An (almost) daily conversation about my process of preparation to apply for acceptance to the MFA Acting programs at Juilliard, NYU-Tisch and the Yale School of Drama in 2012.
"We practice [mindfulness] in order to have the capacity to deal with desire, to smile with desire, so that we may be free from it." - Thich Nhat Hanh, Fidelity
Yesterday was an emotional roller-coaster ride. I was informed that there is still a chance that I may be accepted to NYU Grad Acting in the fall. (If you missed yesterday's post. You can read all about it HERE.)
Up until yesterday, I had totally let go of the idea that it was even a REMOTE possibility that I was still under serious consideration at NYU. I mean, they didn't even ask me to go to the callback weekend. (Not that I could have attended anyway, since I had to be in San Diego that weekend for work.) NYU put me on the "wait-list" with 250 other people. So...that didn't sound promising.
And then BAM! Phone call from Janet Zarish. "Virginia, we'd like you to be one of two alternates for this year's class."
Yeah. Sure. Okay. AWESOME!
Very thrilling.
Sooooooo naturally....yesterday my head was spinning around from the new given circumstances of my life.
What's going to happen?
How should I be feeling about all of this?... Happy?... Scared?
I mean...WHAT IF I GET IN?
And...WHAT IF I DON'T GET IN?
Think.
Think.
Think.
Then...I had an AWESOME REALIZATION this afternoon.
Even though "acceptance" is sooooooo close I can almost taste it...
I am NOT AFRAID of not getting accepted to NYU.
I am also NOT AFRAID of getting accepted to NYU.
I. Am. Not. Afraid.
NOT AFRAID.
And that makes me HAPPY!
I know that I am perfectly happy with either outcome. TRULY.
That's an incredibly wonderful and liberating feeling.
I'm happy with living in the mystery for a while. It's kind of FUN, actually...The not-knowing-what-the-heck-is-going-to-happen.
"Fear distorts our lives and makes us miserable. We cling to objects and people, like a drowning person clinging to a floating log. By practicing nonattachment and sharing this wisdom with others, we give the gift of non-fear. Everything is impermanent. This moment passes. That person walks away. [YOU DON'T GET ACCEPTED TO GRAD SCHOOL.] Happiness is still possible." - Thich Nhat Hanh, Fidelity
External circumstances will never bring true joy. Joy comes from within. So choose to be happy NOW.
Loves,
V
"True love is generated from within. With true love, you feel complete in yourself; you don't need something from outside. True love is like the sun, shining with its own light, and offering that light to everyone." - Thich Nhat Hanh, Fidelity
Jeremy: There was one time in the movement class [at NYU] when we went on and on for like 15 minutes, and finally the teacher was like, "I’m just going to stop you because this is clearly not going anywhere." Because we couldn’t agree on anything.
And I really think having those experiences of bumping heads, being too polite, not being polite enough, saying no,...failing and not failing. It really led me to a place where I feel very confident that I know how to collaborate. And I think that’s the key to doing something very interesting...collaborating.
I’m not confident enough to sit down, write something, give it to a bunch of people and say, this is what it is going to be, and it’s going to be awesome because I wrote it. This is not how I work. Some do that work that way, but I know that if I’m with the right group of people, it’s going to be good.
So I think it’s really about finding the right group of people and learning how to collaborate. And I really think NYU taught what it is to collaborate. It sharpened my creative intuition in a way. I know the type of people that I want to collaborate with. There are people that have no artistic aesthetic, or their sense of what is quality is very different than mine. And I just don’t want to work with those people. They may go off and do something with their group of friends that is awesome, but it’s not what I want to do.
So I do feel, yes, that I actually have a skill set that has trained me to find the right people, to know how to work with them, know how to create something that is at least interesting to us, and that’s kind of all you’ve got to do to win, I think, is create something that you want to be a part of and you want to see.
And if other people want to see it – I have no control over whether they want to see it. I’d like to think if I know that I’m doing something I know if it is good or not, and maybe I’m fooling myself. So, yes, I know it sounds arrogant, maybe, to say, yes, I do feel like I could create something that is good. Whether anybody else thinks it’s good or chooses to watch it is up to them. But for my aesthetic, yes.
Virginia: But I think it’s great because... what I’m getting from what you’re saying – correct me if I’m wrong – is that you’re coming from a position of power in creating your own work and going, "You know what? Hey I have a point of view, and this is what I want to show."
Jeremy: It’s not an egoic, "Yes, I know"...It’s a self – what’s the word?
Virginia: It’s a self-knowing.
Jeremy: Self-knowing.
Virginia: You know yourself well enough to know what you do well. And you don’t have to do everything well, but these are the things YOU DO WELL and that you enjoy doing.
Jeremy: Yes.
Virginia: I feel like a lot of times as actors, we spend a lot of time figuring out what other people want us to be rather than thinking about who WE WANT TO BE for the world.
Jeremy: I feel empowered enough to say, "This is who I am, take me or leave me." You know?
Virginia: Yes. Yes.
Jeremy: Which I think you have to be as an artist. You have to be like, "You like it or you don’t.... Fuck it. I don’t give a shit. I’m doing it for me anyway."
Virginia: Something else I want to talk about is...diversifying your career. On your website, I saw on your resume that you’ve done T.V. and film and obviously you love theatre, now you’re doing this web series, ... you also do voiceover too. How important do you think that it is as an actor nowadays to be able to do all that stuff?
Jeremy: I think that’s kind of what it is to be an actor. I mean, acting, at the end of the day, to me, is just pretending to be something you’re not. And whatever form that takes, that’s the form it takes. It’s weird 'cause in the last three years, the more I empower myself, the more I realize what I really want to do – at the heart of it – I really want to refine my craft as an actor INTO INFINITY.
There was this thing in Newsweek. It talked about how to be smart...whatever. And it talked about if you always read the New York Times, or read the Wall Street Journal, you know...It listed of all these -- like telling you if you play video games it’s good for blah, blah, blah. Do this or that. Blog. Learn a second language. Play an instrument. All these things. One of the things it said was... master something.
Master one thing.
You know, you could do all this other shit...but find one thing that you’re going to MASTER. You know, it could be anything...business, law. So I’m like, "Oh, I’m doing most of these things"...minus – I need to get Rosetta Stone....But yes, I think all these things, they’re like little sandboxes, little tools for the actor like, you know, practicing voiceover stuff, doing a play, working in front of a camera. Which is no different, in my opinion, whether it’s the web or T.V. You know, a camera is a camera is a camera. The size of the screen might change. Whether it’s sitting around reading Shakespeare with your friends, It’s doing anything, anything you can, just to like keep refining that muscle.
