GARY MASON

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Wisdom

You’re Not Getting the F&^%ing Job! (Series): Part 2: Why do want to be an actor!?

Acting, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This is week 2 in the series relating to the psychology of the business, particularly as it relates to auditions and booking work, and we will be exploring “Why do you want to be an actor?”. Thanks to my friend and actor Michael Kostroff who teaches a video series titled “Audition Psych 101”. If you are working as an actor, I highly recommend this course. I am paraphrasing and plagiarizing his material with his permission in this series, so if any of this resonates with you, head on over and sign up for his course.

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.

TL; DR

Look, I get it…1500 (ish) words is a lot to read and not everyone has the time, so, I’ll start by giving you the TL; DR version up front.  This week we ask, “Why do you want to be an actor?”, and I can tell you that if your answer is anything except “I LOVE IT!” (Or some variation of that theme). Then you are doing this for the wrong reason.

The reality of acting

Acting is hard work and can be very frustrating.  The reality of being an actor is a lot less glamorous than the idea of being an actor.  The truth is most professional working actors need a “side hustle” or “survival job” in order to pay the bills, eat and have a place to live.  Remember that the vast majority of professional actors are NOT names you have heard of and are unemployed for long stretches of time.

Starving artist

I’m sure you have heard the phrase “starving artist”, right?  There is a reason this phrase exists, and it is because most working actors cannot sustain themselves with acting alone.  It’s true that you can make a decent living as an actor, but certainly not right away…and maybe never.  True, some actors are BIG names and make a TON of money, others are solid workers who support themselves nicely.  It’s like a pyramid (although NOT a pyramid scheme!) where the top of the pyramid if very small, and the bottom is huge.  The VAST majority of working actors are NOT in the top 3rd of that pyramid.

The business

Make no mistake, acting is a business.  At the end of the day, the objective of the industry is to make money…sometimes a lot of money, sometimes a little.  The initial goal of any project, of course is to pay back investors and at least break even.  The acting, and actors, are just a very small part of the business.  It would do well to keep this in mind as you head off on this journey.

How you fit in the business

When I realized how I “fit” into the business of acting, I had a real AHA! Moment.  Here’s what I discovered: It’s not really ABOUT the actors.  Or the story, the Producers, or Directors, or Writers or any other member of the industry.  This business is nearly 100% about…The Consumer.  That’s right, it’s all about the audience!  How do productions make money?  They bring in an audience, and the audience “pays” to see the performance.  That pay can be in the form of a ticket to a movie or play, or by purchasing whatever the production is advertising.

Why do some actors make a ton of money then?

It’s simple, really.  Are you ready for it?  Because they attract an audience!  Whether it’s a movie, a commercial, a podcast or an audiobook…some actors have a following and bring in paying customers.  It’s really just THAT simple.  If you can bring an audience, you are going to get hired.

But what about all the “no name” actors?

First, I HATE the term no name. I have a name.  No one knows it (yet), but I HAVE a name.  I am technically a “named actor”.  But, in the industry I am not considered a named actor because I do not have a following…a group of consumers who are going to watch or listen just because I am a part of the project.  Think about that pyramid again:  Only the top 1/3 of that pyramid are considered “named actors”.  The rest, and very large, portion are not.  But they are talented hard-working folks and without them no production would ever be able to be made. And many of them are making a decent living by acting.

FAME!

While possible, it is highly improbable that you will become an actor with a household name.  So, if you want to be an actor to become famous, and by famous, I mean someone recognizable to a large part of the population, then you are likely to be a very disgruntled actor in pretty short order.  Your odds of becoming famous are so low that it’s no wonder so many actors STOP acting within 5 years of setting out.

FORTUNE!

Again, it is possible to become overwhelmingly, filthy RICH as an actor.  Also again, the probability of that happening is pretty low.  Just google “How many professional actors are there in the United States” and you find there is north of 63,000 of us.  That’s JUST stage and screen actors, BTW.   And of those 63,000 people, can you guess how many are famous?  I had to look it up here.  You don’t have to click the link, I’ll tell you: 56.  Simple math would suggest there is a roughly .01% chance you’ll become famous (and I rounded UP).  If you are not famous, you are not going to be uber wealthy as an actor.

An easy lifestyle

We see those 56 famous actors doing some incredibly cool things.  Living in mansions with servants, sailing in their yachts with a crew, flying private airplanes with professional pilots & crew to exotic vacations all across the globe. This makes the life of an actor look “easy”.  And to be honest, for those 56 people their lives are probably a LOT easier than it is for me or you.  Read it again….01% chance…you are probably not getting rich or famous; nor will lead an easy lifestyle.

