GARY MASON

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gary@gary-mason.com

Encouragement

1000 “no”s

Acting, Encouragement, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  It’s said that you have to go through 1000 nos to get to a yes, or kiss 1000 frogs before you find your prince.  The idea of rejection has been with us for a long time.  This week let’s talk about rejection and how to deal with it.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  Yeah, I know I say this every week, but it falls under the heading of “The things that go without saying are the things that most need to be said”.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

FIRST

We say that rejection is just a part of being an actor.  Rejection can really get an actor down, and sometimes that can spiral into the “I’m not meant to be an actor, I should just find a full-time day job” thought process. While it is true that we book only a small fraction of the gigs we audition for, I do not think of the ones I don’t book as a rejection. It’s not a process of rejection, it’s a process of SELECTION. I’ll explain later.

Rejection thinking

The problem with rejection thinking is that it’s negative self-talk. Get rejected often enough and pretty soon you’re thinking you are not worthy.  This thinking makes you feel defeated and tired. It drains your energy, and energy is just what you need for an audition. Pretty soon you are feeling rejected going IN to an audition and at that point your acting career is in a death spiral. Some call this “rejection fatigue”.

Negative Self-Talk

The problem with negative self-talk is that it is much easier to convince yourself of something than it is to convince someone else.  If you are not careful, you’ll have yourself convinced you are a terrible actor.  That can lead to low-effort auditions, and you have a self-perpetuating cycle. You are sure you’re terrible and won’t book a job, go into the audition already defeated, put up a less than stellar audition, don’t get selected and affirm (to yourself anyway) how terrible you are.  Negative self-talk can actually damage your auditions!

Not to be confused with

Just to stop the folks thinking I am being all Pollyanna about this, don’t confuse my eleven part “You’re not getting the f*&^ing job” series with negative self-talk. There is an enormous difference between a healthy understanding of the casting process and thinking you are not good enough to book work.  One is freeing, and the other is a prison sentence. Know that you can both be good enough AND not get the job.

Maybe you are terrible.

The GREAT thing about being a terrible actor is you have no place to go but up.  Go back and look at or listen to your first audition self-tapes and compare them to your latest.  Are you happy with that first one?  If I were a betting man, I’d guess probably not.  My first self-tapes make me cringe when I see/hear them!  But my most recent ones?  Maybe not Oscar worthy, but a WHOLE lot better than those first few.

Each no brings you closer to yes.

Every time you step in front of the camera or sit down behind the mic, you have an opportunity to improve.  I mean, you ALSO have an opportunity to book a job, but that’s not what I’m talking about here.  My point is, if you do happen to be a terrible actor today, every audition helps you become a little better.  Like with many things in life, the more you do something the better you get at it.  Acting is no different. But feelings of rejection make it tough to even GET in front of the camera or microphone (I know, I’ve been there) and that defeatist attitude negatively affects your audition!

Trying to get a job.

Here’s the thing, and it may seem a little non-intuitive.  If you see your auditions as trying to get a job, you’ve already lost half the battle.  Hanging your hat on the outcome of an audition is a recipe for disaster. Yeah, I know you have bills to pay and booking the job is how you pay them, but bear with me here.  If you see auditions as an opportunity to do something you love (act) and to showcase your talent with a casting director instead of as a path to employment, then you’ll enjoy doing them more and be a lot more relaxed and confident.

By the numbers

And remember: There are 100 (or more) people auditioning for the same role.  They will only select one of them. You have a 1 in 100+ chance of booking a particular role.  Ninety-nine times out of a hundred you won’t get it.  If, instead of auditioning to get a job, you audition to provide a CD with a selection of how that role can be portrayed, then not getting the role gets easier. You were not rejected, just not selected.

The Menu

I like to use a menu analogy.  If I go into a restaurant and want to buy dinner the first thing I do (after ordering a drink) is to peruse the menu.  Odds are the menu has a selection of different foods: Beef, chicken, pork, pasta, salads…sometimes even pasta salads. Sometimes I can also choose breakfast items like eggs and pancakes. Usually there are MANY choices.  If I choose chicken, have I rejected beef?  Or Pasta?  Or pork?  NO!  I just selected chicken and tomorrow I may choose beef. It’s the same with auditions.

YOU are the menu item.

When you audition, what you are doing is giving the CD a menu selection.  It sucks to be beef when they want chicken, but it doesn’t mean they don’t like beef or that beef “just isn’t good enough”.  Sorry to all the vegetarians/vegans out there for the meat focused discussion, the same can be said of plant-based food. Stay on the menu long enough and before you know it, they’ll be ordering chicken…or whatever you are.

