I was watching an episode of Friends in which Joey was being congratulated for having booked the lead in a series called Mac and CHEESE. One of his friends asked, “Are you psyched?” His reply:
“Am I psyched? I’m the lead in my own series. I’ve dreamed about this for years. (beat) WHY have I not been preparing?!?”
Why indeed?
Yet actors get opportunities (or even bookings) every day for which they aren’t prepared. Think it through. I know, you may have yourself convinced that the fantasizing you’re doing counts as prep. Nope. Not even a little bit.
I talked in an archived column titled Rookie Orientation about the prep that professional athletes go through before they’re exposed to the top tier of their chosen sports. They learn how to do press, how to handle their money, how to navigate the decision-making process regarding endorsement deals and the many exciting offers and opportunities that come their way as a result of having reached that new tier. Actors who hope to someday get that coveted series regular gig or score the big role in the studio feature that may have them recognized on the street (rather than just recognized in the industry, which is — in and of itself — pretty dang awesome) should think through all the levels of their potential success, so they’re conditioned to handle that, when it comes.
In Life as a Series Regular I talked with several series regulars about what to expect and how that day-to-day life is, compared with how you may have dreamed it would be. As Faith Salie told me, “For better or for worse, getting a series regular gig is outside legitimacy. The funny thing about having any sort of success is it just means you’ve climbed a mountain and then you have a view of all the mountains around you. If you had told me, ‘You’re going to be a lead on a TV series,’ I would’ve thought, ‘Oh, my life’s going to be amazing! I’m going to have a house in the Palisades and I’m going to be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno every night.’ But all it means is I go to the set every week.”
While you may not get a series regular gig in a show that has you character’s name in the title, you may — at some point in this career — have success beyond your wildest dreams. Being prepared for how you’re going to manage the day-to-day experience is essential. Have your craft in order and keep it in top form (many actors keep training, even when they’re working steadily, and I think that’s a great indication of how much like a professional athletic career this can be), know how to leverage your new position in the eyes of the industry (take advantage of meetings and opportunities to access roles in projects at a higher level than ever before), be prepared to handle whatever spin the network’s PR machine wants to put on the story of your success (they’ll make you say you’ve been in town less time than you have been, because everyone loves an overnight success), and put money away for when the heat goes down a few degrees (because it will).
Plan and prepare for your huge success. The worst thing that could happen is you’re well-prepared for even minor success. 🙂 If instead you choose to wait ’til you’re successful and then consider how you’re going to deal with that, you’d better hope you’re very lucky in surrounding yourself with a brilliant team that includes no one who mismanages your money or advises you irresponsibly, and that’s a lot of trust to put in others, when you should be the one telling your team what your overall gameplan is. Be prepared! It’s not just good advice for every single audition and meeting. It’s good advice for the trajectory of your awesome career in this industry.
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/001223.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.