Wow! Y’all really like it when I write these simple, don’t take casting personally-type columns, don’t you? I get so much email whenever I cover this sort of topic! I’m thrilled to know that these are the articles you tend to print out and take with you, to help you keep it all in perspective. Awesome! As always, thanks for reading… and for writing in! Great to hear from you and to get to know what you want to read about, even more.
Here’s a great email I received from an actor who expands the Shopping for Cereal analogy to include analysis of the various types of shoppers. Brilliant!
I recently had a casting revelation using a shopping analogy, so after reading your cereal column I thought I’d share.
It seems to me that just as there are different kinds of shoppers, there are different kinds of hirers. I mean, some people go shopping for, say, clothes, and they know exactly what they want. They have pictured it in their minds and they will not rest until they find exactly what they’ve pictured. If they actually must buy something they will get the next best thing at the last minute. They might never really be satisfied with it, though. Otherwise, they will go home empty-handed.
Other shoppers will go to the store and see what’s there. They may have had something in mind, but they will see what’s at the store. They may also have their minds changed by something at the store that never occurred to them.
So, of course, my job is to come out of the garment bag and show what kind of dress I am. I can’t help it if it doesn’t fit the buyer!
It seems, for me anyway, that no matter how long I’ve been doing this I have to constantly remind myself that I can’t please everybody. I just can’t fit everybody. Keeping this in mind frees me up to do it my way, instead of trying to figure out what they want.
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000695.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.