The Acting Business Boot Camp Podcast
Episode 239: It's Time to Celebrate YOU
Today we are going to talk about celebrating.
"Take time to celebrate."
Now the funny thing is that I rarely take time to celebrate, and I need to keep doing it more and more and more because it is in the times of celebration, and it's in our resting times that we are getting prepared to do and accomplish more.
But it's so important to reward ourselves. It's one of the things I talk about in time management to reward ourselves for all our hard work.
"Celebrate your successes, your growth, your accomplishments. Celebrate you. And who you are because through celebration, we are truly loving the self. We are truly celebrating who we are."
And isn't that what we are putting out to the business? We want to put out, "Hey, I've got this great product. It's me!"
I mean, isn't that what it's all about? It's show business. Let me show you me.
It's important to have joy.
"For too long, we have been too hard on ourselves. Others have spilled...
Episode 238: A Message to Drama School Grads
Okay, now what? We graduated, and there's a fucking writer's strike, and a pending actors strike. Wait, this is not what I showed up for.
I've been a member of SAG AFTRA for over 30 years and a working actress for over 30 years.
And let me tell you something, I've been through a lot of strikes, and you know what the greatest thing about them is? They end.
There is a lot you can do right now, and that's getting ready.
The number one thing I recommend to actors getting out of drama school is learning "the Language of the Agents and the Casting Directors."
If you think you learned it in drama school, I am here to tell you that, no, you did not. Chances are that you did not learn what the industry was like from the agents and the casting director's points of view.
Some of the things to know, though, is that yes, you are the newbies on the block, and you are fresh meat. Everybody's all excited about you, but this is the thing you need to know is there have been thousands of...
Episode 237: Letting the Past Hold You Back
Letting the Past Hold You Back.
"Many people come to me and say they cannot enjoy today because of something that happened in the past.
Because they did not do something or do it in a certain way in the past, they cannot live a full life today. Because they no longer have something they had in the past they cannot enjoy today. Because they were hurt in the past, they will not accept love now. Because something unpleasant happened when they did something once, they are sure it will happen again today. Because they once did something that they are sorry for, they are sure there are bad people around them forever. Because once someone did something to them, it is now all that other person's fault their life is not where they want it to be today. Because they became angry over a situation in the past, they will hold on to that self, self-righteousness. Because of some very old experience where they were treated badly, they will never forgive and forget."
Ways ...
Episode 236: Interview with Guildhall's Wendy Allnutt
About Wendy:
Wendy Allnutt trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She held the post of Head of Movement at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for 25 years and is a founder member of L'Oltrarno, Acting School in Florence. Other teaching credits include Colorado College USA, Conservatoire Stratford Ontario, Canada, Penn State summer schools, Laboratorio Internationale Teatro Degli Astrussi in Montalcino/St Mineato, l'Accademia SilviovD'Amico, Rome, LAMDA, Colby London Programme, BESG, and BADA.
Movement Director: Sky TV's Fungus the Bogeyman (2016), BBC's Walking with Cavemen, and The Iceman Murderer. Wendy has been the Master of Movement at Shakespeare's Globe 1st season and recently Henry V1 parts 1, 2, and 3. Revival choreographer for Welsh National Opera's Magic Flute (Out of Joint / RNT) She Stoops to Conquer and A Laughing Matter, Romeo, and Juliet & Private Lives (Mercury) Brothers Karamazov, Maybe and Private Lives (Manchester Roya...
Episode 235: Letting Go of What We Want as an Actor
Free month of The Weekly Adjustment Coaching Group
"It is important to identify what we want and what we need, but where does this concept leave us? Well, generally, what it leaves us with is a large but clearly identified package of currently unmet wants and needs, but we've taken the risk to stop denying and to start accepting what we want and need.
But the problem is now that the want or the need hangs there unmet. This can be frustrating. Painful, annoying, and sometimes obsession producing."
After identifying our needs, there is a next step in getting our wants and needs met. The next step is letting go of our wants and needs after we have painstakingly identified what they are and the steps to achieve them.
We let go. We give them up on a mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical level. It's not always easy to get to this place, but this is usually where we need to go."
I'm not talking here about giving up as an actor and giving up your dr
...Episode 234: Keeping at it as an Actor
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 hundred percent commi...
Episode 233: Actors Who Try to "Make" It Happen
Today I'm going to talk about making it happen or if you're me forcing it to happen.
"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 fa...
Episode 232: Interview with Commercial Master David Cady
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 didn't ask for permission to be Peter Pamela Rose. Those were the times I got the callback or maybe booked the job.
Really understanding ho...
Episode 231: Incredible Improv with Peggy Etra
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 the Where.
Listening is a skill, and it's a muscle.
Emotional response as another tool.
Episode 230: The Strike
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.
"Behav...
