Climbing Rejection Mountain: An Actor's Path to Success, Stability, and Self-Esteem

ISBN-13: 9781493051656

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Applause

Publication Date: 07-01-2020

Pages: 224

Product Dimensions: 5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

Nick Wyman The former national president of Actors’ Equity Association, Nick Wyman was recently acclaimed for Network on Broadway with Bryan Cranston. His fifteen other Broadway roles include Firmin in the original cast of Phantom of the Opera, Freddy in the Rex Harrison revival of My Fair Lady, and Thenardier (for six years) in Les Misérables. In fifteen feature films, he has beaten up Bruce Willis in Die Hard with a Vengeance, sold Steve Martin a cab while John Candy stole it in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and dug up a body for Chevy Chase in Funny Farm. He is also the proud owner of numerous television credits, including Boardwalk Empire, Veep, Elementary, and The Good Wife. Michael X. Martin Michael X. Martin has appeared in the Broadway shows The Bridges of Madison County, The Front Page, It Shoulda Been You, Curtains, 9 to 5, Bright Star, Nice Work if You Can Get It, Catch Me if You Can, My Fair Lady, All Shook Up, 1776, Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime, Les Misérables, Man of La Mancha, Oklahoma!, and King David. He has also been in a dozen Off-Broadway shows, over one hundred regional productions, concerts at Royal Albert Hall, the Manaus Opera House, and Carnegie Hall. Recent TV credits include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Madame Secretary, Boardwalk Empire, and the Law and Order hat trick. When asked nicely, he draws cartoons.

Table of Contents

Preface viii

1 Before You Begin 1

A Cautionary Tale 1

Should You Be an Actor? 3

Why. Do You Want to Be an Actor? 4

What Are the Odds? 6

2 Learning the Ropes (and Pitons and Harnesses and …) 9

Training and Education 9

3 Mapping Your Route 15

NY vs. LA (vs. Chicago vs. Scuttle) 15

"Go West, Young Man!" (or Maybe Go East) 15

A New York Actor 16

"Why I Do Theatre" 17

Tackling the Big City 22

4 Setting Up Base Camp 27

Survival Jobs and Day Jobs 27

"Mosaic" 29

"Know Your Product"-Socrates 32

A Climber Prepares 32

Know Who You Are (or At Least Who You Seem to Be) 32

Your Body Your Voice 36

The Four Questions 38

Your Family, Your Team, Your Karass 44

The Connection Card 44

A Family Business: from Granfalloon to Karass 51

Building a Family 52

Your Team, Your Network (Network, Network) 54

5 Outfitting Yourself: The Tools of the Trade 57

Headshots 58

Wyman Through the Years 58

Picking a Photographer, Picking a Look 66

Résumés 71

The Union(s) 80

"To Join or Not to Join: My Rejoinder" 81

Where to Find Work Opportunities 83

6 Beginning the Climb 87

Looking for Work 87

Auditions 87

Monologues 88

Acting in the Audition 91

Audition Songs 94

In the Audition Room 98

Letting Go of Your Auditions 103

TV and Radio Commercials 105

7 Sherpas, Guides, and Trail Masters 109

Representation and Representing 109

Finding an Agent 109

In the Room with the Agent 121

Marketing Yourself/Self-Promotion 124

Your Web Presence/Your Brand 134

Your Website 137

8 The Mental Climb 141

The Mindset of Success 141

Self-Esteem 141

Tenacity 146

Reviews, Critics, and Other People's Opinions 149

How to Deal with Success 151

Doing a Long Run 151

Plays Well with Others 156

Perspective and Comparisons 158

"You Have a Dream" 160

"Working All the Time" 162

9 Choosing, Changing, Creating Your Path 165

The Power of No 165

The Work You Want to Do vs. the Path of Least Resistance 165

Why Not to Do a Job 167

Prince of Broadway 168

The Five Insufficient "C's" (C What I Did There?) 172

Creating Your Path 174

Taking the Long View/Visualization 174

Other Sources of Strength, Stability, and Self-Esteem 177

Changing Your Path 180

Why Am I Here? 180

What Else Might I Do? 181

Another Mountaintop 182

10 Your Mountaintop 187

Index 189