Last week’s Your Turn is the focus of this week’s Your Turn. Lots of emails in response to the working actor who found the Pre-Preread concept offensive. Here are a few.
Bonnie,
I just read and I ask: WHAT’S WRONG WITH WANNABE ACTORS?
IT IS SO DISTASTEFUL that even before they start trying they have to confront indignities for trying what they want to do just like you try hard at what you want to do.
Thanks for writing and sharing all that you write.
New wannabe ACTRESS?
I’m not going to say that I endorse or support anything that anyone ever sends over for Your Turn. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. But to be fair, before anyone is doing ANY career, he or she is a wannabe. Not sure where the insult is in that! College athletes are “wannabe pro ball players” until they’re drafted, right?
Don’t let another actor’s words make you upset. If you’re out there doing it, you’re no longer a wannabe, right? And if you’re not yet working, well then, you “wannabe” working. 😉 Don’t turn it into an insult. Life’s too short.
Hola Bonnie,
I don’t know if you remember me. (I’m sure you get a myriad of emails.) I’m the one who thanked you from Spain, as I read your weekly columns and enjoy seeing your perspective as a CD. (Although I am offended at the last Your Turn writer, as I don’t see you as Saint Mother Bonnie of the Acting Profession.)
Everything here in Spain is cast with a headshot and a videobook. This is a video lasting five to eight minutes of previous work or new work filmed in any style you want and can be a simple dramatic monologue, comedic one, or created like a commercial advertising oneself. And I am having a ball here. Last week I had a casting for Saturday Night Live. They bought the rights for the show here in Spain, and they are looking for new young comedians. I happened to videotape a comedic sketch of myself and sent it in, got a call, and had to do a sketch of “MacGruber.” McGyver, but one who does everything poorly. I had a great time, and we’ll see what happens.
There are rules (one has to be logical and have good manners), but at the same time there are no rules, and if something can open a door for me, even a crack, I’m willing to give it a try. Heck, I’m not a Spaniard, and I’m doing stand up comedy in Spanish. (I’m like the American George Lopez, just not yet discovered.) With a positive attitude nothing is impossible.
Thanks again for your columns, and if I’m a wannabe and you’re my guru, I’ve got no problems with that. Have a good Thanksgiving and save me some Turkey.
Kenneth Appledorn
Hi Ken,
I am so thrilled for you and the opportunities you’re encountering in Spain. Yes, I remember our previous email exchanges and it really sounds like things are working out perfectly for you! Congratulations on enjoying the ride and taking advantage of every angle.
Hopefully, no one actually sees me as Saint Mother Bonnie of the Acting Profession (and omigod that’s a hilarious phrase. I can almost visualize the crappy plastic statuette on the dashboard of some wood-paneled station wagon!) but instead as one of MANY resources available to actors everywhere. If an actor finds value in my words, great! I would hope that actors shop around and read everything out there, learning along the way whose advice fits into the various parts of his or her own journey (and where he or she is at that particular moment). Just as your careers evolve, so should the resources you count on at any given time.
Hope you get some Thanksgiving-like grub over there this week. Thanks for keeping me posted on your progress, as always!
Hi Bonnie!
I just wanted to say thank you for everything you do. I just read the comment from the jerk in the “Your Turn” section. You have made yourself so available to help actors of all levels, and we do appreciate it.
Adam, you’re welcome. I look at it this way: You’re in the public eye; you’re going to get unsolicited criticism. Happily, I get exponentially more “love mail” than “hate mail,” and that’s what I have to focus on. I’ve been writing a weekly column for actors pretty much for the past nine years (I was with Backstage before The Actors Voice debuted at Showfax.com) and have received exactly FOUR letters that have been even a little uncomfortable to read. Comparing that to the thousands of letters I’ve received over the years in which I am thanked for what I do makes it very easy to keep it all in perspective.
(And, because I don’t seek outside validation in order to know I’m doing a good job, it’s all “nice” but not what keeps me going. It’s like I’ve advised actors before, you could choose to let your bookings determine whether you think you’re a good actor, or you could KNOW you’re a good actor and see the bookings as a sweet bonus. That’s how I see the mail. 😉 It’s awesome. But it’s not what determines how I feel about myself as a writer or casting director. Or person!)
Honestly, I’m just grateful that folks come back week after week and read these words I put out here — and that the amazing people at Showfax host and archive everything for free. 🙂 I’m proud to have the opportunity to explore this industry a little bit with all of you each week. And I’m thrilled for every piece of mail I get! It means you’re reading, you’re thinking, and you’re sharing your thoughts with me! That helps me do my job. So, thank you! (All of you.)
Happy Thanksgiving! Join me in celebrating with appreciation for all of the gifts that surround us every day.
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/000952.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.