It’s a craft. It’s like building a house. It’s a skill like anything else. You know, if you want to know how to juggle, you’re going to have to practice how to juggle. If you want to build houses, you’re going to have to study engineering and physics and practice building. You’re probably going to want to get a hammer and a nail and some wood and practice building stuff.
Virginia: So how do you deal with it when you’re not good at it? You know, obviously when you first started you weren't so sure...Maybe it's your first time in the voiceover booth and you’ve got the headphones on and it’s weird to hear your own voice. And then suddenly you’re at an audition and you’ve got the copy and you’re like, "Whoa, I’m trying to pretend like maybe I know this better than I actually do --"
Jeremy: You just said it right there. How do you deal with it? You pretend. You pretend like you know exactly what you’re doing and you just keep doing it. 'Cause acting is just pretending, and I think the key is just to keep doing it. Like really just to KEEP DOING IT. And who cares if you’re in the booth and you’re like, "This sounds like shit." Someone’s going to say something. They’re not going to say, "You sound like shit." They’re going to give you a note to make you sound better or they’re not. I don’t know. They may or may not.
But just by virtue of doing it, you’re going to start getting feedback from the universe. And it’s not necessarily going to be feedback like someone’s instructing you... “All right you need to underline these.” However, you figure out how to do it.
The feedback will start to come. And feedback will come in really weird places just by doing it. Like it will come from your head because you look at that bar and you’re like... "Ugh, I need to be smooth like the metal."...Or a friend is going to say something to someone else, or you’re going to hear a conversation on the subway, and you’re going to be like “That’s exactly what I needed to hear about voiceover work!” or whatever it is. You know?
Virginia: Yeah.
Jeremy: Because something someone once said to me,....I went into a voiceover audition -- it’s like my first one – I’ve auditioned for like three voiceover things in my life. And I’d actually put together my own little voiceover demo. And I was always like voiceover, voiceover, and everyone’s like well, try, but it’s a really small community. So I went in for this book on tape, and something the woman said was that it's a misconception that people say you have to talk really intimate. But actually it’s more like theatre. Like the more animated you are with your body, the better it’s going to be. I’m very monotone so I want to be more like [makes a large gesture] so your mom doesn’t have to get bored listening to my monotone voice. [laughs]
So last week, a friend of mine who directed a film that I was in – same thing – I didn’t have to audition. He was just like, “Let’s make a movie!”....We were doing ADR work which is when you have to rerecord the dialogue cause it was scratchy. And that’s kind of like doing voiceover work only you’re voicing over your voice to your face. 'Cause more often than not I’d say something and they’d be like “louder, louder.” 'Cause when you’re trying to be louder, you’re going to be more animated. Whereas if you’re trying to match to the image on the screen, it’s going to sound flat. The reality is... in the moment you’re actually allowing yourself to be very expressive.
Although, there’s this weird thing in T.V. and in film now. I think it happens more on T.V. where everybody mumbles and everybody talks real quiet. I’m like, "You don’t need that." 'Cause if you watch older movies, watch old actors who we think are great like... I’m talking about people from like the70s, like Al Pacino. Oh, my God, who’s the guy – who’s in The Apartment? Jack Lemmon. Watch those great actors. They might as well be on a stage. They’re not dumbing it down for the camera. My point is that there is something about acting that’s a little bit larger than life no matter what the context is....Even if it's in front of a camera or just your voice....you're on a stage, obviously.
Virginia: So you feel like the tools that you’ve learned at NYU helped you to be able to translate your acting into any medium?
Jeremy: Yeah, I do. And I think there’s just...confidence, sheer confidence. That’s a big thing. It really boosted my confidence... Somewhere in my mind, I walk into any audition in any room in any reading, part of me is like, you fuckers have no idea what I know. Whether that’s true or not –
Virginia: Right. Well, you spent three years --
Jeremy: -- three years in acting bootcamp.
Virginia: Intense. Yes. I must say, after going to the alumni talkbacks at NYU that first year [2010] where we met, that confidence of everybody up on the stage even though everybody was at different points in their career -- certainly some people had different showcase experiences so on and so forth. But everybody was super confident in the fact that they had something to give, something to contribute to the industry, and they were completely unapologetic about it. And I feel like a lot of students in the room who were there looking to further their training, were inspired by that very thing. Whether they maybe caught it or not, it’s like, "Oh, my gosh, these NYU actors look like they know what they’re doing. And man, I want to know what I’m doing, too!"
That was something that really shows the strength of the training there. Confidence. Everybody comes out of there being like, “Fuck yeah, give me your script. I’ll take it to the Oscars for you.”
Jeremy: Yeah, absolutely.
Virginia: Also, on a side note, which is your favorite First World Problem webisode? Obviously, you’ve got a million, but what's your current fave?
Jeremy: My current fave. Well, we shot one we call The Party, but it’s not out yet.
Jeremy: I also like theMeetup: Citizens For Compromiseplaylist [sneak peak...only available through Apr 3!]...It gets really political, and that’s kind of what we want to do...We want to get a little political.
We want to like take the veil off the idiocy of our country right now... And personally, I think we make our characters look like complete morons.
Virginia: You mean you’re not REALLY complete morons? [laughs]
Jeremy: We’re trying to take on the whole political establishment...not just liberals, not just conservatives. To me, it feels like these characters are liberal-minded people, and so, here they are...you know, bashing Republicans; but at the same time, if people are looking at it the way I look at it, then they’re listening to these idiot liberals who are total morons and sounding like assholes....So, you know, that’s why I like that one.
Virginia: I feel like you guys are really good at exposing hypocrisy. You don't TELL people about it, you SHOW it.
Jeremy: That’s good. I like that. We’re taking on a lot of hypocrisy. We end up going into slavery. It wasn’t even planned that we went that way, but – it ends on a slavery note....and the same idea: hypocrisy. People trying to do one thing but then actually doing another.
Virginia: When you guys are filming a webisode, do you start with a script or an outline? 'Cause it seems to be very improvisational from what I’ve watched, but I can't quite tell.
Jeremy: We started with a bunch of short scripts that were kind of like – they weren’t sketches...they were very brief snippets that were dealing with this issue of hypocrisy, I guess you could say. And then from there, we kind of put down the scripts, and our brains started to work more towards connecting story line dots combined with this feeling of “we’re all fucking hypocrites.” ... Wake up world. Wake up America.
