Have I Made It Yet? - Softcover

Deruvo, Fred

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0741426099 ISBN 13: 9780741426093

Publisher: Infinity Publishing, 2010

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Through the personal experiences of the author, this humorous guidebook provides strategies to avoid typical pitfalls and problems, assisting the new actor to successfully navigate the complex world of acting.

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About the Author

Whether on stage or in front of a movie camera, Fred thoroughly enjoys the rich experience of acting. Over the past few years, he has had the privilege of portraying a variety of distinguished and diverse characters in both venues.

Besides being part of the cast of a number of independent feature length movies including "Special dEaD!," Fred has most recently been cast in "Threading Over Dark," a horror-thriller full-length feature.

Fred looks forward to continuing the pursuit of his acting endeavors, in whatever area they may lead him.

Excerpt. � Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

You may be at a point in your acting career where you know it needs to be kicked up a bit. You're ready for the next level. Or, maybe you're just starting out and you're not quite sure what to expect or exactly which direction you should take to begin to fulfill your dreams.

Of course, as you move along your chosen path within acting, you'll continually ask yourself one question framed something like this, "Have I made it yet?" That's not such an easy question to answer, when you stop to ponder it. You first have to decide what it means to you to "make it." You'll need to determine how you will measure that for yourself because it's really different for everyone.

Normally, if you ask the average individual on the street what it means for an actor to be successful, or whether or not they can think of actors who have made it yet, they will almost always respond by singling out specific actors by name who they believe have "arrived" or have truly "made it." Asked for something to substantiate their reasoning and they will most assuredly, without pause, provide you with a list of things that the individual actor has acquired, which they believe translates into having "made it." They'll be able to rattle off a list of movies that the actor starred in as well as to list things like awards, expensive cars (usually more than one), expensive clothes, expensive homes (usually more than one), fame (everyone knows their name), status (they're allowed and welcomed into places that the rest of us can only dream about getting into), having their every need and want fulfilled, etc., etc., etc. We've all heard this over and over and maybe we've even been part of the group of people who have echoed those sentiments about these special people within acting circles who have "made it."

Now, certainly those things are nice. I can't think of one sane person who would not argue that those particular actors have definitely reached a level of success that most actors will never reach.

By the way, I consider myself to be in that group of actors who will probably never reach that level of celebrity or status. I'm perfectly okay with that too, because I simply do not measure success in that way and quite frankly, I really don't think I want to deal with all the hassles that are associated with having to live life at that level. That’s not why I went into acting. I don't ask the question of myself "Have I made it yet?" and have to respond with an unheralded "No" because I do not have all the things that the A+++-list celebs have at their disposal. That's not sour grapes either. It's the acceptance of reality for me. I don't need "things" to feel as though I have made it, if that’s what having made it means. In all fairness, maybe some of those ultra-rich and well-known actor/celebrities don't need all of those accoutrements either to feel as though they've made it. It came to them and they deal with it because it's part of their territory.

Okay, if I don't measure my success by what I have, how do I measure it for myself? Simply put, I measure it by first asking myself if I’m truly enjoying walking the acting path. Then, I look back to where I started, where I am now and where it looks like I'm heading. Am I in the same place today that I was five years ago relative to acting? Hmmm, well let's see. Five years ago, I did not have an agent. I now have two, one for Northern California and one for Southern California. Five years ago, I had done very little voice-over work. Today, I can say I have done much more. Five years ago, I hadn't done any independent films. Today, I have a list to my credit. I've done TV commercials, documentaries for the History Channel, National Geographic Film & TV, print work and more. I had done none of that five years ago. Have I been successful? Absolutely. Have I "made it yet?" Rather than simply answering that question with a "yes" or "no," let’s keep reading.

I think too often actors believe that unless they end up on Broadway (for theatre) or Hollywood (for film and TV), they won't really be successful and therefore, they won't have "made it." I disagree with that wholeheartedly and I personally know many actors who are extremely content to do two to three community theatre productions each year (in the town where they live) and they are satisfied with the success of being involved in acting on that level.

Let me start at the beginning, if I may be so bold, and simply provide you with a brief narrative of where I started, how things happened for me and where I believe I'm headed. Understanding that will answer the question of whether or not I’ve "made it yet."

It's been said that getting there is half the fun. Well, in truth, where acting is concerned, getting there IS the fun, but I think many actors miss out on that because they don't see the process as a goal in and of itself. They see only the end as the goal and they want to quickly get through all the rest of this stuff, as if it's a race, so they can enjoy the goal (celebrity, stardom, etc.). Trouble is they may actually never reach that high and lofty goal because few actors ever do. Because of that, they will have no choice but to label themselves as failures.

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