Actors who are new to the business often wonder if there’s a set schedule for auditions…like, do they happen every… Read more: How Often Are Acting Auditions Available?

Readers of my books will recognize the EAR as a highly specialized, lucrative tool actors can use to augment their… Read more: A New, Fantastic Ear Prompter Course

Thinking about moving to Chicago to pursue acting? Hello and welcome! There’s plenty to know, so I’ve put together a… Read more: Moving to Chicago for Acting in 2025? Start Here.

Acting In Chicago has been helping actors launch and grow careers since 2010. Now, kids and parents have their own… Read more: Parents and Child Actors: A New Book Just for You

Your Actor’s Access profile should tell a story. That’s the takeaway from a conversation I had with Blair Hickey, actor… Read more: Actors Should Tell A Story With Their ActorsAccess.com Profile

Maybe you’ve been following the drama playing out on the West Coast between actors and casting directors. If not, I’ll… Read more: The Self-Tape Situation And How To Improve It

In chapter 7 of the latest edition of the Acting In Chicago book, there’s this quote. It’s really the only… Read more: Lessons from the Grey’s Anatomy Writers Room

Would you believe Acting In Chicago has been around for over a decade? The first edition was published in 2010.… Read more: The New Acting In Chicago Book Is Here!

TV/film production is slowly trying to get back to a normal schedule. For actors returning to SAG-AFTRA productions, life on… Read more: What Actors Can Expect On Set During Covid

My name is Chris, I’m an actor and voice over guy who earned a living as an actor for 20… Read more: Moving to Los Angeles for Acting? Start Here.

Let’s talk about how actors are going to audition in the future. The days of physically going to a casting… Read more: Here’s How To Audition With EcoCast LIVE From Actors Access

Since the middle of March, the business of producing entertainment and advertising has been at a standstill. But now that… Read more: What Hollywood’s Re-Opening Means For Actors

Below are the words of Chicago actor James Vincent Meredith, who shared his thoughts on the murder of George Floyd… Read more: 8:46

Boy, this sucks. Nothing like spending years and plenty of money training to do a job (or pursue a dream)… Read more: The 10 Commandments of Being a Quarantined Actor

I owe you an explanation. At a time when everyone seems to be communicating, I have been largely silent. Yesterday… Read more: I Owe You An Explanation

If you haven’t been asked to do a self-taped audition yet, just wait. Once upon a time actors only had… Read more: Self Taped Auditions: Do This, Not That

Talent agents aren’t usually too open about how they decide which actors to add to their roster. I’ve been an… Read more: How Talent Agencies Work With Actors

Ah, the holidays. Chilly weather, pumpkin pie, and relatives wondering why they still haven’t seen you on their TV. “#tfw… Read more: When Your Relatives Ask Why You’re Not Famous Yet

Ten years ago, I got a tip from a friend IRL about where to find Madonna’s personal Facebook page. Not… Read more: Madonna Deleted My Friend Request. That’s Probably A Good Move.

In part 1 of this article on which acting agency is best, we learned about what talent agents do and… Read more: Which Acting Agency is Best, Part 2

For a while, my wife and I were regular watchers of Project Runway, the fashion competition reality show. The show… Read more: Actors Share Lessons Learned From Being Edited Out

Hey! I wrote a new book. Actually I wrote a series of them but more on that later. The most… Read more: New to Voice Over? I Gotcha Covered.

The first time I remember comparing myself to someone else, I was in third grade. Our class was wrapping up… Read more: How To Stop Comparing Youself To Other Actors

According to the Small Business Association, twenty percent of small businesses fail within a year of being started. That number… Read more: Chicago Talent Network Expands Into Wisconsin

If you’re interested in having a professional acting career, you’re interested in acting agencies. Specifically, you probably wonder which talent… Read more: Which Acting Agency Is Best? Part 1

All actors need reels. The question is how to build reels that work. In Part 1 of this post, we… Read more: Actor Reels That Work, Part 2

Last week, the good people of Chicago Talent Network, a local agency owned by my friends and fellow actors Duane… Read more: Social Media For Actors: How Important Is It Really?

