Product Description

As a background actor for 8 years, Jo Kelly has written this book to help new people coming into "sho biz" to avoid the pitfalls & scams she encountered. She also tells you how to find the legitimate background casting agencies that she has worked for. There is a chapter on casting children to help Mom's avoid scams also. There is information on wardrobe, tips on what to expect on a set, the lingo used, mistakes she made and how to avoid them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #781274 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 111 pages

Review
Jo's stories from the trenches offer insights into how the real world works helpful warnings for the neophyte. -- ReaderViews.com

Jo's stories from the trenches offer insights into how the real world works helpful warnings for the neophyte. --ReaderViews.com

This is an excellent gift book for any aspiring actor interested in learning the ropes of show business. -- Sharla Taylor, reviewer

This is an excellent gift book for any aspiring actor interested in learning the ropes of show business. --Sharla Taylor, reviewer

Your book covers soooo much that we feel it will be an asset for everyone!You made my day. -- BJ, Asst. to Shirley Mac Laine

Your book covers soooo much that we feel it will be an asset for everyone!You made my day. --BJ, Asst. to Shirley Mac Laine

About the Author
Jo Kelly was married for 25 years to the late veteran actor Jack Kelly who starred with James Garner in the popular TV show "Maverick". During the marriage Jo was a Real Estate Broker and property manager. After Jack's death Jo decided to become a background actor because you can work as little or as much as you like. It was fun, however, as she learned the ropes she also learned where the sharks swim. She decided to put on seminars on how to get cast as an extra and then wrote the book to help all who enter this arena to do it the right way.

Customer Reviews

Discusses Both General and Specific Issues
This is a quick read that is full of interesting tidbits of information providing a rare glimpse into the world of working as a background actor in the movies. It is not a detailed guide by any means but it does give the reader an overview of many things aspiring "extra" needs to consider as they travel this career path.

Author Jo Kelly comes across as knowledgeable and very personable in her style of writing. Kelly generously shares her knowledge to help newcomers avoid some of the mistakes she made. Her numerous stories from the trenches offer insights into how the real world works and serves up helpful warnings for the neophyte.

The author offers many very specific recommendations with all the necessary contact details. Unfortunately, for readers outside California, the contacts in "The Truth About Being An Extra" seem to only apply for those in Los Angeles (Hollywood). Other interested readers could probably use these listings as a guide and seek out comparable resources in their own part of the world. For example, Canadian actors might find the book useful for its general advice but then need to go a step further. They would need to seek out the agents, agencies, and specific organizations that are relevant in Canada if that's where they plan to start their career as a background actor.

Kelly discusses both general and specific issues. She mentions child actors, parents of child actors, and actors with disabilities as examples of situations with unique considerations. The glossary of the vocabulary used in the industry adds even more clarity.

As a complete outsider to the world of movie making, I came away feeling I had a bit of insider knowledge about the day-to-day reality of a career as a movie extra. It was a bonus to also learn Kelly's fascinating personal story about how she happened to write this book. Widowed in the early 1990's, her original goal was to make a career change by breaking into the world of background acting! Once she learned to be a good movie extra, she then moved on to give presentations, run seminars, and write this book.

What makes this story within the story so interesting is that she had a major hurdle to overcome first - she had to conquer her fear of public speaking. She gladly credits Toastmasters for helping her deal with that challenge. And the rest, as they say, is history.

essential reading for show biz hopefuls......
Jo Kelly has hard-earned experience to share with those wishing to become extras. She's worked as a background actor in films, TV, commercials, and music videos. During her marriage to the late Jack Kelly, star of the TV series "Maverick", Jo had an insider's view of how Hollywood works. Her book is packed with priceless information, presented with compassion in an easy-to-read format.

Most of us have dreamed at one time or another in our lives of working in Hollywood. Readers with that goal in mind today would do well to keep Jo Kelly's book close at hand. She's provided you with the absolute essential information to expedite your dream and protect you from scammers. Listed in this book are the names and addresses of legitimate casting and call companies, how to identify and avoid scams, do's and
don'ts, wardrobe and makeup tips, non union vs. signing with the Screen Actors Guild, and much more.

Jo Kelly writes from the heart. She obviously cares about the hopes and dreams of others, and provides necessary information from good and bad experiences she's had. This is the quintessential handbook for any person hoping for a shot in show biz. Highly recommended.

Should be considered "must reading" for anyone aspiring to a background acting gig
In "The Truth About Being An Extra", Jo Kelly (founder of Background Actor Seminars) draws upon her years of professional experience as a veteran background actor and her personal insights as a former celebrity wife to reveal "inside secrets" to becoming a successful "background actor", that is, one of those folks you see in movie and television scenes of crowds, passers-by, restaurant diners, etc. Readers will also learn of scams and pitfalls that can happen to naive actors accepting walk-on, background roles in movies, television and commercials when they register with casting agencies. A compendium of solid film industry information, invaluable advice for newcomers, illustrative anecdotal stories of her own experiences, practical tips for securing background acting jobs, locating legitimate casting agencies, as well as becoming both comfortable and professional on the set, "The Truth To Being An Extra" should be found in every college Theatre Department's reference collection and considered "must reading" for anyone aspiring to a background acting gig.