The Acting Business Boot Camp Podcast

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Hi, everyone. I hope you had a wonderful holiday week and let me be one of the first to wish you a very happy new year.

Last week it was to close out 2024 and this week it is to welcome 2025. 

So allow yourself to find a comfortable position and if that means you need to push pause and get settled that's just fine do that now.

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Today I'm going to be doing a meditation to close out the year. 

And you can feel free to do this meditation as many times as you want. 

Because you can also think of this meditation as being something to close out your day, or your hour, or your morning, or your month, or your week. 

But for our purposes today, it will be to close out 2024.

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Podcast Episode Summary

Today’s episode is all about self-care—because let’s be honest, December and January can be tough.

✔️ December = Overwhelming & chaotic.
✔️ January = Cold, rainy (even in LA!), and filled with pressure for the year ahead.

💡 Self-care isn’t just important—it’s essential.

If you’ve ever felt overworked, spiritually drained, or overwhelmed by all you need to do, this episode is for you.

👉 I’m sharing powerful self-care insights, including:
✅ Why neglecting yourself always leads to burnout
✅ How small moments of care (water, rest, journaling) change everything
✅ How to reframe overwhelm & trust that you can handle what’s ahead

Let’s dive in. 🎙️

🌿 Why Self-Care is Non-Negotiable

Whatever you put before taking care of yourself, you’re going to lose.

And what do we usually lose first?
❌ Sanity
❌ Peace of mind
❌ Emotional balance

💡 The truth I wish I learned earlier?
✔️ Taking care of myself pays enormous dividends.
✔️ I spend ...

Podcast Episode Summary

Today’s episode is short but powerful—we’re talking about morning routines and how they set the tone for your entire day.

💡 Inspired by Melody Beattie’s The Language of Letting Go, I’ll share:
✅ The importance of morning cues & listening to your first thoughts
✅ My own morning routine (and why it’s non-negotiable)
✅ How to affirm what you want & set daily intentions
✅ How to tune into what needs your focus & healing

Want to start your day with more clarity, confidence, and purpose? Let’s dive in. 🎙️

🌅 Why Your Morning Routine Matters

First thing in the morning, your mind is open, your defenses are down, and you’re the most in tune with yourself.

🔹 “There is an important message for us first thing every day.” – Melody Beattie

💡 What is the first feeling that floods through you?
✔️ Are you excited? Anxious? Avoiding something?
✔️ Are you frustrated, hurt, or confused?
✔️ What do you need to focus on today?

The answer is important—because that’s where your en...

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Today I'm going to talk to you about the hazard of making excuses as an actor. 

And I'm going to start with perhaps something that if you were like me, or you are like how I used to be the idea of it's only me. 

So it's only me and therefore it doesn't count or, I'm tough, I can handle it. 

One of the things that making excuses as an actor does is it stalls personal growth.

And anything that would affect me in a negative way, I used to be like, “Hey, I'm young. I can take it. Hey, no worries. I can overcome it.” 

Until I couldn't. 

And so the first thing I'm going to talk about in terms of the hazards of making excuses as an actor is just that. Stalling personal growth. 

See, now, as a middle aged woman, I don't want to do anything that stalls me.

I don't want to have any energy that is moving against me. 

I want everything moving for me. 

Because you know what? I deserve it. 

And so do you and this making excuses and stalling my perso...

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Today I'm going to talk about what I find a sad subject, and it is about unsupportive friends and unsupportive family members.

And I'm gonna give you a few points and things to think about. So that you can have the support, at least from me, and I'll talk about getting more support in a moment, that helps you when you're dealing with this. 

Now, the first thing, and I know because, man, I hated this word when I first learned it, was boundaries.

Learning to set boundaries, clearly communicate your goals and values to others, and establish boundaries when necessary. 

This helps you to protect your energy and stay focused on what matters most to you without having that negativity affect you. 

Now, I think that's really important, and I'm going to say something about boundaries in a moment, but I also need to teach you this little phrase.

Don't go to the hardware store for lemons. 

If you know that a family member or a particular friend is not supportive...

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About Risa:

For the past 4 decades Risa has worked consistently as a director, producer, casting director, writer, and teacher, and is a founder of The BGB Studio, a training space and artistic home for actors. She’s had the great fortune to have collaborated with some of the most talented, passionate, and groundbreaking artists in the world. She’s continued to move successfully from one arena to another – from theatre to film to television and back. With two feature films in her directorial body of work – the cult classic, 200 CIGARETTES, and more recently, THE CON ARTIST, made in Canada, Risa’s also directed in television, including multiple episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE for the WB, and several shows for HBO, Lifetime, and Comedy Central.

Risa has cast some of the most memorable movies of the past 40 years. Risa’s résumé includes decades of classics such as DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, SOMETHING WILD, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, TRUE ROMANCE, ANGEL H...

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A subject that has come up with private clients of mine and in my weekly group class has been the subject of discussion of quitting. 

And the phrase that I have been coaching on, is don't quit five minutes before the miracle.

Don't quit five minutes before the miracle. 

And I get it. Especially for those of us in the U. S. who have been struggling with the industry this year. Let's just be blunt. It's a bitch, okay? It's just been awful. I have a friend of mine who's a producer and he says the word he keeps using is brutal.

It's been a brutal year. 

But here's the thing. We're not gonna quit. There is no plan B. 

So let's talk about the things that we need to do to motivate ourselves to not quit five minutes before the miracle. 

So I'm going to have five points that I want to make and I'll coach a little bit around each one.

So the first one is, and this is really true for someone who has been in this business for 36 years. 

Progre...

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So today's podcast is going to be about making a pivot in your acting career. 

The first thing you want to do when you are making a pivot is you want to clarify your new career goal.

I understand that the goal may be to be a working actor, but what exactly does that mean to you? 

And when you've made a goal, asking yourself that follow up question, that empowering question, what does that mean to you? What does that look like? How will it feel when you achieve it? 

You want to take time to identify exactly where you want to pivot, and I think those questions can really, truly help you.

Now, whether that is in a new area of the industry, or maybe with a new renewed energy towards a different area or a renewed energy towards an old goal? That is fine. The big thing I want you to think about is being specific. 

Really setting a clear goal for yourself of what you are looking to do.

Now one of the things that I always talk about with my client...

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Today I'm going to talk about reframing disappointment. 

One of my favorite quotes. It's from Dr. Wayne Dyer, he says “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”

And in reframing disappointment, we need to look at it in a different way. 

So I'm going to give you a few tips. 

I'm going to give you some Action steps to do when you face disappointment and hopefully that will help you to move through it because again, another one of my favorite quotes, again, a top five is Robert Frost, which is the “best way out is always through.”

So this podcast is about moving you through disappointment. 

Number one, acknowledge the disappointment. And this is so important. One of my phrases that I teach is awareness, acceptance, and action. Obviously, you are aware of the disappointment, but you really need to accept it. And acknowledge it so that you can then move on through the rest of this podcast to take action to reframe it...