I think it’s uniquely a first world problem that we’re all actually hypocrites. We say one thing, and then we go home and we’re like funneling all our money through Chase even though we’re like, “Down with the banks!”
Virginia: Our actions are not following our values.
Jeremy: Right. And so...the thread of it is trying to connect the storyline dots. "Okay, so these characters meet this way. These characters are going to get divorced. These characters are going to court." And then the dialogue is all improvised, and we riff a lot. There’s a few things a few times where we script things...There were very specific plot points where we would give people a script and say, “All right, say something like this, but make it your own.” It’s kind of a mix. But the majority of it is improvisation around a very solid idea of what we want to say and of what event needs to occur to connect this episode to another one, if that makes any sense at all.
Virginia: Yes. It does.
Jeremy: It makes sense to me.
Virginia: Yikes! We’re running out of time... Let me just ask one more grad school related question... What do you think is the best reason to go to a master’s program and what you think is the worst reason?
Jeremy: I think the best reason to get your master’s degree in acting is because you have to be an actor. Something in you is telling you that YOU HAVE TO DO THIS and there’s no other choice...combined with wanting to be a good person. Because I think that’s really at the heart of actor training.
I think the heart of any art form is about opening yourself up to humanity and embracing the world. And I think that’s kind of the same thing. It’s on you and on the program.
Are you going to go to a place that is not only going to help you become a better actor, but also help you to become a good person and to be ready to represent humanity as you see it? And I think if that’s your calling, then you should do that.
I think the worst reason to go would be – I don’t know – I think the worst reason to go would be because – because someone else told you SHOULD. That would be the worst. What a waste of money and time! “You should go to grad school." "But I don’t want to, but they said I should." You know?
Virginia: Yes. That’s a great answer. 'Cause I feel like that’s very common. ...Time is up. Wow. Thank you, sir, for meeting with me, sharing your experiences and speaking so freely about your work.
Jeremy: Thank you.
Virginia: I am done with you. [laughs.]
Jeremy: I feel so privileged that you asked me to be a part of this.
:-)
<End of Recording>
(Awwww....Seeeeriously, Jeremy...It is I who am privileged to get to have an excuse to sit down and ask you allllll the questions I want to....all in the name of my blog! Whah ha ha ha ha!!!!...Cannot wait to see more First World Problem...exposing the hypocrisy of America...Stan and Annie style.)
Loves,
V
P.S. Now here's a monologue for you... I can tooooootally relate to his First World Problem...Only, instead of that whole bit about the "restaurant"...insert the words "get me into f-ing grad school already."
"Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves." - E. Joseph Cossman
If you only consider "the odds," why would you ever attempt anything difficult or "competitive"? You wouldn't...you'd just give up before you'd even given yourself a chance to try. And maybe you'd pat yourself on the back for being "smart" and "logical" (a.k.a. safe and boring).
But has being SAFE ever helped you to better yourself or your life or your sense of self-worth or your financial outlook or...anything other than just being safe?
I mean, "safe" is fine if you just want to continue to confirm for yourself that you have no other option than to do what you're doing now and venturing out would lead to almost certain failure.
"So many things now are completely up to us, more than ever before. Where and how and when we work and invest and interact and instruct and learn...If you think you have no choice but to do what you do now, you've already made a serious error. It seems to me that passing the buck on this merely because it's easier than choosing is precisely the wrong strategy. It enables an abdication of power that will be very hard to reverse. It's up to you, and that's part of the power that you've got." -Seth Godin
Fear surrounding the "slim odds of success" is a big obstacle to overcome and stops a lot of people trying things. And...yeah, sure...It's scary. It's daunting. It's overwhelming. It's discouraging. True. True. True. True.
But you know what's just SAD...Not trying at all. That's the saddest story I've ever heard.
So...What does this have to do with auditioning for graduate acting programs? Wellllll, these are some odds that have made my knees a little wobbly at times...
Perhaps it'll give you a little context, as to how many people audition for programs like Juilliard, here are some numbers (provided by Kathy Hood, Administrative Director of the Drama Division at Juilliard...Thanks, Kathy!):
Total # of applicants for Fall 2012: 1387 (964 BFA and 423 MFA)
200 will audition in Chicago and 200 in San Francisco - the rest are auditioning in NYC.
On the day of my audition in New York (1/28/2012), 161 people were scheduled to audition and 155 actually auditioned (6 people cancelled due to illness, etc.)
18 people were called back from that group. (We actually had 19 because one other applicant, called back from the previous day, joined our group)
9 people were interviewed.
On Friday, February 17th, emails will be sent out inviting 40 applicants (of that 1387 that auditioned) to come to New York for two days of "final callbacks." These two days will provide an opportunity for applicants to experience two days of classes where they will work intensely with faculty and have the opportunity to speak with current students.
From the "Final 40" there will be 18 students selected for admission.
I wish I was a fantastically skilled statistician, so that I could crunch numbers and make a logical analysis and all sorts of fancy conclusions based on the above information.
However, that is not the way my brain works. My brain looks at it this way...
1387 = auditioning
18 = accepted
1369 = rejected
my logical brain = "What the hell am I doing here?"
my artist brain = "Maybe one of those 18 could be...me?"
my heart = "How many times am I allowed to audition before they'll stop me from trying again?"
So...Brain...Who is ruling the roost here? Who's really got the power? You or the numbers? You give your power away when you think of yourself as statistic. Failure is NOT inevitable...unless you don't even try...then it's CERTAIN.
You are a powerful human being and you have the ability to stack the odds in your favor...by learning as much as you can about how others have achieved success (no matter how statistically unlikely...somebody's getting accepted to grad school this year and it might as well be YOU), adapting the knowledge you've gathered to your own situation and taking action, continuing to make pursuing your goal a part of your DAILY life (not something that you'll "get around to someday" or you'll start as soon as you "insert your personal excuse here"...mine usually has something to do with "not enough money" or "not enough time" or "too embarrassing"), then surround yourself with supportive and inspiring people who will cheer you on and help you achieve your goal...oh, and DON'T GIVE UP!
Then you're GOLDEN! Success is almost a SURE thing...of course, it may not always show-up in the "terms" you set in the beginning... or the way you had imagined...but you WILL be successful... eventually. Be patient. Be dedicated. SOMETHING awesome will happen.
True story.
I hope that will be YOUR story.
I hope that will be MY story.
F*#k the numbers.
