Don’t Give Up!!
Showbiz. Even the laymen know that this is a tough business. So what better way to start off this blogging journey, than to talk about the number one reason why actors fail: giving up.
One of the most important things that I think I’ve learned since graduation is that this career is a marathon, not a sprint. As cliche as that sounds, I think it’s really important to remember. Many of the most talented actors never make it because they get burnt out or discouraged early on, while I know some actors who have been really grinding for ten years and are just now starting to find the serious success that we all crave.
Most days/weeks/months, I feel really good about where I’m headed and know that I have what it takes to make this happen for myself. But there are those times inbetween where I get discouraged and the idea of quitting flits through the darkest corners of my mind. When that starts to happen, I have a few things I do that get me back on track and feeling like I can handle this again.
1. See a great Broadway show — I always leave really great Broadway shows feeling inspired by the work I saw, and motivated to get back out there and become a part of it all myself. We get most of our tickets as comps (hallelujah!), but there are really cheap ways to do it, too. If you still have a student ID, so many shows have affordable student rush tickets. Or you can sign up for HipTix and nab $10 ticket offers when they pop up, which is how we recently saw “Brief Encounter” (phenomenal show, by the way, I hope you all caught it!).
2. Have coffee with successful and inspiring actors — I have a few people in my life who inspire me to make things happen just by talking to them. Do you know the kind of people I’m talking about? I think I do that for a few of my actor friends, too. Find these people, and just chit chat about what’s up for a bit. They might have some helpful hints, or at least, a kind word and a pat on the back 🙂
3. Book a seminar or class — And do it now. There’s nothing that makes me less blue than feeling like I’ve taken ahold of the reins of my career again by actively training or networking.
4. Send out a round of postcards — Again, this is something you can do proactively for yourself, and it always makes me feel good to do it. Even if you’re feeling like you haven’t done enough lately, chances are you’ve been up to something you can share with your industry contacts. And you never know what can come from staying in touch with them!
5. Remind yourself of how far you’ve come — When I get really discouraged, it helps me to take a little gander backwards to see how much I’ve accomplished in the past couple of years. I do this by looking at old resumes, reading old blog posts about what I was up to, re-visiting lists of yearly career goals that I’ve totally owned, scoping out the list of industry contacts that I’ve amassed, and often, talking to my husband about what he remembers from our first few weeks here in the city. All of these things help build my confidence in what I’m doing right back up. Find yours.
6. Hone your materials — Take some time to read a few plays to scope out new monologue material, practice a new song, do that resume editing you’ve been putting off, update your website, etc. Whichever one of your tools could use some polishing, take the time to do it now! That way, when the work comes and you’re happily overwhelmed, you’ll be ready for whatever gets thrown at you!
7. Make some work for yourself! — If you really want to work more, make some work for yourself! Do you have a friend with a camera who’s always wanted to start a web series? Get on it! Do you want to produce your own short play? Enter it into a free festival and star in it yourself! There are so many ways to be proactive about creating work when there’s not enough out there for you that’s been created by someone else. Enlist your talented friends and aquaintances to help!
8. Take a day or two off — If all else fails, take a step back from the biz for a day or two. Go do something totally non-acting-related that really brings you joy and resolve to not worry about your career until the end of the weekend. You’ll feel refreshed and ready to take on the world again.
What are your tips and tricks on getting re-inspired when the daily grind takes its toll? Please share!
The Green Room 
What keeps me inspired is creative vision. I love building things: community, productions, my own business. Again, it might be totally cliché, but “If you build it, they will come.” I believe that 100%.
When I think of all of the things and places that I love, whether it be a show that I’ve seen, a restaurant that I love, a book, music etc. all of it started with a tiny seed of a vision. Most likely, when a person first had that tiny vision they had no idea where it would lead and what it would lead to. I find that incredibly compelling, an adventure really.
So if the day is feeling like “a daily grind” I continually clarify my vision and plant those seeds and water those seeds and know that at some point they’re going to bloom and blossom in ways that totally thrill me.