Many times, we get into the habit of believing the stories we repeat in our brains — and to one another. I saw a fabulous tweet from Naomi Campbell that summed it up pretty well: “If you have to talk to more than three people about the same problem, you don’t want help, you want attention.” But it’s human nature, for some, to start believing the STORIES as FACT. Often, they’re not.
“It’s slow.” Nope. Someone somewhere is being cast. And certainly, those who are not BEING cast have the option of creating content, casting themselves in bullseye roles, and making sure there’s something to send buyers to see, when they ask for footage.
“I’m too old.” For what? To play the ingénue? Okay, I’ll give you that. You do age out of certain roles at different stages in life. Sure. But too old to be an actor? To start an acting career? To jump on in and take that one-line co-star that actors of your age who’ve been working for a decade no longer want to take on, because they’re eyeing the meaty guest-star? Absolutely not. Seize that stuff!
“I’m too short.” Who told you that? Some agent who didn’t want to sign you, so he used a reason you couldn’t negotiate your way out of? Some casting director who knew you weren’t the right actor for the role but who didn’t want to have a conversation about your talent, so she went with a “non-negotiable” item? Big deal. You’re not too short to play opposite Tom Cruise, y’know? There are roles for everyone.
“My agent doesn’t remember signing me.” Yikes. That happens. Definitely, if your agent is of the “sign and shelve,” “spaghetti-slinging,” or “sign without meeting you” variety, it’s possible you’re not very memorable to the person who runs his business by clicking SUBMIT more than by picking up the phone and enthusiastically pitching his clients, anyway. But who cares? I mean, if you didn’t sign with a “hell yes” of an agent, why are you begging for his attention, even just within your heart?
In Philadelphia last weekend, an actor asked me to help analyze “what went wrong” in a meeting she had with an agent she described as “horrible” and I asked, “Why on EARTH are you spending a millisecond dissecting this meeting and trying to learn from what went WRONG when it was with someone you are relieved didn’t sign you?” She said, “Well, um, he’s an agent.” Stop that. Seriously. Spend that same energy creating your target list for the next agent you’ll land — an agent who will totally remember you because you’ll be a booking machine for him!
“That casting director hates me. She’s never bringing me in again.” Fiction. It’s “matter over mind,” at this point, because the truth is you AREN’T permanently blacklisted in a casting office — the fastest way in, even if a CD is no longer crazy about you for some temporary reason, is to show up on a list of “actors I must see on this project” the director or producer hands the CD — you just believe you are. So, while “mind over matter” is often a fabulous tactic to help us all get things done that we don’t believe are possible, there are times when our creative brains are playing tricks on us and it’s “matter over mind” that will help even more. Knowing the difference and being able to redirect your energy is ninja.
“My reel sucks.” Fix it. Create content for yourself by gathering together with a group of collaborators and go in on an on-brand short that will provide buyers with wonderful insight into what it is that you bullseye. You can do this in a weekend. No excuses. Make it happen.
“My headshots don’t work.” Without constantly changing things up, if you truly have given these shots a good test run and you’re just not getting called in (of course, putting the weight of that ALL on your headshots is pretty bold), then consider another shot from the same shoot (you don’t HAVE TO spend money for another headshot session, necessarily). Survey friends at all your social networking outlets to get feedback on your top six proofs. Ask your acting coach for feedback. Reach out to those who have cast you before. Make it your Q during Q&A at workshops, if the buyers are open to it. Find OUT what headshot will nail it for you, then start using it. And yes, if you have to reshoot, there’s that. But you don’t have to make that decision first. Get data on your existing options.
“No one comes to see plays.” Someone does. Are you targeting the self-admitted theatre-loving buyers out there? Of course, it feels like you’re banging your head against the proverbial wall if you’re inviting theatre-haters to sit in the blackbox space where you’re putting on an all-female version of 12 Angry Men, but if you’ve done a great job putting together Your Show Bible, you know who the right targets are and you’re making it very easy for them to come see you: free tickets, free parking, cocktails and snacks before the show, a gorgeous industry kit, and a SHORT show they’ve not seen a zillion times before, hopefully with a large and diverse cast to make their investment of time worth it — beyond just watching YOUR work.
“I can’t do a webseries and what’s the point anyway?” The point? How about Dreamworks buying a YouTube channel for $33M with a bump to $117M coming through by 2015 for the acquisition? People who have long pooh-poohed web as non-factors in the entertainment industry are now eating their poopy words. Sure, there’s still a lot of crap out there, but there are also gems. The goal is to create something you feel really strongly about and to do so with so much love and gusto and passion that it doesn’t matter if it gets 1M views or 1K really enthusiastic ones.
Look, the point in ALL of this is that you may have some bad habits — or hang out with actors who have bad habits — involving vocabulary. One of my favorite “fixes” to shifting into a place of empowerment rather than diminishment is to add “UNTIL NOW” to the end of any statement I make about how little control I have or how bad things are or how small I feel.
This tells me — and the world — that in those brief spaces of powerlessness, there’s a CHOICE that helps fix that feeling. I can choose to see things differently and then get back to work. No lie. That feels great!
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/001661.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.