A. Lots of people have stars in their eyes and think that acting is a great way to become famous and make a lot of money – and it definitely is! – for a very small portion of the acting population. Most actors audition over and over for the few roles that they get during their careers. It's a business of volume. The more auditions you do, the better your chances of booking a job. But if you don't actually love acting, you won't last long. So, I advise you first to find out if you "love" acting-as opposed to loving fame and fortune. If you love acting, get as much training as you can, audition as much as you can on your own and try getting an agent to represent you for work.

A. You should ask yourself, "Would I take their class if they weren't a casting director"? Make sure that the class has something valuable you really want to learn. If you want a casting director to find out about your work, ask them for a general audition appointment, which is free of charge to the actor. It's a casting director's job to know who you are-they're already paid by the client to do that. They should never charge you too! Also, offer a casting director complimentary tickets to some of your performances. Most theaters offer "industry comps" to the cast for this purpose.

A. I really don't know! This one has always baffled me. It's actually a contradiction in terms since casting directors cannot represent talent due to a conflict of interest. The correct term is casting DIRECTOR because of the fact that we have to have an extensive background in ‘direction’ to properly do our jobs.

A. The Casting Society of America® is an association of professional casting directors who come together to establish guidelines and bylaws, to address mutual concerns and share ideas. To be granted membership, a casting director has to have three current members who can attest to that fellow casting director's significant body of professional work and ethics and then be voted in by the membership. It is requested by the CSA that members use the CSA suffix after their professional credits and titles.

A. An agent is supposed to field audition opportunities, negotiate fees and promote your talents to casting directors, production companies, studios and anyone else hiring talent. They also look after and protect your interests once you are hired. For these services, they make a commission on any work you book through them. The industry-standard commission is 10%.

A. You should beware the agent that wants to make money by teaching you instead of promoting you. If they think you're marketable, they should sign you. There's no guarantee you'll be more marketable after taking their class-so watch out for agencies that "dangle a carrot" of representation after first taking lots of their classes. Granted, there is nothing wrong with agency classes that are proven valuable. Just be sure that classes aren't the main reason they want to sign you with their agency.

A. Black and white headshots became the old, industry standard due to the greater expense of producing multiple color copies. With the advent of digital photography, color shots are now competitively priced to reproduce in bulk. Headshots are frequently posted online in smaller sizes and color "pops" more than black and white. For these reasons, I recommend color shots.

A. No matter what you've been told elsewhere, ALWAYS, ALWAYS bring your headshot/resume. (One copy only, please.) If a script is necessary for the audition, you will have been sent one by your agent and you are responsible to bring it. We do not reprint scripts for actors as it takes too much time from the casting day.

A. I am not a believer in being off-book for your auditions. If you make memorization a priority, you're going to be more concerned with what words come next and less concerned with what you actually want to DO with those words. I recommend reading straight off the cue card or from your hand-held script while cheating back to the camera from time to time. That said, if memorization makes you feel more comfortable and the direction you take with the lines isn't compromised, then memorize your lines.

A. You should call your agent and tell them you can't make that time and then tell them what times that day you CAN make it…it's possible that we can make a time work when you are free. But we don't know if we can re-schedule you unless your agent gives us a range of possible times you can make it. Also, let your agent know WHY you can't make the audition.

A. Because it helps us determine if you're unavailable for the job or just the time slot. If it's something that's just a short-term conflict with that time, we can still consider you beyond that day. If we're informed that you're unavailable for the whole time frame of the casting and job, it keeps us from wasting everyone's time to still consider you. Also, always check in with your agent when you know you're going to be unavailable for a day or more. If you're out of town, in tech, working etc., then your agent won't submit you when you can't audition. You won't be given a time...you won't have to call your agent back to tell them...they won't have to call us and we won't end up with a no-show. When an actor doesn't show, it's a huge problem for the casting director, their client, your agent and your reputation with all the preceding. Also, the time given to you will be wasted when another, available actor could have taken it. Besides, it's just the golden rule. Some other time, you'll be the one missing the opportunity someone else wasted...or the one given the call when they responsibly called in their conflicts!

A. I do generals only in the morning and set them up a day or two in advance due to the fact that my schedule changes so quickly on the whim of my clients so I have to position the generals accordingly. Feel free to call to try to set something up. However, we receive many information requests from actors which would require huge amounts of time if we were to return them all. If you get our machine, please don't leave a message but continue calling periodically until you reach me at my desk and I can tell you about my availability for the next day or two or answer any other questions you may have.

A. Only if you're looking for more extras work. Having extras work on your resume' tells me only that you're able to go where you're told and eat when you're told.

A. Unless you're under 18, do NOT list your age. It may make it more difficult for you to be cast in a different age range than your own. In addition, it is against the law for anyone to ask your age as a condition of employment (unless you are a minor) so if you're asked your age at a casting session, try to find a graceful way of deflecting the question with answers like, "Well, that depends...How old is the character?" or one of my favorites that I've heard, "I'm (fill in with an age that's obviously WAY older than your own) years old!" And then ask, "Don't I look great?!"

A. Anytime anyone offers you a role but refuses to deal with your agent, you should immediately be suspect of their intentions. If they don't want to pay the agent's commission, then tell them that you'll pay your agent out of what they pay you and it shouldn't matter to the client whether you're represented or not. Agents are allowed to "invade" union scale to obtain their commissions under the union codes. Baring this concern, the only reason a producer would want to avoid dealing with your agent is because they intend to have as few witnesses looking over their shoulder while they take advantage of you. Your agent's job is to look after your professional interests. Let them do it by discussing all bonafide offers with them.

A. The Screen Actors Guild (or SAG), handles anything shot on film; and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (or AFTRA), handles anything shot on tape or performed on radio. The Unions regularly negotiate fair working minimum wages (known as SCALE) on behalf of their members. They are also responsible for seeing that members are paid in a timely fashion and are hired under fair and reasonable conditions as outlined in the contracts covering employment of union actors. Signatories to these contracts (those who hire the actors) are bound to follow these standards, which are also enforced by the union under a system of fines for any breach of the contract.

A. You can just walk in and join AFTRA but you have to be hired under the SAG code to join SAG. However, if choose not to join and you are hired under the Union Code for a third job and at least thirty days separates the your first and second workdays, you become what the industry calls a "Must Join" and you must join that union in order to work on that third job. Note: to become a "Must Join", all three jobs must be under the same Union. A combination of three jobs that includes some AFTRA and some SAG does not require you to join either union.