In April 1987, Vancouver Community College (VCC) instituted a career development program in the theater arts department. The program was designed to encourage senior theater students to focus on career goals and prepare for self-employment. The program emphasized that an actor is his/her own small business, with responsibility for creating his/her own career and managing taxes and finances. The content of the course was a combination of career planning, methods of self-marketing, and taxation and financial planning information. The major course projects were the development of a self-generated employment project and of a comprehensive plan for a co-op theatrical production. Additional assignments focused on the development of a comprehensive portfolio of employment-seeking materials, including a resume, photographs, and audition songs and monologues. Role playing and student presentations were used to ensure that students had extensive practice in presenting themselves and critiquing others' performances. One year after the pilot offering of the course, the majority of the 11 participating students rated it as a valuable contribution to preparing them for their careers. All of those who were successfully employed as actors felt that the course helped improve their career focus and their ability to market themselves. An outline of the 12-week course is attached. (JMC)