Average salary?

I read somewhere that the average salary for an actor is $17.50/hour.  When you consider that there are SOME actors (56 at least) who make thousands of dollars an hour, then you’ll know that on the lower end of the “average” it is much LESS than that $17.50.  I’ve been on productions with NO pay…and for all you math geniuses out there that averages out to ZERO salary. I’ve also been on some that pay $1000 for 4 hours of work.  You just never know, and it depends on the project, but deciding to NOT take a low paying gig is, in essence, deciding to not get paid at all.

For everyone else?

For all but those 56 people (and yeah, I recognize there are levels between famous and noob) life as an actor is not easy.  It is going to mean marketing and selling yourself to find gigs to audition for, then auditioning and maybe getting a role.  You’ll have long days (15-18 hours is not uncommon) and early call times (mostly for screen actors).  You may spend weeks or months studying the script, deciding who the character is and memorizing lines…OR you may have an hour to figure it out and deliver a solid performance.  This is not “easy” work.

One example from last week

Last week I got a call from my agent at 12:20PM (EDT) and was informed I had an in-person audition for a lucrative commercial ($1500/day for 2 days, $11,000 usage with travel, lodging and per diem included).  BAM…I’m about to be discovered and finance the rest of my year.  The audition was in an hour.  On the west coast.  Last minute auditions (and work!) are ALSO common.

Not trying to discourage you

Seriously, not even a LITLLE bit.  I’m just suggesting that if you want to be an actor, do it for the right reasons and you won’t be disappointed.  Keep your expectations low, don’t quit your day job (but do find one that gives you the flexibility to audition and take on roles) and just keep plugging ahead.

So, then, why become an actor?

Honestly, because it is the BEST job on the planet! Acting is the most fun you can have and be getting paid for it!  Some good reasons to become an actor, if you don’t want to be disappointed are:

  1. It’s not really a choice, you just know you HAVE to act.
  2. You are very creative and need an outlet for your creativity
  3. You are doing it for you, not to impress someone else
  4. JUST. LOVE. IT. (HINT: This is the best reason)

At the end of the day…

When all is said and done, acting will be the best job you ever had regardless of the fact that you will probably work only intermittently, get paid very little, need to work another full-time “survival job” and will feel like you are burning the candle at both ends as a result.  If you can put up with all that AND recognize that “You’re not getting the f*&^ing job!” but are still having fun…then acting is the job for you!

Tune in next week

When we’ll discuss Naysayers!

 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!

 

 

You’re Not Getting the F&^%ing Job! (Series): Part 1: So you want to be an actor!?

Acting, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This week I am going to begin a series of blogs that relate, mostly, to the psychology of the business, particularly as it relates to auditions and booking work.  I am entitling the series: “You’re not getting the f*&^ing job!” thanks to my friend and actor Michael Kostroff who teaches a video series titled “Audition Psych 101”. If you are working as an actor, I highly recommend this course. I am paraphrasing and plagiarizing his material with his permission in this upcoming series, so if any of this resonates with you, head on over and sign up for his course.

Note:

For this series, in order to keep from having to type out “Voice actors, stage actors and screen actors” I will refer to them all as “actors”.  Note that the word actors appears in each one, so it fits. I intend for this series to relate to all of them equally, however, when that is not true, I will be sure to point out the differences.

And this week…

Now to immediately contradict myself, this week we will be focusing primarily on stage and screen actors so if you are ONLY concerned with all things voice over, then you can stop reading now.  The reason for this is that I pretty fully covered getting started in voice over in a series of earlier posts.  If you are interested begin reading that series HERE.  I suggest you keep reading though, since there is considerable overlap between the three and you MAY find something useful.

But before we dig in too much…

Let’s begin by looking at acting in general, and what an actor’s job may look like.  I suspect it is not what you think it is.

So, you want to be an actor!

We watch movies and TV shows, and we see the awards and accolades famous actors get.  We think we would LOVE to live that glamorous Hollywood lifestyle.  You think to yourself: I could do that!  And the simple truth is, you COULD.  But the reality is: You probably WON’T.  Not to be discouraging, but, becoming a well-known famous actor is about as probable as becoming an Olympic athlete, or a Super Bowl winning quarterback, or winning the Power Ball Lottery.  It’s possible, but not probable.

