an actor

128 Pages·2008·1.87 MB·English


ACTION!
The Professional Actors Workbook
from
Bob Fraser
Copyright © 2008 Bob Fraser & Bob Fraser Productions
Terms of Use: All rights reserved. No part of this course may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
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Contact Information:
Bob Fraser Productions
3727 West Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, California 91505
United States Of America
OBLIGATORY LEGAL NOTICE: While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this course,
neither the Author nor the Publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the
subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, people, or organizations is unintentional.
This course is an information product, and is not intended for use as a source of legal, accounting, or tax advice. Infor-
mation contained herein may be subject to varying national, state, and/or local laws or regulations. All users are advised
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or reader of these materials.

This workbook plus all the extra forms and materials are a gift
from Bob Fraser. They are for your own private use and may not
be copied or distributed without written authorization from
the author.
If you have friends who would like a copy, please direct them
to Bob’s website, Show Biz How-To - where they can sign up as
a subscriber and will be sent Action, The Agent Roster, and the
email course, The Actors Tool-Kit.
www.showbizhowto.com
As you go through the workbook and other resources, please
take the time to consider Bob’s other products - which have been
specifically designed to improve your acting career results.
You Must Act! The Acting Career Course
http://www.youmustact.com
Nail It! Delivering The Hypnotic Audition
http://www.hypnoticaudition.com
Headshot Secrets Revealed - Getting A Headshot That Works
http://www.headshotsecrets.com
The Agent Code - How To Get An Agent Interested
http://www.theagentcode.com
An Actor Works - The Weekend Intensive Live Workshop
http://www.anactorworks.com

Introduction
T
he purpose of this workbook is to help you in building a
business plan for your career. One of the things that stops
most actors when they set out to succeed in the business
(and acting is a business) – is the lack of a well thought out
plan. In order to succeed, it’s very important to have a plan that
contains all the elements needed to actually attain success.
Unlike most business plans, though – an actor’s career plan
really involves putting together a lot of non-substantial things
such as mindset, attitude, and artistic point of view.
Naturally, there are business concerns too.
The big issue with many actors is that this plan needs to be a
plan that’s written down.
In talking with my client actors over the past four years, it seems
that a lot of them are slowed down (or even stopped completely)
when it comes to the ‘writing it down’ part.
I totally understand this ‘empty page’ business – because I have
been writing professionally for over 3 decades and truth to tell

... it never gets easier. Facing an empty page is a daunting task.
In fact, for some it may seem downright impossible.
So, what I’ve attempted to do in this workbook is:
(A) Lay out the steps that lead to success in a professional acting
career
... and ...
(B) Put together a series of questions for you to answer that will
build your acting career plan, automatically.
You’ll notice I didn’t say ‘easily.’
Even with some imposed structure to help you along, writing
things down is almost never easy. But the results you will see
– once you’ve done the ‘homework’ and you have a real plan to
consult and work from – will be worth all the work involved.
That’s why it’s called a ‘work’ book.
T
here’s an old saying in business (which actually originated
with Benjamin Franklin) – “when you fail to plan, you are
planning to fail.” This is just the plain unvarnished truth.
Almost every business requires attention to a lot of details and
missing any one, can (and generally will) cause a business to
fail.
Acting is probably one of the most complicated businesses
around. The proof of that is seen in the average time it takes an

actor to actually ‘make it.’
However, there is another old saying – one that is the reason
behind this workbook – “People fail, systems don’t.”
So the real idea of Action! is to build a plan of action that can
be used as a system for pursuing success in the entertainment
industry – “Do A, then B, then C, then D, etc.”
SUCCESS
T
he reason most people cannot figure out how success
happens is because success is always built in small,
inconspicuous steps. When someone shows up on
the red carpet, it’s pretty easy to observe their success. But
when the accomplishment is actually going on – when the
work that goes into that success is being done – it rarely gets
much attention.
By observing the result (the red carpet) it may seem as if success
is only possible for a ‘lucky’ few. But, as soon as you peek behind
the scenes – a completely different picture emerges.
Just as with the so-called ‘gifted’ athlete – most successful actors
make it look easy (that’s part of their job) and we rarely see the
years of classes, failed productions, unemployment, and mis-
steps that happened along the way.
But the truth is that success and accomplishment are not just
results gotten by a lucky few – they are readily available to
any ‘regular’ person who chooses to be disciplined, focused,

