Actors At Work: Getting The Part; How To Break Into Acting

Two new programs for budding thespians address the actor's craft and trade, respectively. Getting the Part, the initial entry in acting coach Joel Asher's Actors at Work series is an excellent guide to improving the dreaded "cold reading." Working with students, Asher teaches viewers how to breakdown a scene--to see how the beginning, middle, and end fit together, as well as to locate and understand the scene's climax. He also counsels students on good use of body language, the tricks of physically handling the script, and how to adjust to cold readings with non-actors. In addition, the program features segments with casting director Joey Paul on handling interviews, and a call back reading with actor Robby Benson. Unlike the vast majority of videos emanating from Tinseltown, Getting the Part is actually a very nice looking professional production. Asher packs a lot of useful information into 50 minutes and it's all pertinent to the actor's craft (there's no stargazing and insider chat). Aspiring actors will find auditions a little less daunting after following the meaty tips and techniques included here. Not as detailed as the Cold Readings Made Easy series (reviewed in our May 1992 issue), Getting the Part is still an excellent one-tape guide to the basics of successful auditioning. [Note: a second tape in the series, Casting Directors "Tell It Like It Is" is also available for $19.95.]More in keeping with the standard shoestring budget videos that seem to come out of Hollywood, How to Break into Acting is a guide to the pitfalls of migrating to Hollywood in search of instant stardom. Hosted by Charlotte Kiss (which may very well be a stage name), the program consists mainly of interviews with author M. K. Lewis (Your Film Acting Career) on the sobering realities of economic life in Hollywood, Bruce Glover on the importance of acting school classes, casting director Tammara Billik (TV's "Married With Children") on head shots and submitting resumes, and actress Carrie Snodgrass on the changing face of the business. The best thing about the program is that the producers and the interviewees appear to be genuinely concerned about warning viewers away from the many rip-off artists that thrive in Tinseltown. But it would have been nice to see additional resources listed at the end of the video that viewers could turn to for more information. Better than Information Hollywood (reviewed in our October 1991 issue), How to Break into Acting has a lot of straight-from-the-hip talk packed into a low-budget, occasionally cheesy, production.Actors at Work: Getting the Part is highly recommended and an Editor's Choice. (Available from: Joel Asher Studio, P.O. Box 4223, North Hollywood, CA 91617-4223; (800) 652-7437.) How to Break into Acting is an optional purchase. (Available from: International Artists, P.O. Box 649, Hollywood, CA 90078; (714) 458-0881.)