Loves,
Virginia
"Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has encountered and the courage with which he has maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds." – Charles Lindbergh
"People can cultivate positive energy by learning to change the stories they tell themselves about the events in their lives...Tell the most hopeful and personally empowering story possible in any given situation, without denying or minimizing the facts." - Tony Schwartz, "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time," Harvard Business Review, Oct. 2007.
Soooo my NYU audition is tomorrow morning at 9am. I am suuuuuper excited. It’s gonna be such a thrill to be able to get in there and FINALLY do my monologues for them after blogging about the preparations for this audition since September 5th. Whew!!!! It’s been quite a journey.
I’ve got my new headshots, in hand, with resume attached and my personal statement all printed out. I hand-washed my audition shirt this afternoon. It's drying on the radiator. I may try to hit a yoga class or a movie a little later, as a treat. We shall see.
So all that is fine and good, but what’s all this about the plot thickening (see title of blog), you may be wondering?
Well, NYU sent me an email to confirm my audition appointment and also included the following message:
“About fifty (50) candidates will be chosen from the initial audition sessions to come to New York on March 10, 11, or 12 for a more in-depth visit and audition. Sixteen (16) candidates will be selected for admission after the final (callback) weekend sessions. Please note: Final decisions on admissions are made after callbacks. If you wish to be considered for Fall 2012 admission, attendance at callbacks, for invited applicants, is MANDATORY.”
The reason that this is an interesting development in our story…is that I HAVE TO BE IN SAN DIEGO ON MARCH 10, 11 & 12. SO EVEN IF I GET INVITED TO THE CALLBACKS THIS YEAR...I CANNOT BE THERE...And, according to this email, I will not be considered for Fall 2012 admission if I am unable to attend.
Ha ha ha ha ha! Sad face.
Is that not totally ironic? Virginia spends 5 months blogging about her goal to audition for grad school and then when she's about to go in to audition...she discovers that she may be disqualified on a technicality.
I mean...reeeeeeallly, Universe? What are you DOING?
Why can't I attend callbacks in March, you ask?
Very good question.
I have a day-job where I am responsible for assisting at two out-of-town conferences per year with my company. The next conference happens to be in San Diego, CA on March 10-14. The primary reason that my job EXISTS is for the purpose of assisting at conferences like this one. (Which is why I went to West Palm Beach last November.)
To “call in sick” for this business trip to San Diego would be like…rehearsing for a play for 6 weeks only to tell the director that I couldn’t make it to the opening night performance. NOT COOL. That is NOT how I roll. EVER. I believe in following through with my professional commitments, even if it breaks my freakin’ heart and means sacrificing my chances for acceptance at NYU this year. I cannot shirk my responsibility to my current job, no matter how much I may want to get my MFA from NYU.
So, if I am asked to stay and interview after the monologue portion of the audition tomorrow. I will be very honest about my situation and tell the auditors at NYU right up-front that I cannot make it to the callback weekend this year. I will explain to them exactly why. Then, I will respectfully offer to come in for a callback at another time, or sit-in on a class or do anything else that may be required in order to give them the opportunity to see whatever they need to see from me.
Who knows? They may be willing to accommodate my request, since I attended the callback weekend two years ago. Doesn't hurt to ask. However, I am also prepared to respect their decision not to make an exception for me. I will understand if they feel strongly that my missing the callback weekend will not allow them to be able to truly evaluate my chemistry with the other students they are considering for admission in 2012. I know that they're interested in creating an ensemble. And it's difficult to assess one's ability to "play" with others...without seeing them "play" with others. I get that. I will be sad to be disqualified on this account, but I will understand.
Then...I suppose, I will know that it’s not meant to be this year, not for NYU at least.
It’s a strange feeling I'm having right now…Knowing that I'm about to be walking in to an audition that I’ve basically been preparing for over the past 3 years (if not my whole life), and yet, I know that I may be completely disqualified from the running...based on a technicality.
Ha! What are you trying to teach me with this, Universe? What’s this all about? Bleh!
In the past, auditioning for NYU has been the closest I’ve gotten to acceptance to an MFA program…and now it’s looking like NYU is off-the-table as an option this year.
If you’ve just joined the blog recently…and would like some background on my past audition experiences with auditions/callbacks at NYU…Check out the following posts:
Anyhoo, I’m going to go in to that audition tomorrow and give my 120%, and I plan to be completely honest about my situation. We will see what happens. Gotta let it go. Can't control it. Whatever is supposed to happen...will happen. But I cannot compromise my values...and shirking my responsibilities...not an option.
Thanks for your support, guys! Wish me luck!
XO!
V
"Where can we find support for our reinvention? To make a true break with the past, we need guides who have been there and can understand where we are going. Reaching outside our normal circles to new people, networks, and professional communities is the best way to both break frame and get psychological sustenance." - Herminia Ibarra, "How To Stay Stuck In The Wrong Career," Harvard Business Review, Dec. 2002.
P.S. Had a wonderful and nurturing experience practicing my monologues at the Astoria Art House Salon. This time for an actual AUDIENCE! How cool is that!? The Salon happens once a month at 23-35 Broadway Astoria, NY. The evening is free for performing artists to try out their work in front of an audience of other supportive artists, students and friends. The whole point of it is just to be able to practice in a no-pressure environment. It's the best!!! The next one is Feb 17, 7-9pm. (Interested in attending? Want to stay updated? "Like" them on FB.) All are welcome to observe or participate. If you are in the area, and would like to have the chance to overcome your fear of singing in public or try out a new monologue or play an original song or read a poem that you wrote or have some actors to read a scene of a new play you’ve written. Astoria Art House is here! They'd love to support your growth in your work. Come check it out. Donations are always welcome, but it’s FREE if you can’t afford to pay. I loved my experience there. I got to practice a mock-audition. Did two contrasting pieces…then did two other contrasting pieces and then polled the audience on what they thought was my strongest paring…Which Shakespeare piece was the most engaging?… I got to ask them questions about things that I had been wondering about…Did this work or that?…What was their overall impression?…It was sooooo helpful to hear everyone’s perspective and insights and a huge confidence-builder too. They were all very supportive…It felt great just to get up there and try it out and know that people care! It just goes to show… you put yourself out there…and the universe brings the right people into your life to support you in just the way you need. Thanks, Astoria Art House ! Cannot wait for the next Salon!
"The moment we lose sight of our vision, we're bound by the box we've been in up till now and the future doesn't exist in this box. Keep looking up and keep focused. This is a learned art - not a natural talent." - Marc Johansen, BeHyped
Or, in other words...