You probably WOULD…

Don’t let that last sentence discourage you.  Just setting reasonable expectations.  For every famous actor you know, there are THOUSANDS…no TENS OF THOUSANDS…no HUNDREDS…well, never mind, there are a LOT of working “unknown” actors who make a good living as actors.  This category, working actor, is the most likely outcome of an acting career.  And that’s not a bad outcome really if you love acting.

But why is it so hard?

Simply put: An acting career is hard.  It’s not just hard work (it is though) but it is also hard psychologically.  Actors live with constant criticism and rejection.  The criticism part is real, so you have to have thick skin, and we will talk a lot more about the rejection…maybe even an entire blog post about it.

It is more than…

Acting is a lot more than memorizing lines, dressing up in costume and showing up on set.  It IS all those things, but it is a lot more than that.  Beyond developing your character, deciding how they relate to the other characters and what their life was before entering the scene it is also a business.  You are the entire corporation (at least to start out…eventually you can hire an agent, manager, publicist etc…) AND you are the product. Actual acting is probably the smallest part of your business…marketing yourself, maintaining relationships and finding the work (submitting and auditioning) is the lions share.

On top of THAT…

For screen actors, the days are long and can be tedious.  Early call times and late wrap times are common. 12, 15, 18+ hour days are the norm…all just to film maybe two scenes of the project.  Stage actors experience long days as well, leading up to the opening.  Weeks and weeks of rehearsals and run throughs before opening night, then a long run of performing the same piece over and over. What you see on screen or on the stage is just the tip of the iceberg!

Process overview

I’m a process-oriented kind of guy.  As long as I can lay things out in small easily manageable steps, I can pretty much deal with anything.  So, just to have a peak behind the Oscars and Academy awards to see how they got there, let’s take a look at the process for a working actor.

Finding roles

You may think that roles actually find you.  In some cases, that’s true for the A-List marquee actors, but for anyone else waiting for a role to find you will have you living on the streets and eating out of dumpsters.  You have to find the roles.  If you have an agent and manager, they are also looking for roles that you would be a good fit for and that helps, but primarily you have to find them yourself. You can do that with online marketplaces, and you can find them by researching upcoming productions and pitching yourself to the production team.  Either way, you have to find them, they won’t find you.

Submitting

Once you find an appropriate role, you submit for it or pitch yourself.  This is where you send your head shots, resume and demo reels to production in hopes that they feel you are a good fit as well. MOST of the time, you hear nothing in response to your submission.

Auditioning

In the event production thinks you may be a good fit; they’ll ask you to audition.  Some want you to come to their office and audition in person, but these days the most likely scenario is a self-tape audition.  For this you need a setup to film yourself (and I will talk about what that looks like in another blog) performing a scene they choose from the project.  MOST of the time, you hear nothing in response to your audition.

Call Backs

If they like what you did in your audition, they may “call you back” for a second audition to see if you have chemistry with your scene partner or to give you some notes to make changes to the way you played it for the audition.  MOST of the time, you hear nothing in response to call backs. (I’m sensing a trend here).

Booking

If you SHOULD hear back from the submission, audition, AND call back…you’ve probably booked the job.  Probably…but not always.  Sometimes production teams are kind enough to get back with you to let you know they liked your work but decided to go in a different direction.  Sometimes.  Not very often.

Work

OK, so you made it through all the wickets and booked the job!  YEA! Now the work starts! But wait…all that other stuff was a lot of work too!  Yes, yes, it was.  But you are just getting started.  Now you need to fully develop your character, memorize your lines, (in this age of COVID) get COVID tested, head to wardrobe for fittings and costume and ultimately show up on set on the right day and at the correct time.  Your day will consist of wardrobe (getting into costume), hair and makeup, a blocking rehearsal (or 3 or 4) and then…an hour or two waiting till they get lights and cameras positioned and ready for you.

Filming

You’ll film your scene, then wait for repositioning and film the scene again…this will repeat until the director and director of photography have all the angles and closeups they need to take into postproduction.  Typically, this means filming the same scene 6-8 (or more) times, with the 1-2 hour wait in between for repositioning the camera and checking the lighting.  You may film 2-3 scenes in a day, so you can see how this can make for very long days.  On the plus side there is craft services for snacking while you are waiting.

Did this scare you off?

I hope not.  Acting is a fun and rewarding profession.  You get to meet a lot of really great creative people and collaborate to make awesome content!  But, it’s not all glitz and glamour; a lot of hard work goes into these projects AND a lot of hard work goes into finding and getting cast in them.  If you consider the numbers alone between submissions, auditions and call backs you can understand why: You’re not getting the f*&^ing job!

