Act Right: A Manual for the On-Camera Actor

by Erin Gray, Mara Purl

"Arriving on a set is like landing in Paris and not speaking French." Two experienced actress-producers breakdown set protocol, reveal their own mistakes, share funny stories, and provide a step-by-step account of the technical details needed to create a successful career in film and TV. Aimed at actors, writers and crew, and of interest to all who enjoy watching media. Other well-known performers are quoted, as are directors, editors, and all manner of crew professionals. The completely updated revised edition of the sold-out first edition.

370 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice introduction to the world of acting and a window into past years' thespian realms & roles, filled with easy to follow tips. Read for personal pleasure. I found this work of interest and its contents helpful and inspiring. Overall, this work is also a good resource for the thespian, researcher and enthusiast.

[Devorah Firestone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the top options for learning how to behave professionally on a film or TV set. It's a very thick, large form paperback with a wealth of information, and is written very, very well by two strong, famous professionals, Erin Gray and Mara Purl.

I sometimes can be slow to read, however I got through all 370 pages in 2 days because it was written so smoothly and was truly fun to read.

The information ranges from where to go first when you arrive, to the importance of being able to repeat your steps and gestures exactly for the camera (called matching) to little tricks other actors might pull on you, so it's a great help to give a beginner some pointers others are unlikely to teach you.