It is my great hope that ACTING UP will assist you, the reader, in becoming a successful actor - be it for
international, national or local film and television, Broadway, community theatre, or your own backyard production.
Even if you're not interested in applying what skills you may learn here to a professional career in TV, film or for
the stage, you will certainly learn to apply this theatrical knowledge to any form of employment that may hold your
interest. I guarantee it - because, theatrical expertise can find a workable, profitable place in any field of
endeavor.
But clearly, ACTING UP will be geared to helping the actor, novice or professional, attain and retain all the skills
and confidence that is required to win those auditions, avoid common pitfalls, and pristinely perform in front of a
camera or live audience. Bar none. This column will help the actor make winning choices, from an initial audition
for a particular role, to a final performance on a long-standing TV series.
ACTING UP will assist the actor with fully participating in and understanding the artistic craft of acting, and all
that it entails, with specific regard to: vocal poise, physical grace and movement, timing, personal interpretation,
character and script study, story knowledge, and most importantly, performance likeability.
If even in some small measure, ACTING UP helps you to go on to ace that audition, win that role, and/or knock 'em dead
with your performance - knowing full well, all the while, that the core of any good performance rests with an
actor's solid preparation and total comprehension of the given character's existence - than this column has
served its purpose.
That said, go out there and break a leg!
Herbie J Pilato was born to Frances Mary Turri and Pompeii Pilato in
Rochester, New York, on Erie Street, in the historic High Falls
District across from where now stands Frontier Field. He graduated
with a B.A. Degree in Theatre Arts from Nazareth College of Rochester,
moved to Los Angeles, where he studied Television and Film at UCLA,
and served his Internship in Television at NBC-TV in Burbank. As an
actor, he's appeared on television shows such as "Highway to
Heaven" and "The Golden Girls," as well as daytime serials like
"The Bold and the Beautiful" and "General Hospital." As a
director, Herbie J has guided live stage productions of Leonard
Malfi's Birdbath, Christopher Frye's "A Phoenix Too Frequent," and
"Little Shop of Horrors." Herbie J is also the author of a number
of media tie-in books, including "The Bewitched Book," "The Kung Fu
Book of Caine," "The Kung Fu Book of Wisdom," "Bewitched
Forever," "The Bionic Book," "NBC & ME: My Life As A Page In A
Book," and "Life Story - The Book of Life Goes On: TV's First And
Best Family Show of Challenge." As a producer, he's worked on
Bravo's hit five-part series, "The 100 Greatest TV Characters,"
TLC's "Behind the Fame" specials (about "The Mary Tyler Moore
Show," "The Bob Newhart Show," "L.A. Law" and "Hill Street
Blues"), A&E's "Biography "(for segments on Elizabeth Montgomery
and Lee Majors), and the SyFy Channel's "Sciography" series (the
latter for which he also directed). Herbie J has also served as a
consultant and on-screen commentator for the classic TV DVD releases
of "Bewitched," "Kung Fu" and "CHiPs" - as well as an Editor for
numerous websites (including MediaVillage.com, TV-Now.com and the
family-oriented PAXTV.com). Also too, he's contributed to many
magazines, including Starlog, Sci-Fi Entertainment, Sci-Fi Universe,
Retro Vision, Classic TV and CinemaRetro. Herbie J presently has
several films and TV shows in development, and is is the Founder and
Executive Director of the Classic TV Preservation Society, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to closing the gap between positive popular TV
and education. For more information, log on to
www.ClassicTVPS.blogspot.com or
www.herbiejpilato.blogspot.com.
To contact Herbie J Pilato, email:
ClassicTVPS@gmail.com.
