I was reading your column from this week as I travel home for Thanksgiving, in the midst of reminding myself what I should be grateful for, so it’s perfect. 🙂

A simple thing I was thinking of — that we actors often forget — is that we should enjoy each audition we do! They are all performance opportunities after all. A professor of mine was talking about this recently. As a fulltime student in my last year of school, I’ve been aching to get out there and start performing. It feels so frustrating to sit through classes, just finishing my degree when I want to be actually doing what I love.

But I thought about what my teacher said as I did a school audition the other night. I was doing a monologue of a very angsty, dark pyromaniac — a good piece, but a stretch from the person I am day to day. After a long Monday, barely making it through work and classes on my last bit of pre-Thanksgiving energy, I realized that this audition was an opportunity.

For that one minute I was up there, I could let go of all the stress in my life, and be someone different, someone I don’t always get a chance to be. Fulfill myself artistically: Isn’t that the whole point? Also, whether or not I was cast, I would get a chance to show the directors what I could do. And that had certainly improved since the last time they saw me, so why not show off? Let them see how much I was enjoying myself.

Sounds like a simple thing to remember, but as actors, if we can make the most stressful thing we do enjoyable, it certainly can increase our happiness level. Just some food for thought.

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank YOU for all you give to me and the millions of others who read your column.