Benjamin Dane’s concise handbook, Secrets Of An Actor, will attract three categories of readers. Careerists, Creatives, and the Curious will all find value in this compact compendium of confidential counsel. Despite that alliterative abuse, the observation holds. Writers know that the perceptiveness of their readers provides value to the writing. The depth of a reader’s perspective often determines their recognition of the depth offered by the author. Any author is well-advised to assume their reader’s high intelligence. Benjamin Dane honors this prescriptive with brief suggestions for those actors seeking to nail their auditions. He does not belabor or exhaust his points. While presuming working actors will “get” them immediately, he doesn’t assume they will always think of them alone.

Careerists will discover an abbreviated gem to guide their audition preparations. Creatives will recognize the applicability of these guidelines to their own endeavors — the need for context, attention to detail, coherence, cohesion, and investigative investment in learning about their subjects. The curious will thoroughly enjoy watching what an actor goes through simply preparing for a short audition, not to mention a full-fledged cinematic or theatrical role. Of course, all three categories will love the secret tips offered later in the book. Nothing is quite as fun as getting a secret glimpse behind the scenes. That’s true for careerists, creatives, and the curious. All three should take to heart this candid, concluding admonition :

“[K]now it is not the work you have invested that loses the role … with every audition, you are honing your skills.”