Don't stop. Don't give up. Keep tryyyyyyyinnnnnnng...
Loves,
V
P.S. Did monologues for TWO people this time!!! Yay!
First...did a classical monologue walking down the street in the Village with my friend D. He was super nice to let me do it. And we were just walking down the street and I said it to him as if we were having a conversation. I got distracted and forgot the words at one point...sort-of went back and repeated what I said before and got back on track...really started having fun with it and feeling less self-conscious toward the end.
He seemed to enjoy it...and said some encouraging things. Though the next subject that came up was...How are you going to keep it fresh? I said..."By doing it for different people in different situations and letting that inform the way I experience the monologue." He nodded and then the neeeext question he asked was...
"What are you planning to do if you DON'T get accepted?"...YIKES! I HATE THIS QUESTION. Um...here's my answer: live my life...work on building my voice over career...continue to work toward paying off all my debt...seek out creative people that I am interested in working with...or...I DON'T FUCKING KNOW...I'm focused on making THIS THING HAPPEN right now...I don't have a game-plan for every possible outcome...nor do I feel the need to do so. I will cross that bridge when I come to it!!! I will allow myself the time to reassess and reevaluate...THEN...but for now...I will spend my energy thinking about this moment and getting these monologues in my body...Thank you. Tirade done.
Second...Was at a noisy restaurant for lunch with my friend J...and I did THREE of my monologues for him. One contemporary piece, he had seen already...Felt great to do that one. He said it had improved. Score!
Then I did my Shakespeare piece...TOTALLY BOMBED. Could not possibly have gone worse. I completely forgot the words and had to paraphrase like three times...UGH! Awful!...Which was AWESOME! Soooooo glad to get that failure out of the way and now I know that I can survive it and also...I know better what I need to work on, especially with memorization...to make that piece stronger. He and I had a good laugh about it too... I love J.
Then I did a third piece...my other classical. I got reeeeally passionate and up-on-my-soap-box-y with it. He said that I should go do that piece into the People's Mic at the Women's Council meeting at Occupy Wall Street. :-) Now that would REALLLLLY take some balls. I think I'll remain a scaredy-cat on that one.
"The best way to practice is by trying over and over again until you stop failing miserably." - Caleb Wojcik, Expert Enough
Commitment Device: a means with which to lock yourself into a course of action that you might not otherwise choose but that produces a desired result
The overriding and super-de-duper main important reason that I created this blog back in September was as a "COMMITMENT DEVICE" for my grad school preparation.
Second reason for blogging...it'd help me to connect with a supportive community of loved-ones and friends so I wouldn't feel so freakin' alone in this stretching-myself-in-the-pursuit-of-a-crazy-dream-ness.
Third reason for blogging...it scared the buh-jeezus out of me, the idea of committing myself to writing stuff that people would actually READ every day!
So I knew I HAD to go for it and do the blog, since it was something that frightened me. Because leaning into that fear...rather than shying away from it...would leave me with a feeling of ROCKSTAR-ishness...in that tippy-tapping-away-at-my-keyboard-blogging kind of way. And no, not because blogging is super cool...but because OVERCOMING YOUR FEAR is super cool.
Sooooo, I am going to continue to use this blog for its original purpose and publicly COMMIT to doing something that will help me overcome another fear: asking people if I can practice my monologues in front of them.
Non-actors may be thinking... "What's the big deal? You're an actor, Virginia. That's what you DO. Why would you be afraid of asking people to do your monologues in front of them? I'm sure they'd be fine with it."
Yeah, I'm sure THEY would be fine with it, but I get EMBARRASSED to put myself out there like that.
For example... imagine this awkwardness... You know that you reeeeeeally need to practice this monologue in order to be able to feel prepared for your grad school auditions...and reciting it alone in your room is NOT the same experience as speaking the words to another actual human and then reacting to what they're giving you in the moment... And you're sitting at lunch with a friend and you're talking about...I don't know... the weather...or whatever and then you pipe-in with, "Hey friend,...Was just wondering if you might be willing to do me a favor? I need to practice my monologues for grad school auditions. Would you mind if I did one of them for you right now...sitting here...in this restaurant...in public...where people can see and judge and the waitress might come by to fill your water glass as I get to the tearful part?"
PAUSE.
Ahhhhhhh! Does this sound like an awkwardly terrifying prospect to anyone else?
Potentially very embarrassing.
I want to practice my monologues and I want to have the courage to do what I need to do and not care how ridiculous I may end up sounding/looking/feeling, but how do I get over my resistance and fear!?
Here's what I like to ask myself in these types of moments (totally stole this from Tim Ferris BTW)...
"What are the worst case scenarios and how will you deal with them?"
Worst case scenario #1: My friend says YES
a. I do my monologue in front of her and she thinks it's terrible and tells me so to my face. I feel embarrassed.
b. I do my monologue in front of her and she thinks it's awesome and tells me so to my face. I feel embarrassed.
c. I do my monologue in front of her and the guy at the table next to us decides to chime-in with his opinion of my work. I feel angry. "Don't be rude and butt-in. I know this is a small restaurant, but at least pretend like you're paying attention to your soup and not to the conversation of the people at the table next to you. Be courteous."
Worst case scenario 2: My friend says NO
I feel a great sense of relief and then resolve to ask someone else to watch my monologues that day. Rejection is God's protection. (That's my new favorite phrase.) For whatever reason, my friend knows that they can't be an appropriate audience for me at this time. So I won't take it personally and I'll take the cue from the universe that there will be someone else out there to help me today...Or as I like to remind myself...Don't go to the hardware store looking for oranges.
Will I survive all of these worst case scenarios? Yes.
Are any of them that bad? No.
I feel like it helps to dis-empower the fears by actually writing them out.
Soooooo, anyway, I'm going to be writing a "P.S." about my experience doing this monologue practice thing every day until I my NYU audition on Jan 22.
PASSION!!! COMMITMENT!!! ACTION!!! That's what leads to success!
Right? Of course, right!
Loves,
V
P.S. Did a contemporary monologue for my friend B. We were sitting at a table in an Italian restaurant. It felt sooooo scary to ask him to be my monologue scene partner. But he was totally supportive and readily agreed. I directed the monologue straight to him. It started out a little wonky, but by the time I got rolling with it...it felt GREAT! I was sooooo happy to get to share the piece with him. He was very surprised by some of the dialogue and made some great faces in reaction to me. It was hilarious! Way fun! It definitely helped me feel less afraid of tackling that monologue in an odd situation again. YAY!
