One of the coolest moves I’ve ever seen comes from an actor who’d been training in Self-Management for Actors with us… who then got an audition from us… after submitting on a breakdown in which words he deemed as “PERFECT for his brand” appeared.

No, he didn’t book the job (he did book the room, of course, and got a callback too), but he got a gift from my breakdown that has paid off for years!

The wording in my breakdown led him to his logline.

Now, actor loglines are not the easiest things to create. In fact, we have a whole day in our year-end free training (more on that below) on writing about yourself (and a mini-course called “Bios and Cover Letters That Don’t Suck”) because it’s just a challenge. Period.

You’ve been taught to write from a formal place, most likely. But unless your BRAND is formal, you’re kind of screwed, using the tools that came from your education to write your own bio or logline.

Quick note: Not every actor NEEDS a logline. But many actors find loglines to be incredibly helpful when it comes to conveying their most castable brand in a succinct way! And if it’s not out there on your website, your social media “about me,” and in your cover letter, at the very least, it can be posted in your workspace so you can use it as a guide in choosing which submissions to make (and on which ones to pass, since they’re someone else’s bullseye).

In the case of this ninja, though, he needed — and wanted — a logline. We had gotten close in our work together in SMFA courses, but hadn’t clicked on The Right One. And then I put out the breakdown for Bite Me, Machinima’s first-ever scripted live-action series, acquired by Lionsgate and taken to television in its second season. (Oh, hai, tier-jump!)

For one particular character — the one that was a snug fit for the brand of this particular actor — these words appeared: “Boss at the worst job you’ve ever had.”

Note the juiciness. It’s not that it’s a BAD BOSS we’re talking about. It’s that person who really-really LOVES the job and OMG it’s such a nightmare of a job for YOU, right? We’ve all been there! This person is unnaturally eager about a go-nowhere job. A boss who LIVES for policy when it’s just a disposable job for you. “That guy” who will never get out of this place and doesn’t see that as a bad thing at all. Delicious.

In just 8 words, this ninja had a logline.

And he said as much when he came in for his audition. “AWESOME!” I shouted. Because of course, that *is* awesome. Take inspiration wherever you can find it. You may be submitting on breakdowns TODAY that contain delicious on-brand words for your bio, your cover letter, your online “about me,” your logline, your brand umbrella. Heck yeah!

*Especially* if you’re getting called in on those beautifully-worded breakdowns (this is in that whole “Interview Your Bookings” territory; and YES, I know, not *every* breakdown is well-written… we’ve shared a few best-of the bad ones in a list in our SMFA Ninjas Facebook group), pay attention!

Inspiration is everywhere!

Finding any gold you’d like to share? Comments are open just below!

Now… on to three bits of SMFA news.

1. Your favorite year-end FREE challenge is back for its FIFTH YEAR! Yep! Just sign up for Get in Gear for the New Year right here and you’ll be all set to join us for the last 11 days of 2018, filled with ninja badassery and community support like none other! Totally FREE, y’all! Sign up before December 20th and be sure to tell your friends!

2. If you’ve been planning on joining us for the 100 days that *will* change your life, we’re in the final days for you to score 2018 pricing! Get in Gear for the Next Tier is a spectacular way to continue the momentum of those FREE 11 days in December, but be sure you lock in our best price by enrolling now!

3. What you’ve been hearing about our brand-new mind-body enoughness mastermind called Expansive Capacity is true… it’s rocking my upper-tier and long-time clients (and a few newbies too) to their very core with deep inner work that clears out the resistance, busts through the blocks, and challenges those upper-limit problems like never before. We’re now accepting applications for January 2019 enrollment. Deadline to apply: December 24th. Don’t miss out!

Stay inspired, you beautiful people!

And as always, stay ninja!

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!