Lots of reasons

The simple truth is this: There are a of of reasons you may not be selected and most of them have nothing to do with your acting ability. Maybe you are too short, too young, too old, have the wrong color hair.  Perhaps you just don’t have the right chemistry with a scene partner. It could be that the choices you made for that audition are just not what the casting folks were envisioning.  Great performance, just not the one they imagined for that role. It’s not rejection, it’s selection (even if the selection was someone else).

And remember:

Also keep in mind that when you DO book a gig, there are 99+ people who weren’t selected.  That’s both humbling and gratifying at the same time. Even big-name A-list actors are sometimes not selected for roles they want. If you don’t believe me, check this out.

Motivation is the key.

If you understand that you simply can NOT book every role, and that the selection process likely has nothing to do with your acting ability then it is much easier to stay motivated.  And motivation is the key to success here. If you aren’t motivated to audition, then it’s going to take you a LONG time to get through all the no’s to find your yes. And the yes is what we really want because that yes allows us to do what we REALLY love: Perform. And every audition is an opportunity to perform as well!

At the end of the day

Every actor, the guy or gal who started acting today and the people whose names you recognize immediately ALL auditioned for roles they wanted but didn’t get. Sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves that when we don’t book a particular role we are in good company.  The trick is to not think of roles you don’t get as rejection.  Rejection fatigue is real, and that feeling of despair will come across in your auditions leading to that self-fulfilling prophecy of “not good enough”.

You are.

You are good enough. You are talented enough (or on your way to being talented enough). You are just a few no’s away from that yes that will launch your successful career.  You just have to keep pushing, keep auditioning and keep working till the yes arrives!

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!  

A Balancing Act

Acting, Encouragement, Voice Over

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  For the vast majority of actors, a “survival job” is a reality.  On top of that we have family obligations, and let’s face it we need to take a break from time to time too. Working a 40 hour a week job and staying connected to family & friends while also pursuing acting can be a balancing act.  This week let’s talk about Balancing your acting career, day job, and personal life.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  Yeah, I know I say this every week, but it falls under the heading of “The things that go without saying are the things that most need to be said”.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

It’s wrong…

The image of the life of an actor as portrayed in the mainstream media is misleading.  What most people see about acting are the “A”-listers who are nearly always working and can afford the lulls between roles.  The reality is that those actors are a miniscule portion of actors overall.  More commonly, actors aren’t working enough, or  in enough high paying roles, to even support themselves.  Most actors either have to barely scratch by, rely on friends and family for help, or…as is most common…work another job.

Reality

The simple reality of an acting career is that it is horribly unpredictable.  One week you may be on set working 12 to16 hour days, the next week you are juggling 5-10 auditions and the next?  Nothing.  Looking for roles and twiddling your thumbs.  When you do book a gig, there is a fair chance that it will require travel and time away from home (and maybe not paid travel) unless you are fortunate enough to be a Voice Actor with a professional home studio.

And it’s expensive.

Yeah, life is expensive, but not JUST life.  Actors need training, head shots, marketing material, technology, and all of that is expensive on TOP of life.  Given that most actors do not earn enough to live on, paying for the things they need to support their acting career gets even more difficult.  The need for a survival job exists for all but a very small handful of actors. Unless they have a wealthy (and generous) family or a SO with a great income who supports their acting career most actors are going to struggle to finance their career.

Technology

Thanks to COVID-19 the industry has changed some to take advantage of technology and make things a BIT easier for those who work full time to support their acting career. In-person auditions are much rarer these days, but self-tape auditions also add another level of complexity to the job.  In addition to delivering a great performance, now we also have to know a bit about production, lighting, sound, and audio/video processing.  And we also have to have the space and equipment to provide quality audition tapes.

Equipment

In addition to all the other things actors have to pay for – training, head shots, reels etc. – Now we also have to buy the equipment and software needed to produce a professional audition tape.  On top of THAT, we have to learn to use it all proficiently – AND find our own readers.  Compared to what a typical actor earns, acting is less an income than an outgo.

Unfortunately

The bad news about adding technology and self-tape auditions to the mix is that many times, the turnaround time is much shorter.  Sometimes that time can be as little as 24 hours to prepare, memorize, perform and process an audition.  It ALSO allows access to even more actors for a given role, which means competition has become tighter. The need to get your audition done and submitted as quickly as possible adds additional stress.

Family

If you are fortunate enough to have a spouse and kids, then it’s a safe bet that they’re going to want you to be “present” for them.  Actors with a full-time survival job AND a family are balancing work and family against their passion to create and perform.  Guaranteed one of them suffers, and it is likely their acting career that comes in third place in that hierarchy. So how do you balance them?

