Happy New Year, Bonnie!
Thank you for the MP3! It really made me think on some things that I’m facing right at this moment.
I have a question about materials, since you’ve been discussing that in your articles.
What if I have some pretty good materials, but I don’t want to post it so that anyone can see it? I usually send the private link to the casting directors and my agents, but — and this may sound selfish — I don’t want to post it publicly because what I have created is very unique for my region and I don’t want other actors taking my material info and making it their own.
It’s brutally competitive where I am, and it’s really the only thing I have that helps me to stand out. I’m struggling for jobs since so many LA actors are moving here.
Selfish? Maybe. Strategic? I think so. But that’s why I’m asking you! Should I be posting it publicly for all to see?
Thank you, again, you are truly a class act NINJA! 🙂
Hiya! So glad you enjoyed the MP3. 🙂 It is absolutely my pleasure to provide goodies to members of the Bonnie Gillespie mailing list!
I look at it this way: ALL markets are competitive. NO one market is more cutthroat than others. If actors in your market are chosen because they have creative marketing materials or gimmicks that make their materials stand out RATHER than because of their talent, then that’s a crappy market and I’d move immediately. (Also, I’m going to assume that’s just NOT true. NO ONE is casting actors based solely on their marketing materials or creative presentation of their tools. NO ONE.)
So, I think you may be coming from a place of lack in your thinking about your market, the people in it, the opportunities that you have, and the difference that your materials *actually* make.
For nearly 14 years, I’ve been writing for actors and putting free information out there. Free. Free. FREE. And I have built a reputation that gets me traveling all over the world to work with actors through colleges, universities, private acting studios, the performers’ unions, production companies, you name it!
I have authored several books and even landed on Tom Cruise’s recommended reading list for new actors. This didn’t happen because I *hid* my methods or SAVED my goodies for only certain eyes. It’s precisely BECAUSE I sent free copies of the book out there. I wrote columns that were posted for actors to read, free, here at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice Showfax and before that for Backstage. I tirelessly answered thousands upon thousands of emails, posts at message boards, etc., and became KNOWN as the go-to for the brand that I’ve built.
The instant I hear that someone else is teaching a method that has its roots in the Self-Management for Actors principles, I write an article about it, immediately. Because I know I do it best. I know I’m KNOWN for the work that I do. And when someone else sees my SMFA targeting methods being taught by someone else, they say, “Oh, yeah. That’s Bonnie’s SMFA method. It works. It’s awesome. This is someone else trying to ‘yes, and…’ what Bon does best.”
So, I’d say shift your focus to your talent — not your tools. Yes, have them looking amazing. Yes, have something fabulous and unique and truly YOU. But then TRUST that if it *is* unique and it *is* you and it *is* authentic, no one else could copy it anyway. It would feel false. Because it’s YOU, not them, at its core.
I’d stop being stingy with my tools, if it were me. I’d say, “Look at this amazing, innovative, unique way of presenting my goodies that I’ve come up with,” and let people be INSPIRED by what you’ve done. They’ll never be able to copy what you’ve done, and even if they tried, it would never be AS GOOD because you’re the one who came up with it! 🙂
Besides, if the best thing anyone out there in casting or producing or agenting can say about you is, “She’s got really great marketing tools,” that’s a HORRIBLE thing. The tools should support the badassery that IS your talent. 🙂 The confidence that comes from THAT should shine beyond anything else.
🙂
Hope this helps! I think we’re a better community when we share our toys. I’ve built my career on that concept. 🙂 When I see someone doing something “my way,” I say, “Good luck trying to keep up, because THAT is not the only thing I’ve got.” 🙂 And then I go create more amazing things.
Now you! Go! 🙂 Be awesome.
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/001606.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.