My last post on how to book a voice over job was so well received that I thought I’d revisit… Read more: The Voice Talent’s Path To Booking A High Profile Job

In life, there are choices. Some of them you get to make, others are made for you. In my book… Read more: Welp. There Goes My Trade Show Career.

Ever wonder what goes into a casting decision? I do, especially when it comes to voice over. As talent, we… Read more: How To Get A Voice Over Job, According To An Ad Agency Copywriter

It’s more important than ever for actors to create their own content. Depending on where you’re at in your career,… Read more: How To Boost Your Creativity With Productive Quietness

Today, House of Cards Season 6 drops on Netflix. And I’m in it. I honestly never thought I’d get the… Read more: 5 Things I Learned Shooting House of Cards on Netflix

You can not read minds. Please remember this fact. We humans think we’re soooooooo good at reading other people. We… Read more: Audition Strategy: You Can Not Read Minds

If you’re an actor and you don’t have a reel showcasing your work, you’re doing it VERY wrong. It doesn’t… Read more: Building An Acting Reel (Showreel) That Works, Pt. 1

I got a text from an actor friend the other day, who had auditioned for a co-starring role on a… Read more: Living An #ActorsLife, While On Avail

Michael Schulman wrote an interesting piece for The New Yorker this week, in which he discusses the shaming of Geoffrey… Read more: Being On TV Does Not Make One Wealthy

If you’re new to the voice over world, you’re probably looking to get any experience and make any amount of… Read more: Confirmed: Using Fiverr for VO Is Not A Good Idea

You booked a movie or TV show. Great, I’m happy for you. The dream is alive and well and coming… Read more: The 10 Commandments Of Getting Booked Again And Again

WordPress is an award-winning web software, used by millions of webmasters worldwide for building their website or blog. SiteGround is… Read more: WordPress Resources at SiteGround

Every actor has their own way of prepping and executing auditions. For a lot of us, our way of doing… Read more: I Do This ONE THING In Every Audition, And It Works

Recently I was chatting with a former student and she asked an interesting question. She shot a commercial, was paid… Read more: What It Means When Your Commercial Isn’t Airing

If you remember your high school biology class, you remember Charles Darwin’s finches. On a visit to the Galapagos Islands,… Read more: The Actor And Darwin’s Finches

The last time I heard an actor say, “I don’t want to do commercials,” was in the 1990’s. But much… Read more: Is There Any Honor In Commercials?

Not long ago, if you had a voice over audition, chances are you’d head to your agent’s office or a… Read more: Self Taping: Where Casting Is Headed

You’re an actor, or you’ve always wanted to be one. You’re a little light on practical experience but you have… Read more: Get Started Acting With NO EXPERIENCE

My previous two posts addressed what to expect when you’re booked as a principal actor on a film or TV… Read more: First Time On Set – Part 3 of 3

You made it past the audition and callback, you’re booked on your first TV show or film and you’re excited!… Read more: First Time On Set – Part 2 of 3

If you’ve never worked on the set of a big budget TV show, your first time can be super stressful.… Read more: First Time on the Set of a “Chicago” Show – Part 1 of 3

Last week I analyzed the voiceover of the Wells Fargo apology spot, so I thought I’d analyze the latest TV… Read more: VO Analysis: DriveTime.com “Mathematician”

Back when I was teaching regularly, someone asked me how I kept records of all the jobs I worked…and I… Read more: How I Track And Organize My Jobs

I was doing some research for a new eBook, and came across this TV spot for Wells Fargo. You can… Read more: Analyzing the Voice Over in the Wells Fargo Apology Ad

What is an ear prompter and how does it work? It’s an amazing tool actors have been using for decades,… Read more: EAR Prompters – The Basics For Actors

If you read Acting In Chicago, you know I do TV shows, commercials, VO and such, but I also work… Read more: How Actors Work As Trade Show Presenters

If you’re an actor in the Midwest, booking a role on Chicago Fire, Chicago PD or Chicago Med has become… Read more: Auditioning For A “Chicago” Show

Everyone’s got a story about what they were doing before they started acting. What’s yours? I love a good story,… Read more: What Did I Do Before Becoming An Actor?