Work

I’ve written about this before but the best job an actor can have is one that provides the flexibility to be able to have time for family and auditions as well as those rare times when you are on set for an extended period.  Back in the day, many actors took waitstaff jobs in restaurants, but these days things like Uber, Lyft, GrubHub and DoorDash are available and are very flexible. If you have a regular 9-5, things get more complicated.

Schedule

One of the most important things an actor can do is discuss their acting career with their boss at their day job.  This both lets the boss know that there could be times when you need to be out of the office, and also lets the actor know what the expectations are at work.  Is it possible to perform your job remotely for some period of time?  Will you have to take vacation days to work a gig? Understanding expectations helps you know what you can expect from work, and also allows you to communicate restrictions to your agent.  Can you only work a job that lasts for a week or less?  Your agent needs to know that.

Stress

All of these competing elements can be very stressful.  Working a full day, then returning home to have dinner hour with family before heading into your booth or studio to do your acting work leads to less sleep, potentially unhappy family members and ultimately stress and anxiety.  That stress and anxiety affects every aspect of your life including how you will come across in auditions – and generally that is negatively.

So how do you cope?

I regret to inform you that there is no good way to completely eliminate that stress unless you get rid of one or more stressors.  No, I am not suggesting you divorce your spouse and abandon your kids or quit your day job and pitch a tent under a bridge.  Nor am I suggesting you stop pursuing your passion.  And while you can’t completely eliminate the pressure, there are ways to reduce it.

With family

Start with a frank discussion about your passion as an actor with your family, particularly your spouse.  There is a good chance they neither understand the industry nor your desire to be a part of it.  Help them understand these things but listen to their concerns.  While it may be your goal to work in feature films, perhaps a compromise to pursue only local commercial work will allow you to keep acting and alleviate their concerns.  Or…you could just leave, but I don’t recommend that.

With work

Discuss your acting career with your boss.  Ask about remote work opportunities that you can possibly perform outside normal working hours. Maybe it is possible to take a short leave of absence and protect your position. Understand their requirements and if need be, consider looking for work that allows the flexibility you need.  You may have to pause your acting career temporarily to find the right job, but giving up on your passion altogether is just going to lead to regrets.  Trust me, I did it and I know.

Time

Take some for yourself. Make sure you are not hustling for work 100% of the time.  Make sure to make time for family and unplug altogether occasionally to take time for yourself.  Your kids are only going to be “today years old” today.  Don’t miss it in pursuit of the next gig.

Prioritize

At the end of the day, the real cure for the stress of balancing a full-time job, family and acting career is to set and maintain priorities and boundaries.  Put those three elements in priority order and any time there is a conflict defer to the one with the highest priority.  No one can tell you what the priority should be, that decision is purely personal, but if you can do that then when there are competing priorities the decision of which to do becomes a lot easier.  Trying to “do it all” is just going to lead to burn-out and then ALL of your priorities suffer.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!  

The Elephant in the Room; How a writers strike affects everyone.

Acting, Encouragement, Voice Over

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  I know I’ve written a bit about this in the recent past, but as the deadline for negotiations looms at midnight May 1, it bears talking about again.  What follows are my conclusions drawn from a myriad of news sources. They do NOT necessarily reflect the positions of the labor unions. This week let’s talk about how a writer’s strike may affect everyone.

First:

I know I’ve been absent for a couple weeks…sorry.  I have been on location in Western Tennessee filming the Western “Unnatural” and unable to post both because of the remote location AND exhaustion.  Look for Unnatural in the spring of 2024.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  Yeah, I know I say this every week, but it falls under the heading of “The things that go without saying are the things that most need to be said”.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

It’s not looking good…

While negotiation results are being held pretty close to the vest, all indications in the news these days tend to point to the eventuality that the writers will go “pencils down” at midnight May 1st.  Talks were held Saturday Apr 29th and again Sunday Apr 30, but it seems the two sides (WGA and AMPTP) are still petty far apart.  Unless something miraculous happens today (Monday May1st) a strike is all but inevitable.

So, bad for writers.

Yes and no.  From the position of the WGA, things are ALREADY bad for writers, which is what prompted the strike vote.  Union writers apparently agree since they voted 98% in favor of striking if an agreement cannot be reached.  While writers will stop working (AND getting paid for writing) if there is a strike, the long-term result should be better wages and working conditions when the strike ends (and they always end).  And it may not just be the writers.

Almost everyone…

It’s not just the Writer’s Guild whose contracts expire this year.  The Directors (DGA) and actors (SAG-AFTRA) contracts also expire this year, albeit later (June 30th).  Historically, the first union to begin negotiations set the tone for the others, so it is possible the Directors and Actors negotiations could be contentious as well…after all they have some of the same concerns as the writers do.