"Don't worry about how bad you do the first time. You learned to walk as a child by continually falling on your face trying to take your first steps. Life is the same way." - Caleb Wojcik, Expert Enough
"Why should there be a shortcut in learning how to act? How about just letting it take the time that it takes?" - Kathryn Bild, Acting From A Spiritual Perspective
Even with a job you LOVE to do, there may be certain aspects of it that you aren't particularly fond of. You muscle through the not-so-pleasant parts to get to the parts that you really, really enjoy because it's worth the effort.
As you all know... I love acting. It is my dream job. However, I don't love EVERYTHING about acting. There are certain requirements of the job that I find...challenging...and have some resistance to mastering.
One aspect in particular that I'm struggling with today is...MEMORIZATION.
I allllllways want to fast-forward to the part where I already know the lines. That part feels great!!! I love already having the lines memorized...It's the process of memorization that I often find slooooow and tedious.
I know that memorization is super important for quality acting. And I'm not the only one who thinks so, here's some solid advice from a pro:
"Know your damn lines. Know your lines inside and out, to the point at which they become secondhand...there's a certain ease that you have with your dialogue where you can play around. And the ability to play around comes with being prepared and knowing who your character is and what they're going to say. Then you can improv and do other things, because you have the roots and you can create the branches and leaves. But you have to know the fundamentals, and the most important fundamental is: Know what you're going to say." - Leonardo DiCaprio, Backstage, November 23, 2011, Interview with Jenelle Riley
I mean...I have to heartily agree with Mr. DiCaprio. Gotta know them lines!
Since I don't have a photographic memory and I'm not someone who can just glance at a script a couple times and miraculously know the words...I have to take lots of TIME to memorize. There's really no way around this.
I just have to stop spending my precious time WISHING I could memorize faster and start ACTUALLY reading the script out loud.
I am an auditory learner. So it helps for me to record myself saying the lines and listen to it while I'm walking or doing some kind of secondary activity. That helps it sink in to my brain.
Speaking the words is the best. The more I SAY them and actually feel them in my mouth...the better.
One thing that always worries me...Is that I'll get into a certain PATTERN in the way the words are spoken. But I have learned over the years that I actually use this "worry" as an excuse to procrastinate memorizing. And it's not really an issue for me at all...Just a fear.
I know that I am capable of breaking an ingrained vocal pattern...For example, I know one of Emily's monologues from Our Town better than anything (because I've been doing it since I was 13 years old)... and I have complete control in giving variety to the way I say that monologue... and for the very reasons that Mr. DiCaprio mentions above...I know EXACTLY what Emily is going to say...so I can feel 100% free to PLAY with it and I am NEVER concerned about losing my place or forgetting what comes next. Not to say that I'm anticipating what's coming next...NO. I am perfectly free knowing that I can fully live in the moment and feel good knowing that the line for the next moment will be there for me when I need to access it in my brain. I could do that monologue while standing on my head and being pummeled with cream pies. Now THAT's a good feeling.
So...gotta get on this memorization thing for my monologues for grad school auditions...One's already memorized. I've got three more to go.
Sometimes writing it over and over again helps too. I do like writing.
;-p
Memorizing just takes so much TIIIIIIIME. I wish there was a computer chip I could insert into my brain with all of the info loaded onto it.
"There aren't shortcuts. Merely direct paths. Most people don't take them, because they frighten us. Things that look like shortcuts are usually detours disguised as less work." - Seth Godin
Stop whining, Wilcox! You're wasting your energy. The more you DO it the better you will get at it. So smile and do what you know will help you get the words in your head!
"I don't find acting very easy. It's a lot of hard work for me. But I love it. I love the homework, the research, and the solitude that goes into a part." - Bob Hoskins
“Everyone sees the unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart, and that depends upon how much he has polished it. Whoever has polished it more sees more — more unseen forms become manifest to him.” - The Sufi Path of Love : The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi (1983) by William C. Chittick
I don’t consider myself to be religious. I am not a church-goer anymore. But I do consider myself to be spiritual. I do believe in the human soul and that there is energy beyond the physical things that we can see, touch and quantify.
Getting better acquainted with the spiritual aspect of myself has brought me strength, more emotional balance and a sense of purpose in my life. All good things.
I think there’s value in having some kind of spiritual practice in your life, religious or not. I respect and appreciate all religions and spiritual philosophies and the healing and sense of connection that they have brought to the peoples of this world. Not that they've been perfect, but people need beliefs to give life meaning.
Each belief system has great value and gives purpose and structure to the lives of the believers. That is a beautiful and powerful thing.
No one belief system is superior or inferior, in my opinion. They are what they are… and certainly some resonate with me more than others, but that’s just ME. Somebody else may find value where I find cultish-hypocrisy. So who am I to judge?
Worship/practice/believe as you will and I shall do the same. There’s room for us all here.
God bless America.
That said...
I would like to introduce you to one of my monthly spiritual practices… reading the monthly shaman forecast from www.ThePowerPath.com.
Skeptical? Yes… me too.
It may sound a little “woo-woo”… but go with me here for a second…
Never judge a book by its cover, right? Didn’t we all learn that in 1st grade?
Well, in order to embrace reading the forecast as a monthly spiritual practice for myself, I had to let go of my resistance to the idea of “shamanism” and simply evaluate the content of the message…
Was it loving? ... Yes. Did it make me feel good to read it? ... Yes. Did I find it helpful? ... Yes.
Well, then… just get over your freakin’ self and read the thing every month, Wilcox.
Okay, fine… I will.
And I have.
Do I necessarily BELIEVE in Shamanism? I don’t know that I do.
But I do READ Lena’s forecast every month because I have found that her questions and reminders help me to focus on spiritual ideas that will benefit me and bring me greater clarity, greater peace and greater happiness in my life.
So, if that’s the result… then I don’t really CARE if I believe in Shamanism or not… or even if I UNDERSTAND what she’s talking about half the time… I’ll read it anyway, take what I can get from it and leave the rest.
So let's get to it...
The shaman forecast by Lena Stevens is published online around the first of every month and gives spiritual themes and guidelines for your consideration and contemplation.
This is how I do my monthly spiritual check-in with the forecast:
2.Read through it and highlight all the passages that “resonate” with me as true for myself.
3.Copy down some of the most relevant sections into my monthly calendar book that I look at every day, so that I will inevitably stumble across these quotes as reminders throughout the month.
