |
| To Train or Not to Train | p. 55 |
| Graduate School | p. 58 |
| The Mark of a Trained Actor | p. 59 |
| Training for the Business of Acting | p. 60 |
| The Regional Theater/Graduate School Partnership | p. 62 |
| Civilians Make Good | p. 64 |
| The Top Graduate Programs in the Country | p. 64 |
| The Showcase | p. 66 |
| Other Options | p. 69 |
| Beauty or Beast: Typecasting | p. 71 |
| First Impressions | p. 75 |
| Looks versus Type | p. 76 |
| Skin Deep | p. 77 |
| Some Type Categories and Buzzwords | p. 78 |
| Your Fighting Weight | p. 79 |
| The Ponytail | p. 81 |
| The Best Version of Me | p. 83 |
| One in a Million: Starting Out | p. 85 |
| Tools of the Trade: Pictures and Résumés | p. 88 |
| Reproductions | p. 90 |
| Let's Get Digital | p. 92 |
| Promotion | p. 93 |
| Making Connections | p. 95 |
| Readings | p. 96 |
| Being a Reader | p. 97 |
| Finding a Money Job | p. 98 |
| Some Money Jobs for Actors | p. 99 |
| Get Validated | p. 100 |
| An Actor with Drive | p. 101 |
| These Are the People in My Neighborhood: Agents and Other Necessities | p. 107 |
| Commercial Agents | p. 111 |
| Negotiation? | p. 113 |
| Legit Agents | p. 115 |
| Size Matters | p. 116 |
| The Agent Meeting | p. 120 |
| Be Wary | p. 122 |
| Managers | p. 123 |
| Do You Need a Manager? | p. 124 |
| Actors Agents and Managers: Notes from the Underground | p. 128 |
| Why Nobody Knows Me | p. 128 |
| Marin's Meetings | p. 129 |
| Signing versus Freelancing | p. 132 |
| Too Big for Your Agent | p. 133 |
| The Casting Game | p. 135 |
| Casting for a Day | p. 140 |
| Sample Breakdown | p. 141 |
| Pistol-Packing Actor | p. 149 |
| Setting into the Neighborhood | p. 150 |
| Job Hunting: A Day in the Life of an Actor | p. 153 |
| Job Hunting: A Day in the Life of an Actor | |
| Gruntwork | p. 155 |
| Subscribers | p. 155 |
| The Represented Actor | p. 160 |
| The Commercial Audition | p. 161 |
| Crank It Up | p. 165 |
| Television and Film Auditions | p. 165 |
| The Theater Audition | p. 170 |
| Audition Timetable | p. 171 |
| Theater Auditions | p. 172 |
| A Fun-Filled Acting Day | p. 173 |
| On Set, On Stage: On the Job | p. 179 |
| Working in Episodic Television and Film | p. 181 |
| On Hold | p. 182 |
| Working in Commercials | p. 187 |
| Working in Daytime | p. 189 |
| Working in the Theater | p. 194 |
| Understudying | p. 195 |
| Regional Theater | p. 196 |
| The Rehearsal Process | p. 197 |
| What Does a Producer Do, Anyway? | p. 197 |
| Los Angeles | p. 203 |
| A Matter of Taste | p. 207 |
| Ira Glass on Storytelling | p. 207 |
| Hollywood High | p. 208 |
| L.A. Stories | p. 210 |
| Jon | p. 211 |
| Kat and Me | p. 214 |
| Turkey Dogs and the Economic Realities of Acting | p. 217 |
| Taking a Loss | p. 220 |
| Income: What You'll Make Working in Theater | p. 222 |
| Off-Broadway Minimum Weekly Salary Schedule | p. 225 |
| Earnings | p. 226 |
| Income: What You'll Make Working in Television and Film | p. 228 |
| 2010 SAG TV Pay Rates | p. 229 |
| Payment | p. 231 |
| Income: What You'll Make Working in Commercials | p. 233 |
| W-4s | p. 236 |
| Unemployment Benefits | p. 237 |
| Health Insurance | p. 238 |
| A Financial Year in the Life | p. 240 |
| Don't Call Us: Dealing with Rejection | p. 245 |
| The Human Toll | p. 251 |
| Coping | p. 254 |
| One Line Does Count | p. 255 |
| You Can Get Arrested in This Town | p. 256 |
| The Rewards: Charting Your Success | p. 259 |
| Overnight Success | p. 261 |
| Advice | p. 266 |
| A Few Online Resources | p. 271 |
| The Actor's Dictionary | p. 273 |
| Index | p. 281 |
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