Similar issues

The issues preventing the WGA and AMPTP from coming to an agreement are, or at least are to some degree, the same issues facing both the DGA and SAG-AFTRA.  The big issues concern the rate of pay for streaming platforms, residuals, and the introduction of AI writers like ChatGPT.  Pay for projects headed to streaming platforms is lower (traditionally) than for network/studio projects and streaming has blown up over the course of the pandemic. And AI presents a HOST of issues, not the least of which is copyright infringement.  While the DGA and SAG contracts don’t expire till June 30th,  WGA negotiations will influence their negotiations as well.

Solidarity.

Other unions, most notably the Teamsters, DGA and SAG-AFTRA have issued statements indicating solidarity with the WGA on negotiations.  Essentially, while not mandating their members honor writer picket lines, each of these labor unions have stated that they “don’t cross picket lines”.  Even if the respective unions do not strike, not crossing picket lines means their members (in large part) will also cease working which is effectively a strike as well.

Non-Union writers are OK, though?

Well, maybe.  The WGA has posted their strike rules and one that sticks out is that any writer who is not part of the union who works for a struck company will not be permitted to join the union at a future date.  That might be OK if that writer never intends to become a union member, but bad if they ever intend to join. Nonunion writers can continue to work on nonunion and independent projects…just not for companies that are being struck.

Union vs Non-Union talent

Clearly the impact to us talent will be different depending on if you are union or non-union.  If you are a member of SAG-AFTRA, thanks to global rule 1, when union work goes away so does any opportunity for work.  And should SAG-AFTRA decide to strike as well, then there is ZERO chance of work.  And if you are non-union hoping to become eligible, it’s going to take longer to get there.

For Non-Union talent?

The largest immediate impact is that there will be fewer projects to cast so not only will there be fewer opportunities for work, but competition for those roles will also be fiercer.  Fewer roles with the same number of actors means there will be FAR more people submitting to each role which means more competition. So not only is there less work, but a lower chance (as if it wasn’t low enough already) of actually landing a given role.

Already a slow-down

You may have already noticed a slowdown in new roles.  I know I surely have.  Why is that?  Well, producers are reluctant to start a new project if there is a chance that they will lose their writers on May 2nd (tomorrow!  YIKES!).  While the networks and studios have spent the early part of the year gobbling up scripts, without a writer on staff to make changes/polish them during production completing those projects will be difficult. This is particularly egregious for series as many times scripts are changed or even written in near real time during production.

For consumers

The biggest impact to consumers of the industry – the audience – will be that release dates for projects already underway (whose productions may pause) will be pushed back (fewer new movies in the theaters AND on streaming) and series seasons will be truncated.  Late night television and scripted variety shows will go first, then series TV then movies.  Look for a LOT of re-runs and shorter seasons.  On top of that it takes a while to get moving again after a strike, so next season’s release dates will be moved out as well.

For performers

Polish off your side gigs, you’re likely gonna need them!  I mean it’s not like you can just stop eating and paying your mortgage! For some, this is a reality even when there is NOT a strike.  For the A-list actors who are uber wealthy (all >1% of them) it’ll just be like a vacation. For everyone between them it is going to hit pretty hard. If you have been able to support yourself and your family solely on acting and VO work, that may cease being a possibility. Those folks “in the middle” are the ones I feel for.

For some

For some people this may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and causes them to quit acting altogether.  It’s tough to keep moving forward when you are forced to take a 9-5 job that prevents you from being available for whatever jobs may be available in order to keep a roof over your head or feed your family.  It’s sad that some people will give up on their dreams because of this nearly inevitable strike and slow down.

If that’s you…

I’m sorry.  My heart goes out to you.  I can only hope that when this ends you are able to find your way back to pursuing your passion.  As a very good friend would often say to me: “This too, shall pass” – which I recognize is of little help immediately but gives you something to look forward to.

At the end of the day

Everyone hates to see it come to a strike, but it’s understandable when workers are not being fairly compensated for their work.  While the workforce will feel the pinch during a strike, the studios and networks are the real losers during times like this. Many of these companies are publicly traded and their bottom line will suffer dramatically – which of course is the point of a strike.

Don’t give up!

Keep your head up, keep moving forward and look forward to all the new work waiting in the wings when it’s over.  And hey – they COULD reach an agreement by midnight today and this entire post can have been for naught!

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!  