4.Carry the highlighted copy of the forecast in my journal, so that when I am feeling discouraged or unfocused in my day, I can pull it out and read it and remind myself of some positive things to focus on.
Here are some of my "highlights" from November 2011’s forecast, the one’s that resonate most for me:
“What is necessary now is to trust the inner navigation, your inner radar. This inner radar is your own intuition and sense of self, sense of what is right and sense of where your path lies. Your inner radar is your own heart.”
“…this time frame will begin to create a huge gap between how one person experiences life as opposed to another person. One person's reality will definitely be way different than another's depending on their level of consciousness. These times require a great allowing and acceptance of others to be just where they are and acknowledging that the experience of life will be as varied as each individual.”
“Remember that others view things through the lens of their own experience and what ends up being right for you may not always make sense to them. It is always a good idea to run things by someone you trust but the final decision will have to be yours alone.”
“In this time you all should be renewing your commitment to taking responsibility for your own lives. No one is going to fix it, make it better, get you out of debt, improve your health, give you a better job, remove your addictions and co-dependencies, or make anything stop except you, yourself. This is the time of growing up. It is your life. Stop whining and complaining and renew your commitment to yourself to create the kind of life that you want. Not what someone else thinks you should be doing, but what you want. Renew your intentions and honor that this is a time of renewal when anything becomes possible. Dream big.”
“What is working for you? Where do you feel a bit lost? What about your boundaries? What's missing? Who do you want to spend time with? Who not? Don't be afraid to make changes even if you think you will be disappointing others. Never make decisions based on how others may react. And be sure that your decisions are also not made out of personal reactions of your own.”
“Since there is the opportunity for a great deal of clarity this month, wait with major decisions until you reach that clarity. This is clarity of heart not necessarily of mind. You should feel right and good about your direction of renewal and your renewed intentions… The plan should include disciplined practices and constant reminders to be neutral, to let things go, not to feed drama, and to watch your reactions.”
“Beware of wasting any time around those that you should not be around. You know who they are. Occasionally there is the karmic exception, but even karmic circumstances are now up for review and renewal.”
“November will be a combination of much needed alone time within your own boundaries and clarity, and social time connecting you with others. Keep a balance so that neither area gets overloaded.”
“…look for a new sense of stability in the instability and unpredictability. It is as if we have finally become more comfortable with not knowing or needing to know and predict everything.”
“The most important thing is not to define, diagnose or settle for whatever you are feeling on a particular day. The quality of experience in these times is that that you can be feeling one way one day and the next day things can be completely different. It is crucial to renew your commitment to caring for your body, and to renew your intentions and your communication with the body. The physical body at this time is capable of miraculous healing and instant changes. What is required is trust and communicating your heartfelt intentions to your body. Make a practice of talking to your body every day with love, compassion, enthusiasm and inspiration. Treat your body as if it were a child eager to learn, to try and to succeed.”
“The situation of the economy has very little to do with what energies are available and it is best to separate yourself from the collective fear pattern in this case. We are not suggesting that you go into debt and throw caution to the wind. We are only suggesting that you do not put any energy into the fearful collective belief of recession, lack, debt and constriction. It would be much more useful and highly beneficial for you to be putting energy into gratitude for the abundance of what is available for the asking from the quantum field and spirit.”
“…gravitate towards communities of like-minded people…”
“Set good boundaries and face the truth about what is in your life that is no longer tolerable.”
“Stop everything, cancel obligations, take some time and revisit, review and question. Where have you become distracted? What is yours and what isn't? How are your boundaries? Where did you slip? What needs to die?”
“It is definitely worthwhile spending some time in contemplation and making yourself available to spirit and to your practices. There is a good potential for higher centered experiences.”
“Great compassion for self and others is needed now. Watch your reactions, stay neutral and keep your face to the sun.”
Don't go out and drink any Kool-aid or anything, K? Just some November food for thought.
If you read the forecast for yourself in its entirety this month, I am sure you will have totally different passages that will stick-out to you and will make your heart/mind/conscience go… PING!
I am curious to know your selections. What’s resonating with you this month?
In spirit,
Virginia
“So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.” – Franz Kafka, novelist (1883 – 1924)
"The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else - we are the busiest people in the world." - Eric Hoffer, philosopher & author (1902-1983)
Hey, Peeps!
I know you all have busy, busy lives. That’s the way of the world these days, right?
I often forget that I need to give myself space to actually ENJOY my life. Every time I check something off the to-do list, it just seems to get longer.
In the interest of regaining some of my sanity, I am going to be mindful to single-task today. I will do one thing at a time and enjoy focusing on doing that one thing really, really well.
What will you do today to be more mindful and experience a deeper sense of joy? Don’t know? Need inspiration?
Here’s a gift for you! … A guest post from my FAVORITE blog: ZenHabits. See below…
“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”- Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk
The idea of being mindful — being present, being more conscious of life as it happens — seems a bit impossible to many of the super busy.
But not only is it possible, I’d submit that it’s desirable, and that it’ll help the busy (and non-busy) achieve their goals and enjoy life more fully…
“Do you have patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”- Lao Tzu
How to Be Mindful
1. Do one thing at a time. Single-task, don’t multi-task. When you’re pouring water, just pour water. When you’re eating, just eat. When you’re bathing, just bathe. Don’t try to knock off a few tasks while eating or bathing or driving. Zen proverb: “When walking, walk. When eating, eat.”
2. Do it slowly and deliberately. You can do one task at a time, but also rush that task. Instead, take your time, and move slowly. Make your actions deliberate, not rushed and random. It takes practice, but it helps you focus on the task.
3. Do less. If you do less, you can do those things more slowly, more completely and with more concentration. If you fill your day with tasks, you will be rushing from one thing to the next without stopping to think about what you do. But you’re busy and you can’t possibly do less, right? You can. I’ve done it, and so have many busy people. It’s a matter of figuring out what’s important, and letting go of what’s not. Read more:The Lazy Manifesto: Do Less.
4. Put space between things. Related to the “Do less” rule, but it’s a way of managing your schedule so that you always have time to complete each task. Don’t schedule things close together — instead, leave room between things on your schedule. That gives you a more relaxed schedule, and leaves space in case one task takes longer than you planned.
5. Spend at least 5 minutes each day doing nothing. Just sit in silence. Become aware of your thoughts. Focus on your breathing. Notice the world around you. Become comfortable with the silence and stillness. It’ll do you a world of good — and just takes 5 minutes!
