ABSTRACT
It can be intimidating to proclaim to be a professional when so far all one has is amateur experience. Even if one has worked professionally, chances are he/she knows actors who have worked more than him/her. The business of acting, though, that is something entirely different. The business of acting for a living—and more importantly, the business of making a life as an actor—is not as Wild West as it might sound. Richard Robichaux has worked with top training programs such as the Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, and University of Texas at Austin. He is currently Head of Acting in the MFA program at Penn State University. The first year at Penn State, the author's students learn process, which builds a foundation. It is separate from product, and it is separate from the industry. It comes from the self, from where one stands. Then slowly but surely people start to move away from that.