What to do when things are slow (like now)

Acting, Encouragement, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  I don’t know if it is just me, but MAN it sure seems pretty slow around here these days.  I mean, I’m still working, but not nearly as much as I’d like to, and future jobs are slim pickings.  This week let’s talk about what you should do to keep busy during slow times.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  Yeah, I know I say this every week, but it falls under the heading of “The things that go without saying are the things that most need to be said”.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

Slow times

It happens in everyone’s acting careers.  The nature of this business is that there are going to be times when work is slow. Maybe there are just fewer productions in the works. Maybe there are just not a lot of roles you are fit for.  This year, for example, all of the major unions are up for renegotiating their Minimum Basic Agreement contracts with the major producers . Also, this year there is some major contention with the Writers Guild, and they are threatening to strike.

Potential writers’ strike

I wrote a bit about this previously, but the threat of a writer’s strike has increased risk for big union productions, so there is a pretty significant reduction in new productions starting.  It’s understandable, because negotiations with one union group (WGA) can, and often does, affect negotiations with the other unions.  The natural result is that productions are holding off going into production (and casting actors for them) until things are settled.  Consequently, there are fewer jobs for actors at the moment.

So, what do you do?

It’s bad when work slows down, but there are still some things you can do to keep busy during slow times, and maybe even earn a little money as well.  What follows is an exploration of things an actor can do to keep busy and maybe earn some cash during slow times. The first thing you need to note about the following is that doing these things requires a lot of self-motivation, especially for the things that don’t earn you money while you’re doing them.  If you are not self-motivated, well, maybe you are in the wrong field!

A note

Listen, we all experience slow times for varied reasons. Even seasoned and famous actors have periods, sometimes long periods, where they are not working.  I’ve read several books about actors whose career was SO slow just before a big break they were considering getting out of the business.  Consistency, persistence, and motivation are what you need to get through slow times. These slow periods are NOT an indictment of your talent (usually) so do what you can to weather them and get through it.

Side jobs

Unless you are an A-List actor (or maybe even a B-List actor) with a ton of reserve cash, which the vast majority of us are not, then you probably have (or need) a side hustle to get through lean times.  It’s sad, but since we are all pretty accustomed to eating and having a place to sleep, during slow times you should try to ramp up your side gig.  Take more hours, hustle more or do whatever you need to do to allow you to survive.  I know this goes without saying, but a slowdown in acting work leaves you some extra free time to concentrate on your side gigs.  Thus, when things slow down the first thing to do is to increase your non-acting work.  I mean, you do have more time for that, right?

Training

Even a busy actor should continue training and coaching, but during slow periods in your acting career you have an opportunity to commit to something a little longer term.  Is there a class you’d like to take but were too busy for the commitment before?  Now is your chance to take that class.  True, you never know when things will pick up again, and there is a bit of risk involved in committing to a long term class. It’s a personal decision, to be sure, however if things pick up again before you finish you just have a scheduling issue, not something insurmountable.

Explore other acting venues.

Are you primarily a screen actor? Voice artist? Theater actor?  Branch out!  Try community theater, audition for VO roles.  If you don’t pigeonhole yourself your opportunities to act will increase.  Try looking for low-paying or unpaid independent gigs just to keep working those acting muscles.  Find a local theater or film school and volunteer to perform in their productions. Many of these opportunities are completely unaffected by things like union negotiations and strikes, and student productions are always looking for actors…some are even paid opportunities.

Meet with your agent or manager.

Slow times are a good time to meet with other members of your team.  Approach your agent or manager with an open mind, mention you are not getting as many auditions/bookings and ask what you might do to improve your odds.  Maybe it is time to learn a new aspect of the craft (such as stage/screen fighting or stunts), maybe it is the right time to concentrate on updating your marketing materials like head shots, or maybe your resume needs some work.  Slow periods are good time to take care of those things.

Network

Slow periods are a great time to nurture industry relationships. Reach out to your network and set up that lunch meeting that you’ve not had time for.  Attend industry events like Film Festivals and premiere screenings.  These are great places to meet people in the industry and get to know them.  Remember, though, that networking is a way for you to get to know people and them you.  They are not auditions or interviews.  And when networking remember that your goal is to find ways to help them not to get them to help you.  Networking is not an opportunity to pitch yourself or your ideas.  Networking leads to new friends, which may lead to opportunities to pitch yourself or your ideas, but that is not the point of networking.

Research

Study productions that fit your “essence” to see what makes them good.  Seeing (or hearing) other successful actors in roles you would be auditioning for will help you know how to prepare for these types of projects when things pick back up.  It definitely will give you a leg up on other actors auditioning for the same roles who did not do any research.  Also, research what productions are waiting in the wings to see what might be coming up.  A subscription to Casting About will give you a good idea of what to be preparing for and also an idea what producers/directors are getting ready to start casting so your agent or manager can pitch you directly.

Get in shape.

