The Actor's Survival Kit

Pauline Carey is an actor, playwright and librettist, and author of the
children’s books Magic and What’s in a Name?

This thoroughly practical book for actors offers material not often
covered in acting schools—how to look for work, how to behave when you
get it, and what to do when you don’t. Newhouse founded Edmonton’s
Citadel-on-Wheels and Messaline has acted in England’s Royal
Shakespeare Company and in Canada’s Stratford and Shaw Festivals.
Together they give seminars on acting as a business, a subject here
tackled in print.

It’s an easy book to read: attractively laid out, and written with
spirit and humor. The authors quote freely from a number of working
professionals—agents, directors, stage managers, and technical
crew—each with their own opinions on how the perfect actor should
behave. The advice ranges from elementary pointers (such as the need for
organization, promptness, and courtesy toward fellow workers) to more
mature matters (such as dealing with contracts, income tax, and agents).
The sections on unions and agents will dispel many misconceptions, and
those on television and film sets will take some of the mystery and fear
out of an actor’s first ventures into these media. There is even some
common-sense discussion on how to lead a personal life that, if nothing
else, will help an actor know he or she is not alone.

The title of the book was well chosen; its contents should help any
actor survive the struggle.