persistent, committed, positive, enthusiastic and passionate
about their goals.
These seven words will keep cropping up as we go forward and
it would be a good idea for you to start with the knowledge that
these words will begin to apply to you (and your efforts) just as
soon as you decide that they will.
Some Instructions
N
ow before we jump into the first part of Action!, it’s
critical that you keep in mind that there is no time
limit for completing the work outlined here.
And you don’t have to start at the beginning and work through
it in order. You can skim through the text, take note of the
questions, think about things, jump back and forth, start and
stop – whatever suits your way of going about things.
BUT, in order to end up with a good plan and a workable system
– you will have to finish the entire workbook.
The second (and maybe more important) point is this: It’s critical
to getting good results that you answer the questions you will
find in here as honestly as possible.
Keep in mind that no one else is ever going to see this workbook
– it’s not really for anyone else, anyway – and the more honestly
you answer the questions, the more pertinent and helpful your

plan will turn out to be.
S
ince I clearly cannot force you to finish the workbook or
be honest in all your answers, I will resort to cajoling from
time to time – and I will be repetitive regarding some
critical ideas and instructions in the hope that every repetition
will get you closer to doing the work you need to do.
Let me backtrack a moment here, and get you ready to begin
– by repeating something right away:
Success and accomplishment are available to ‘regular people’
who choose to be disciplined, focused, persistent, committed,
positive, enthusiastic and passionate about their goals.
Despite the underlining and emphasis – the really important
words in the previous sentence are ‘choose to be.’
All forward progress in our lives is inextricably tied to what we
decide to be – and consequently, what we choose to do.
For instance, you could choose to print out this workbook, put it
into a binder, glance through it ... and then put it aside, to catch
a rerun of Battlestar Galactica.
You could choose to get involved in some other activities and
get back to this workbook ‘someday.’ You could choose to get to
it as soon as the holidays are over, or after you’ve finished your
latest production, or first thing next year.
Or .... you COULD choose to do the ground work – to build the

foundation that allows you to succeed – by deciding to put a
system in place right away. You could decide on a time-line for
completing the workbook – so you can start implementing the
plan that comes out of it, sooner rather than later.
Because, make no mistake, a system is the best way to insure
that you remain ‘on task.’
For instance, you could choose to put aside a half-hour a day to
do the work in this workbook. Or twenty minutes.
Just remember that what you choose to do – is what is actually
going to happen.
That’s what choosing and deciding are all about.
Now, I hope you’ll choose to turn the page, and get started.
Bob Fraser
Burbank California
December 2008

YOUR ‘REASON WHY’
T
he starting point of any business plan is always the “reason
why.” This is about formulating a compelling reason for
getting into business in the first place. A reminder: There
are no wrong answers – but only honest answers will be helpful.
In order to get clear about your ‘reason why’ we’ll start with two
difficult questions.
1. Why do you want to be a professional actor? (Although this
is multiple choice – you can choose more than one answer. Use
your highlighter here.)
A. I love acting.
B. I want to be famous
C. It’s the only job which makes me happy.
D. I want to make a lot of money.
E. I like telling stories.
F. I enjoy the audience response.
G. I like pretending to be someone else – to live other lives.
H. It’s the only thing I can do well.
I. I like collaborating with others
J. I would like to meet my favorite actors
K. I enjoy the intellectual challenge.
L. It looks like fun
M. I want to live in California (N.Y., London, etc.)
N. I want to see myself on the big screen (or television).
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