Is the crafty table just a little too tempting when you’re on set so you’ve put on a few pounds?  Slow times are a good time to concentrate on you and your health.  Do you need to take off a few pounds?  This is a good time to think about exercising or maybe starting that diet you’ve been thinking about. You should always be concerned about your health, after all, it is tough to work if you are incapacitated or dead, but slow times give you more time to concentrate on that.  And you even get to control what gets put on YOUR crafty table.

Create

If it is slow for you, it is likely slow for your circle of friends and acquaintances.  Slow times are a good time to create your own content.  Get together with other industry folks you know and produce some fun short content, then post it on your YouTube channel.  It’s fun, doesn’t cost a ton of money and it gives everyone involved a chance to keep practicing the craft they love. These projects should be fun and don’t have to be “highly polished” productions. You never know where something like this may lead.

At the end of the day

There are always going to be slow times as an actor.  It’s inevitable.  The key is to keep working, keep moving, don’t stagnate.  If you allow yourself to slow down at the same pace as the industry, overcoming the inertia to get moving again will be difficult.  You may not actually earn any money from some of these, and some may even cost some money, but they will pay off in the long run when the industry picks back up.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!

Life Hacks for Actors

Acting, Encouragement, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This week I’ve put together some life hacks for actors!

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

What is a “Life Hack”?

Simply put, the dictionary definition of a “life hack” is:

a usually simple and clever tip or technique for accomplishing some familiar task more easily and efficiently

Some of what follows could easily be described as a life hack, and some may be closer to advice for actors, but nonetheless, all of these following ideas should help make your life as an actor slightly easier, more efficient, and less stressful. Odds are no one will be able to do all of these…I mean we all have our own unique set of life circumstances after all…but if even one of them helps you then I consider this a success!

Memorization hack

I don’t know about you, but for me, one of the most stressful parts of being a working actor is memorizing your lines. Once you book a gig, there is a lot of research and analysis that goes into bringing your character to life.  Who are you speaking to, find the beats, determine your objectives, where are you coming from, going to and how did you get there?  This hack doesn’t take away any of that work, but remembering your lines?  The best hack for that is: repetition. It’s the way we learn song lyrics:  Listen to the song over and over again (and yeah, sometimes google the lyrics so you know what the singer is actually saying too).

Use an app or your phones recording ability

The absolute best and easiest way I’ve found to memorize lines is by using an app.  I use Rehearsal Pro.  This is not the only app for memorizing lines, but it works well.  The gist is you upload the script, highlight your lines, and then record all the dialog (right in the app).  Click play and the app plays the dialog over and over again all the way through.  When you think you know it, re-record just the other characters lines and run your lines, out loud, with yourself.  At first, just recite your lines out loud, and then add the dimensions you need from your script analysis. I listen over and over on my way to set…and you can split it into scenes so you can study lines for whatever scene you are about to perform.

Which brings me to: Be Off Book

Even for the audition.  A simple audition hack is to be off book as much as possible.  Being off book make your audition feel more natural; like you are living the scene, and not reading it.   This is MOST important for in person auditions…hold your sides so you can refer to them if you get stuck, but as much as possible be off book.

And if you can’t be off book…

I get it.  Sometimes we have a quick turnaround audition, and we just don’t have TIME to be off book.  Thanks to the pandemic, almost all auditions (at least initially) are self-tapes, so you have a little flexibility and are able to do as many takes as you need to have a great audition.  A simple hack I use for short turn self-tapes is: A teleprompter.  Simply set up the teleprompter (I use the Neewer Aluminum Teleprompter) on a separate tripod behind and just off the lens of the camera.  Then use the teleprompter as your eye line to your scene partner.  It’s a little pricey at just over $200, but I’ve found it very beneficial.

Choose a “warm” background color

OK, so this one gets a lot of attention in the acting world. One thing is CERTAIN…your background should be a plain solid color with no distractions.  Stay away from white if possible because it will affect your cameras light sensitivity and tends to wash you out.  Most professionals lean toward a neutral grey or blue.  I suggest blue, because while blue is generally considered a “cool” color, a mid-shade blue for a self-tape background looks warm (in my opinion).  In any case, choose what you consider to be a warm background.

A few ways to get the right background

Without spending a ton of money, it’s important to have an appropriate background available on short notice.  You can paint a wall in your house if you have a nice big blank wall available, but I choose to use a roll of photo background paper mounted to a background stand.  It’s easy to set up and take down…and best of all it doesn’t need to be ironed like a cloth background would. OK, I think we’ve beat the audition hack horse to death now.

Know your “audience”

Believe it or not, your audience is not the people who will ultimately watch or listen to your finished performance.  Your audience are the people who may hire you. You should get to know them!  I’ve said it over and over: This business is all about relationships. The best way to impress someone and have them like you is to be interested in them.  Get to know the people you are auditioning for, and learn what projects they have worked on, what awards they have won and be able to talk about them.  You can research them through IMDB Pro, reading industry news like at Deadline, Variety or just do a Google search.  Know your audience!

