You, the Career: A Holistic Guide to Acting, Life, and the Biz - Paperback

by Emma Sleath (Editor), Benjamin Mathes (Author)

Developed by Benjamin Mathes in one of Los Angeles's most prestigious underground acting studios, "You, the Career" will revolutionize the way you relate to the hustle, the industry, and the actor you want to become. Drawing from 25 years in the industry as an actor, producer, and cultural entrepreneur, Mathes will show you how to take the power from the people who manage, and put it back into the hands of the person who creates it--you! Inspiring, challenging, and full of useful tools, this book is perfect for the beginner and the veteran actor. There is a career that only you can create. This book will show you how.

Author Biography

Benjamin Mathes has been an actor for over 25 years. He has worked with artists such as Clint Eastwood, Alan Arkin, Sam Raimi, Bradley Cooper, Andy Garcia, Chris Rock, and Brian Grazer. He received his MFA in Acting from the University of California-Irvine. As a producer, his films MURDER OF A CAT (starring Greg Kinnear, JK Simmons), and the biopic, PELE (in partnership with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment) both premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. As an instructor, he has taught at Auburn University, Cal State Northridge, University of San Diego, University of Lima, Peru, Catholic University of Lima, Theatre of Arts in Hollywood, UC-Irvine, the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, Arizona State University, and Western Michigan University. He regularly teaches in Dublin, Ireland and is a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. His studio, Crash Acting, is an underground acting studio based in Los Angeles specializing in developing a creative process and practice for professional actors. His students have been nominated or awarded Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Ovation Awards, and have appeared on Broadway, and in major motion pictures. Benjamin is the founder of Urban Confessional: A Free Listening Project. Currently in over 80 countries, their volunteers stand on street corners with signs that say "Free Listening" and provide compassionate, non-judgmental listening for anyone who needs to talk. Their work has been featured in over 40 national publications including the Huffington Post, The Atlantic, Fast Company, and The Big Think, as well as in over 30 international publications across 15 languages. As an executive coach, he draws upon his 15 years of creative development, artistic leadership, and social entrepreneurship to help senior executives, management, and sales teams increase their creative capital in business leadership and team building, individual productivity, and presentation acumen. He is the author of 2 previous book detailing the creative process: Thought Lozenges for Artists, and Crash, UnStuck Yourself.