
The Actor's Life
A Survival Guide
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Narrated by:
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Jenna Fischer
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Rainn Wilson
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By:
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Jenna Fischer
About this listen
Jenna Fischer's Hollywood journey began at the age of 22 when she moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis. With a theater degree in hand, she was determined, she was confident, she was ready to work hard. So, what could go wrong?
Uh, basically everything. The path to being a professional actor was so much more vast and competitive than she’d imagined. It would be eight long years before she landed her iconic role on The Office, nearly a decade of frustration, struggle, rejection, and doubt.
If only she’d had a handbook for the aspiring actor. Or, better yet, someone to show her the way—an established actor who could educate her about the business, manage her expectations, and reassure her in those moments of despair.
Jenna wants to be that person for you.
With amusing candor and wit, Fischer spells out the nuts and bolts of getting established in the profession, based on her own memorable and hilarious experiences. She tells you how to get the right headshot, what to look for in representation, and the importance of joining forces with other like-minded artists and creating your own work—invaluable advice personally acquired from her many years of struggle. She provides helpful hints on how to be gutsy and take risks, the tricks to good auditioning and callbacks, and how not to fall for certain scams (auditions in a guy’s apartment are probably not legit—or at least not for the kind of part you’re looking for!).
Her inspiring, helpful guidance feels like a trusted friend who’s made the journey, and has now returned to walk beside you, pointing out the pitfalls as you blaze your own path towards the life of a professional actor.
This title is narrated by a full cast. Narrators include: Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Natalie Zea, Sean Gunn, Derek Waters, Reed Birney, and Mark Proksch.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2017 Andycat Productions Inc. (P)2017 Novel Audio Inc.Hilarious and so, so realistic!
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Insightful and helpful
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Life changing
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Great support and advice for the struggling artist
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1ST AUDIOBOOK
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Superb! Inspirational!
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Fascinating
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truly amazing. Sometimes, as actor/actresses, we need books like this. I'm now considering to buy a hardcopy of this so I can look stuff up when I need to
if you are an actor/actress listen to this really
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Easy and Entertaining
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Fischer herself, for all of her advice, experience, success and other genuine assertions that demonstrate how much she cares and wants to help, pretty much whittles it down to luck, with the anecdotes to prove it. One of the greatest ironies is that it was all the day jobs that Fischer worked in office after office after office that prepared her when her big break arrived - playing Pam in The Office. (She states emphatically, she knew who that character was because it was herself. But she also makes the greater point that she was PREPARED for it when the opportunity finally came her way.) Most of these ironies do not escape Fischer's attention though it is slightly disingenuous that when interviewing the actor Sean Gunn, in a useful section that ends the book where Fischer's intention is to "reveal the brush strokes" of how her friends and colleagues became working actors, primarily to demonstrate the time and effort required; but when interviewing Gunn about his career and applauding his achievement as a regular in the Guardians of The Galaxy franchise, neither of them ever mention that Sean Gunn is the brother of the director and producer of Guardians, James Gunn (who was also Fischer's husband for 8 years; James Gunn is also producer on other Marvel flicks and a writer/producer/director on several DC ones). Not only does this supersede (or at least expand) any notions of luck but also could've opened up insights on nepotism and networking, etc., that this book stays well clear of; though Fischer is at pains to detail how one should behave as a day player and later as a guest star on television sitcoms, lest anyone view this as a networking opportunity, with clear emphasis on the DOs and DON'Ts. Similarly, even though she's a three time Emmy nominee, Fischer doesn't share any details at all about awards shows, FYCs (For Your Consideration network promotion), or even submitting one's own work for Emmy consideration.
Is Fischer's guide going to make you a successful actor? No, of course not. Only you can do that. Is it going to change your career? Probably not, as everything it takes resides within the individual (with or without good familial connections). But is it going to make you feel better on a really crappy day when your acting career is going nowhere and you're on the verge of losing all hope in your own purpose and existence? DEFINITELY. And that seems to be the primary purpose of this guide. Fischer is a working actress with a not especially exciting career and, to her credit, avoids turning this guide into a personal memoir despite the presence of many relevant, personal anecdotes. Ultimately there is no special sauce other than train, work hard, develop meaningful relationships, don't give up (or do give up if you want), be creative, save money and don't give up. Do not give up. The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide is a warm, albeit temporary, comfort that details the mundanity, frustration and rewards of a real working actor's life.
Jenna Fischer Cares
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