Find a Survival job in the industry

I’ve talked quite a bit about survival jobs in the past and usually recommend something that allows flexibility to pursue your passion career. This advice is slightly different though: Find a survival job within the industry you want to perform in.  Can you provide audio engineering skills?  Maybe be a set PA, work in props or wardrobe…if you have the skills try for an AD or gaffer job.  These survival gigs help you stay “plugged in” to the industry and also exposes you to other industry professionals to make connections and to network.

TEACH!

Want to keep your acting chops honed and can’t afford to pay for classes?  Why not teach others to act?  Maybe you feel like you don’t have the skills to teach other actors, and maybe you don’t…but you probably do!  I’m not suggesting opening an acting studio, but you can use YouTube and other social media outlets to teach what you DO know.  This helps you by forcing you to think about the skills an actor needs, and then present them in a way that communicates how to acquire them.  It’s like re-teaching yourself.  You MAY even be able to monetize it in some way.

Volunteer

Yeah, I know you are trying to earn a living, but short of landing that sweet lead role or 1st AD gig it may be possible to volunteer on a production just to stay plugged into the industry.  Relationships and all.  Volunteer to help as a reader for auditions, or volunteer to proofread scripts…find some way you can help the production team then offer to help.  Even if they say no, it sets you apart as a friendly, helpful person…and that’s who the production team remembers.

Use social media…Properly

We all know that as actors, social media is an important arrow in our quivers…but not all of us understand that social media is about a conversation not and advertisement. Sure, you want to use social media to present yourself to the community, and you definitely want to announce successes, but primarily the best use of social media is to (here it is again) start building relationships with others in the industry.  Start a conversation by commenting on what others post, answer questions, and provide useful advice and generally get to know people. It’s like being invited to the after party at a premiere…work the room and get to know people…and more importantly let them get to know YOU.

Lastly: Stay humble – Confident, not cocky

No matter how far along you are on your journey, remember where you began and stay humble.  No, not humble bragging, sincerely humble.  Be confident, for sure…confidence is attractive…but cockiness is a definite turn off.  Do your best to help people who are struggling or have questions and remember that you had some of those same questions or periods of confusion along your path too.  Don’t be that “USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION” guy…be supportive and helpful, and yeah maybe also mention searching, but in the context of finding more information than you can provide.

And there we have it

Some simple life hacks for actors!  Hopefully something here has been helpful for you and will serve to make your acting life a little easier or more efficient!

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!

Financial Advice for Actors

Acting, Encouragement, Finances, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This week I’d like to spend some time talking about Money Management.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

If you are independently wealthy…

Or, if you are married to someone who is…stop reading now and wait for next week’s post.  What we are about to talk about are ways to manage the scarce finances you have so that you can continue to:

  • Pursue your acting career
  • Avoid living out of your car
  • Eat regularly
  • Stay married (if you are)
  • Avoid bankruptcy

Actor Finances

It’s a touchy subject and nobody really likes to talk about money.  Well, they love to talk about what they’d do if they HAD money, but not how much they actually have. What this post aims to do is give you some common sense (which seems to be not so common actually) ways to manage what finances you have to counteract the hit-or-miss nature of this career and avoid the four decades break I took to have a 9-5 job before getting back into acting.

Seriously

All kidding aside, this industry can be brutal on your financial health and that leads to stress, which affects your performance and can reduce the number of paid gigs you actually book.  It’s like a self-licking lollipop, or a self-fulfilling prophecy or whatever euphemism you enjoy describing how much it can suck to not know where (or when) your next paycheck is coming. There ARE some steps you can take to reduce stress and help you continue to live through the lean times.

Survival job

I’ve talked about this (several times really) before, but nearly everyone, especially early in your career (like the first 10-15 years) is going to need some sort of survival job. If at all possible, stay away from corporate jobs especially ones that require a lot of travel.  Also, the military is probably not a good survival job (take it from me).  It needs to be something fairly flexible for the times you book work, or something that you can quit when you do and fairly quickly find another when you are between gigs.  Servers in a restaurant is popular, and (assuming you have a reliable vehicle) I like to recommend something like Lyft, Uber, DoorDash or Grubhub where you only work when you want to and don’t get demerits for missing several days. In any case, you definitely need some sort of regular, fairly reliable income.

Budgets

Yeah, I know, it sounds like a dirty word.  In actuality a budget is a necessary tool for everyone, but ESPECIALLY for actors who sometimes have periods of “unemployment”.  It’s a tool…but it’s NOT a tool for bludgeoning your spouse or SO with when they buy an unplanned happy meal.  It’s a tool to use to plan your spending in such a way that you can make sure all your bills are paid and you are setting aside some funds for the lean times.