6. Stop worrying about the future – focus on the present. Become more aware of your thinking — are you constantly worrying about the future? Learn to recognize when you’re doing this, and then practice bringing yourself back to the present. Just focus on what you’re doing, right now. Enjoy the present moment.
7. When you’re talking to someone, be present. How many of us have spent time with someone but have been thinking about what we need to do in the future? Or thinking about what we want to say next, instead of really listening to that person? Instead, focus on being present, on really listening, on really enjoying your time with that person.
8. Eat slowly and savor your food. Food can be crammed down our throats in a rush, but where’s the joy in that? Savor each bite, slowly, and really get the most out of your food. Interestingly, you’ll eat less this way, and digest your food better as well.
9. Live slowly and savor your life. Just as you would savor your food by eating it more slowly, do everything this way — slow down and savor each and every moment. As I type this, for example, I have my 3-year-old daughter, Noelle, on my lap. She’s just sitting here quietly, as the rain pours down in a hush outside. What a lovely moment. In fact, I’m going to take a few minutes off just to be with her now. Be right back. :)
10. Make cleaning and cooking become meditation. Cooking and cleaning are often seen as drudgery, but actually they are both great ways to practice mindfulness, and can be great rituals performed each day. If cooking and cleaning seem like boring chores to you, try doing them as a form of meditation. Put your entire mind into those tasks, concentrate, and do them slowly and completely. It could change your entire day (as well as leave you with a cleaner house).
11. Keep practicing. When you get frustrated, just take a deep breath. When you ask yourself, “What should I do now, Self?”, the answer is “keep practicing”.
“When you drive around the city and come to a red light or a stop sign, you can just sit back and make use of these twenty or thirty seconds to relax — to breathe in, breathe out, and enjoy arriving in the present moment. There are many things like that we can do.”- Thich Nhat Hanh
“Most of us go around thinking that not only are the thoughts in our head the truth, but that everyone else has the same thoughts, and holds the same things to be true. This is exactly why people go to therapy.It is to find the things that we take as “truth”, that other people don’t. As soon as we realize that other people don’t necessarily feel the same way, we are freed from the constraints of that old belief.” – Jack Plotnick, New Thoughts For Actors
In my on-camera class at The Barrow Group (which has no affiliation with Jack Plotnick, FYI.), I recently made another HUGE self-discovery...
I. Have. Issues.
Lol! It’s true. I know you guys are all in shock at this information.
Fo realz… I’ve got some major negative-thought issues that seriously inhibit my own personal enjoyment of my work as an actor. The end result may be a “good scene,” but at what cost? If I spend the whole time SUFFERING in my own head while doing it, is it really worth it?... NO!
Ugh! Bleh. Torturing oneself with negative thoughts of self-doubt feels sucky and is no way to build a sustainable career. Acting should feel FUN and EASY… and if it feels that way… It’ll probably look that way too.
And by learning how to get these unhelpful negative thoughts gone from my brain, perhaps others will be inspired to do the same. Then we can all be happy, living in our fun, non-judgmental world of creative joy! J Ha!
So here’s my main issue…
When I get overwhelmed as an actor… (for any reason) incorporating new business, new acting notes, new lines, anything that needs to be adjusted on-the-fly with no time for “practice” or “preparation”… I suffer in my own head… big-time… Negative thought over-load!
Why? Because I have this BELIEF that with no time to practice I will never be able to do it RIGHT and hence I am about to FAIL and therefore I am a BAD actor that no one will ever want to work with and my bad acting is about to be recorded on-camera and EMBARRASS me for all recorded time.
~Shudder ~ Terrifying… and TOTALLY FALSE.
Here’s what Jack Plotnickhas to say about my negative overreaction to actor-overwhelm:
““If it’s hysterical, then it’s historical.” In other words, if your reaction to something is bigger and more emotional than the situation really calls for (“hysterical”), then you are not really reacting to the present situation, but to some situation in your past (“historical”).”
Oh, Jack... your bounty of wisdom knows no bounds!
Yes. I am being hysterical and I do know that it’s rooted in some historical s*#t. True dat.
However… I do not have to be a victim to these historically ingrained bad habits of the mind! Cut to Jack...
In becoming more self-aware about my self-destructive-self-talk-issue I can now start to practice seeing this issue for what it REALLY is… an illusion of my own creation.
The REALITY is... I am just as capable of being "connected" in a scene with 2 minutes of preparation as I am with 2 weeks of preparation. In fact, sometimes 2 minutes of preparation is preferable, ‘cause I won’t have time to over-think things and end up too polished and boring. Having 2 minutes of preparation forces me to stay in the moment and listen and react because I LITERALLY don’t know what’s about to happen in the scene. Now... if I can just learn to trust and not be so afraid of the "not-knowing" thing... THAT's the key to having a good scene and ENJOYING the experience of being in it.
AWWWESOME!
So, as Jack recommends, when my self-destructive thoughts come up, I can use an affirmation to disempower the negativity avalanche in that very moment… like…
“I release and destroy my need to get this right... F*%k it. Dare to do it WRONG.”
OR
“I am going to take it from where I am. The amount of preparation I have done on this scene is enough for me to approach this scene as an improv.”
That'll shut my "vulture" up, right quick! And that will lead to...
FREEEEEEDOM!!!!
Now I can play! Now I can be in the scene and not be wasting my energy judging my own performance while I’m in it... which is soooo not helpful to doing good work.
And the more I practice this affirmation technique, the better I will get at it. Until, eventually, I will have created a new HABIT Of POSITIVE THOUGHT and my old, forgotten, negative way of thinking won’t even BE an issue anymore.
That’s what I’m looking forward to… And I’ll get there too...
One. Thought. And. One. Affirmation. At. A. Time.
After all… a belief is only a thought you keep thinking. So I might as well spend my time thinking some really good thoughts and begin to BELIEVE that I am a great actor… because if I don't believe it, how will anyone else believe it?
But more importantly, I LOVE acting and I want it to be an enjoyable experience... always!
Anyhoo, enough about me. What about YOU? We've all got issues... and even if you're not an actor, these same skills apply.
What’s your issue? Is there an affirmation that you can create to counter-act it?
Don’t sit idly by and let fear and negative thoughts control you! It’s never going to help you do anything great in this life. And you are a powerful being with love and talent and gifts to give the world, if you will get out of your own way and let your light shine! Soooo, find your affirmation! Listen to your TRUE voice… a voice based in LOVE.
