TECH TOOLS
When Computers Crash
All is not lost, however, even if you haven't backed up. When your computer crashes, some data, if not all, may be recoverable without going to an expensive data-recovery company. More »

THE WORKING ACTOR
Speaking Up
You're on set, putting in your best, when you notice that something isn't right. When you suspect you're being treated out of accordance with your contract, how can you speak up? More »

ASK A PROFESSIONAL
What Can a Manager Do for You in New York?
In New York, talent can freelance with multiple agents, theoretically allowing for more casting opportunities. The manager's role in New York is very diverse. More »

VOCAL EASE
Manchester's Master Class
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester offers her expertise to five young performers in her YoungArts' In the Studio master class. More »

ASK A PROFESSIONAL
What's Needed for Success?
Actors almost always develop their acting technique while often neglecting their business technique: audition personality, updated résumé and pictures, post cards, and punctuality. More »

CASTING DIRECTORS
Actor Sexuality: A Career Impediment?
Homosexuals can be the biggest homophobes in our industry.  Several weeks ago I received a disturbing note from a reader. More »

ADVICE
Waiting, Wondering,Wrapping
Booking one's first SAG job is an exhilarating experience. Last month, I booked my first national commercial and became SAG-eligible More »

CASTING DIRECTORS
Experience vs. Sheepskin: Verdict?
"Did you go to college?" I replied truthfully: "No." I was informed that my lack of a certificate from a secondary institution of learning would prevent me from teaching at this particular school. More »

CASTING DIRECTORS
Actors: Ill-Mannered and Indebted
Several months ago as I was going through the piles of actor mail I came across a familiar piece of "Thanks for the audition... " correspondence but it had an odd twist. More »

SECRET AGENT MAN
Anatomy of a Meeting
 It seems like every actor out there is dying to get a meeting with someone like me, but none of you knows how to behave when you're actually in my office. More »

TECH TOOLS
Actors Phone Home
By using a product like LogMeIn or GoToMyPC, your home computer appears virtually on the desktop of your work computer. Then you can do anything remotely that you might do if you were really there. More »

CASTING DIRECTORS
Actor Jealousy and Comparisons
Comparisons, they happen. Especially in group settings such as the collaboration that is the performing arts. And they can destroy the harmony and productivity of any project. More »

COMMERCIAL BREAK
Changing Your Look?
"I open someone's headshot online and I see a multitude of hair colors...and I don't know which girl I'm bringing in," says longtime L.A. casting director Ava Shevitt. More »

ACTORS ASSETS
Valid Deductions
This week let's look at the specific acting-related expenses you are allowed to write off on your tax return. More »

THE WORKING ACTOR
Creativity and Depression, Lost Vouchers
As a performer, I find myself subject to a battle with depression and black moods when not working and sometimes when working. What can a performer do to combat this? More »

CASTING DIRECTORS
An Actor's Most Guarded Secret
Actors often get round-a-bout questions in auditions by the hiring personnel who hold an interest for discovering an artist's age. More »

COMMERCIAL BREAK
Playing Young
"I can knock 10 years off anyone still playing teens. I used to call myself America's oldest teenager," says actor and standup comic Gina Rodgers. More »

ACTORS ASSETS
Just Say No
Wait a minute, you say. These sound like reasonable expenses. Why aren't they valid? Simple. All the above expenses aren't deductible because everyone has them. More »

ASK A PROFESSIONAL
When Does An Actor Need a Financial Planner?
"Immediately! Anyone who is devoting his or her life to a career like acting, in which 2.5 percent of those trained in it make their living at it, needs financial planning." -- Erin Burns More »

CASTING DIRECTORS
Paranoia, Phonies and 'Phrauds'
When my visibility went from 'that guy behind the audition table' to Paul Russell, I fully realized just how cautious actors are about relatively unknown casting and other opportunities. More »

SECRET AGENT MAN
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
There is one part of their true being that actors never, ever reveal. They guard this truth with all their might. Not even Jack Bauer could get them to confess it. Yes, I'm talking about an actor's age. More »

ASK A PROFESSIONAL
Actor Training Abroad?
"I would say the gung-ho attitude toward the work would be the most obvious difference between training abroad and training actors here in the U.S." -- Ron Burrus More »

THE WORKING ACTOR
Teacher Education, Partner Objection
"I realize that homeschooling isn't for everyone, but it seems like a good way for child actors to have consistent teachers." More »

VOCAL EASE
Savvy Studio Singing
The record producer is often compared to the film director: It is their job to mold and shape a work of art. More »

ASK A PROFESSIONAL
Best Acting Advice?
"We have to allow ourselves to let go and be vulnerable and allow people to question our sanity. Then the audience will forget they're watching a performance and feel guilty about intruding in our personal lives." More »