It’s only as restrictive as YOU want

Your budget is…well…yours.  It’s not a restrictive tool, or at least it is only as restrictive as YOU want it to be.  This is all about helping you achieve your goals.  The assumption with your budget is that the goal you are reaching for is more important than whatever unplanned extravagance you are considering. A budget first helps you identify your “means” and then helps you live within them…or identify the fact you need to do something to increase those means.

But…how do you establish a budget?

Budgeting is a lot easier than most people think.  Honestly, it is ALL about balancing expenses with income.  The two primary steps to establishing a budget are to identify what your regular income is (you can average it by month if it is not consistent) and what your regular expenses are.  The first part is easy: Go back over the last 12 months and add up all your income, then divide by 12.  That should tell you your average monthly income.  Budget to that amount.

Determine average expenses

For three months, track everything you spend money on.  Yeah, I know that’s a pain, and you likely won’t capture 100%, but go for at least 99%.  Start with “The 4 Walls”: Housing, Utilities, Food and Transportation.  These are the bare minimum you’ll need to fund.  Then figure out how much your Starbucks, fast food and other incidental expenses are. Add them all up, average them (divide by three since you are tracking them for three months) and those are your expenses.  This step will also help you identify where financial “leaks” are.  Financial leaks are where you are spending more than you believe you are, you may be surprised.

Plug the leaks!

You may find that you are spending way more buying lunch every day, or on your daily coffee shop run or SOMEthing, than you think you are.  Then you just have to decide (for yourself) whether to continue those habits or stop them.  My guess is there are a number of things you are doing that could be curtailed and would help bring your expenses more in line with your income.  However you do it, it is imperative that your expenses come in lower than your income.  Either stop spending on some things or figure out how to bring in extra income.

Make sure…

When establishing your budget don’t forget to include funds for ongoing training/coaching and those items that only happen a couple times a year like car insurance and Christmas.  If you budget a small amount each month for those things, then don’t spend it on something else, you’ll have the money for them when they happen and won’t be stressed about them then either.

A quick word about Debt

Debt is the death of healthy finances, especially when your income is a bit sporadic like an actor’s.  I’m not going to berate you, but keep in mind that debt means you are dedicating money to someone that you have not yet earned, and you are paying to use your “future” money.  There is a reason a bank’s headquarters are a lot bigger than the average person’s house.  Other than a mortgage (if you have one) do everything you can to avoid debt.  If you have credit cards, spend only as much on them as you can pay off every month.  Get a copy of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and follow it for a method to get out of debt and stay that way.

SAVE!

Once you have identified all of your income/expenses and have yourself living within your means, start putting aside 10% (minimum) or 15% toward an emergency fund (3-6 months of expenses set aside for those lean times).  And there WILL be lean times, but if you know your expenses can be covered your stress level will go WAY down. When your emergency fund is fully funded, take that same 10-15% and save it for retirement, or your kids college.  Saving is really the only way to BUILD wealth.

The message here is:

Take control of your finances and KEEP control of them.  It is PARTICULARLY important for actors whose income is not set and who will likely have periods of (acting) unemployment to manage their money properly.  But even when you book that dream gig and get paid big bucks don’t go wild and buy that yacht you are drooling over. Appearances to the contrary, there are number of celebrities who seem uber-wealthy but are actually broke.

Testimonial

Not bragging, but to give you an example, here is my financial story – take from it what you will.  My late wife and I earned in excess of $200,000.00 a year between us.  We were living paycheck-to-paycheck and had (besides our home) $75,000.00 in consumer debt. We decided to take control, followed Dave Ramsey’s advice and in 18 months we were debt free other than our mortgage.  Two years later we had more than $100,000.00 in savings and a fully funded emergency fund.  It’s a good thing too, because when she passed (with no life insurance) I would not have been able to keep up (and would have had to finance her funeral!); I would have had to declare bankruptcy.

Your situation is different

Everyone’s is.  We thought we were in a really good place financially, but we were one tragedy away from financial devastation.  Today I have a reasonably high net worth and can pursue my acting career without having to worry about paying the bills.  I believe that is at least partially responsible for whatever success I’ve experienced because I can just ACT in an audition and not worry about “getting a job”.  No matter where you are today financially, you can take control of your finances, change your financial position AND pursue your acting career without the stress of needing to book a gig.  You might be surprised how many more jobs you book after that!

NOTE: I am happy to help with setting up your budget or discussing ways to get control of your finances.  Feel free to reach out with any questions: gary@gary-mason.com.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

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If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!