The Acting Business Boot Camp Podcast

Keeping at it as an actor.

For me, that means continuing to practice healthy habits as an actor, meaning a devotion to training, business skills, to core work, which is the work on yourself. 

We need to work on these things with diligence, effort, and repeated practice.

But every time we go just a little bit out of our comfort zone, that's where we get stronger, and that's where our new boundaries end. 

We can practice our acting training, do business skills, and work on ourselves even when we don't quote-unquote feel like it.

And again, I would say especially then, because if we don't feel we are worth it and we do it anyway, we are acting our way into right thinking and sending a very powerful message to not only to ourselves, but to the universe as well.  

We can act as if it is worth it. We can act as if we are worth it, but we need to do it and do it, and do it, and do it, and do it day after day, year after year. 

It's unreasonable to expect this a...

Today I'm going to talk about making it happen or if you're me forcing it to happen.

The Language of Letting Go.

"Stop trying so hard to make it happen.

Stop doing so much. If doing so much is wearing you out or not achieving the desired results, stop thinking so much and so hard about it.

Stop worrying so much about it. Stop trying to force, manipulate, coerce, or make it happen."

 Now around an acting career, it feels like so much is out of our control, so I get it. The actor mentality is, well, I'm going to make it happen. But again, it's out of our control.

"Stop doing so much if doing so much is wearing you out or not achieving the desired results."

Recording a podcast, I need number eight, nine, and ten energy, and I was operating at four, so it wasn't working.

Also, there's obsession. Oh, obsession. You know, one of the things that I used to suffer terribly from was that my thinking was unbearable because I would just obsess about wanting to be a working actor or a...

David's Advanced Commercial Class

About David:

DAVID CADY is currently a professor of commercial and musical theatre performance at AMDA, NYU, and Pace University.

Prior, he was a casting director for Donna DeSeta Casting for close to 30 years.

In addition to countless commercials, his casting credits include the original Dirty Dancing, Disney's Enchanted, Michael John LaChiusa's The Petrified Prince for the Public Theater, and the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman's Whistle Down the      Wind, directed by Harold Prince.  

He was an original cast member of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along, and can be seen in Lonny Price's film about the experience, The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened.

Most of the auditions are self-tapes. 

When do you make a daring choice? 

The times when I...

For over 40 years, Peggy has studied and performed Improv with The Groundings, Gross National Product, National Lampoon Players, TheatreSports, and Improvatorium.

She is a current performing member of Puppet Up! (Adult Improv Puppet Show produced by The Jim Henson Company).

She can be seen in The Barbarian and The Troll (series regular), Seinfeld, Boston Legal, Crash and Bernstein, The Last Champion, Earth to Ned, among others...

She studied at San Francisco State University, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, American Conservatory Theatre, and holds a degree in Theatre. 

She taught short form at Improvatorium.

It's also great for learning communication skills in your day-to-day time. Listening in your day-to-day.  

The power of Yes and. 

Let's try that again, but this time with a yes, try with a yes.  

The Who, the What, and...

So now what?

"Few situations, no matter how greatly they appear to demand it, can be bettered by going berserk."

It's important to put all of this into perspective.

This is survivable. It's going to be survivable. Is it tough? Is it a pain in the neck? Does it potentially throw off some of our career plans? Does it maybe stop some stuff that we hoped would go forward and now isn't because of the strike?

Absolutely.

Is it survivable? Is it manageable? The answer is yes, it is.

Us freaking out about it doesn't do us any good. What I would say is, Let's try and move into accepting it.

I need to do what I can to be proactive in supporting the writers and keep the focus on myself.

I need to take care of myself, my finances, my family, and especially my sanity.

So let's look at how we deal with panic and uncertainty during this time.

"Don't panic. If panic strikes, we do not have to allow it to control our behaviors."

I don't have to let this strike control my behavior.

"Behaviors...

Ken Rea’s Outstanding Actor Workshop

Well, this week, I turn another year older.

In the 30-plus years, I've been in this industry, I've watched it change dramatically.

Age is wisdom

Age is an advantage

Aging is beautiful

Aging is a privilege

“The walls of your comfort zone are lovingly decorated with your lifelong collection of favorite excuses.” -Jen Sincero

I was using age as an excuse.

When you see what you're weak at, you don't want to shy away from it. You want to lean into it. You want to practice it more. You want to get stronger and better and master it.

I've learned so much through getting older.

They are looking for everything. They just want real.

Start saying to yourself. “Why not me? Why not now?”

What is stopping me? What is stopping me because if it's age or any other lifelong collection of excuses, then keep in mind you're the one who's making those excuses, and you can just as easily choose to overcome them.

Ken Rea’s Outstanding Actor Workshop

Wendy Alnutt Class

Last week I talked about the potential writer's strike, and I also talked about control.

This is a business of practicing self-control.

But what I think is far healthier is really learning how to keep the focus on ourselves. 

The Language of Letting Go

“Control. Many of us have been trying to keep the whole world in orbit with sheer and forceful application of mental energy. What happens if we let go? If we stop trying to keep the world orbiting and just let it whirl? It'll keep right on whirling. It'll keep right on whirling. It'll stay right on track with no help from us. And we'll be free and relaxed enough to enjoy our place in it.” 

“Control is an illusion. Especially the kind of control we've been trying to exert on our acting career.”

Your exercise for this week is to list out what are the things that I am trying to control in my acting career that will happen whether I try to...

Ken Rea’s Outstanding Actor Class

So people have been asking me about the writer's strike.

Keep the focus on yourself.

But what can you do? Use this opportunity to let go of drama.

There's a great Michael Jordan quote, “Why would I worry about a shot that I haven't even taken yet?”

Everybody is worried about something that hasn't even happened yet.

Now let's talk about how that affects us as a human being.

We're going to talk about that in a moment. But I just want to talk about this subject and my own experience with worrying about a bunch of stuff that I cannot even control. What it does is it uses up my energy. 

When I am worried about something that is truly probably, if you think about it, none of my business.

If I am trying to get somebody to do something, I am out of myself and into control.

So when it comes to this "potential writer's strike," I again urge you to think about keeping the focus on myself, and taking care of myself pays enormous...

Ken Rea's Outstanding Actor Workshop

Ken's Theater Troupe

So we wanted to do something that challenged that, that could excite and inspire young audiences and people, people who didn't go to the theater.

There was such an amazing optimism, upbeat, warm energy. And we just got on and did it.

Is it possible to have that attitude again in the world as it is now?

I'm not looking to change the world anymore, but if I can help someone else change themselves, they will then be able to help change other people.

Our first duty is to ourselves.

What can I put back to the planet as a kind of legacy for being on this earth?

Actors have a very important job to do right now in that by telling stories that are powerful and that are going to uplift people and give people hope and inspiration that can hopefully make the world better and better. 

How do you step up to that next level?

How do you inspire people to find the courage to get up to that next level?

So the first thing is to create an...