Tune in next week

When we’ll discuss WHY you want to be an actor!

 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!

There is a role for everyone

Acting, Encouragement, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  Think you’re too old, too young, too fat, too skinny, too SOMEthing to become a successful actor?  Think again!  There’s a role for everyone!

And let’s be clear

Voice acting IS acting, regardless of how some people may think.  I hate it when someone says something like: “Oh, they’re just a voice actor, they are not a real actor”.  HOGWASH!  True, stage and screen acting are not exactly like voice acting, they encompass movement and form that people can see.  Voice acting relies on those movements and forms to affect your voice and how you sound.  So, this discussion is about acting, and as such it INCLUDES voice actors.

Can anyone act?

Sure…of course!  Honestly LIFE is acting if you think about it, and acting is about portraying life, so it makes sense.  Do you behave differently at work than you do at home? With your kids? With you friends?  Of course, we all (or nearly all) do.  So yes, anyone can be an actor…because we all already are.

Can everyone be a good actor?

DUH…no!  But everyone can become a good (if not great) actor with patience and a LOT of practice.  Learning the mechanics of acting is fairly easy and straightforward.  There are a lot of drama and acting schools scattered across the country, and there is surely one near wherever you live.  You no longer have to live in NYC or LA to find a good acting school.  Acting is a skill that can be developed and improved over time.

Do I need to be a good actor to find work as an actor?

The short answer is no.  As a matter of fact, most actors start out their careers as mediocre actors at best.  Now, the odds of being able to support yourself as an actor at first are slim.  Ever heard the term “starving artist”?  It’s a real thing, and what drives some actors to quit.  But you can work, and earn some money, early in your career.  I watched a documentary not long ago where they interviewed John Voight (You’ve heard of him, right?) where he talked about one of his first roles and how badly he performed.  But he kept learning, and practicing and now he’s…well, he’s John Voight!

The truth is…

The real truth of acting, though, is this:  You have never heard of most professional actors who ARE supporting themselves with acting.  The VAST majority of actors are NOT famous.  Take a close look at your favorite movies or TV shows or cartoons.  How many of the actors can you name…maybe 2-3, right?  Now go back and look at how MANY actors there actually are (and remember every person you see or hear is an actor…they really don’t just record random people…ever).

But I’m too…

You have to fill in the blank for you, but here are some I’ve heard: I’m too fat. I’m too skinny.  I’m too old.  I’m too tall.  My voice is too high.  My voice is too unusual.  Balderdash!  None of these are true, and even if they are they will not keep you from becoming an actor, or a SUCCESFUL actor.  Ever heard Gilbert Godfrey speak?  His voice is too something for sure, yet he not only was a successful actor and comedian, he also voiced numerous roles for TV and movies.

Watch and listen with a different perspective

Next time you are watching a movie or show, pay attention to what characters are being portrayed.  Pay particular attention to the non-main characters.  Are they all thin and attractive? OK, so everyone is attractive to some degree and definitely to someone…but you know what I mean.  The answer is no…the characters are portraying “real” people (even when they are fictional).  You see people of all shapes, sizes, ethnicity, and gender.  You hear people with voices that include every pitch, octave, and accent (and yeah, everyone has an accent…but you only notice when it’s different than yours).

Odds are

If you watch/listen from this perspective, odds are you are going to find actors that have the same “I’m too” that you do. If they can do it, why can’t you? Too short?  Check out Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones fame.  Too fat?  Check out Kevin James.  Too old?  Have you heard of Betty White? I could keep going.  Productions portray the reality of the world around us (for the most part), even while they show us fictional worlds and situations.

Suspension of disbelief

Here’s the trick:  In order to enjoy a movie, podcast, audiobook, or TV show it is required that the viewer or listener suspend their disbelief.  In order to accomplish that, everything surrounding the fantastic fictional elements has to appear or sound like reality.  If not, it pulls you out of the entertainment and causes you to stop the suspension of disbelief.  So, if you are a real person, you are already represented in the things you watch and listen to…you might as be the one representing you!

So how do you get started?

Your first step is to find classes either near you or available virtually.  Personally, I prefer the in-person classes now that we are able to have them because it gives you the chance to interact with other actors in class in the same physical space.  I think it is better, but you may think otherwise…you gotta do you.  A good acting or voice over teacher/coach will start by having you perform something and will assess where you are and what help you need.  And we ALL need help, but that’s another topic for another time.

Get an agent

Family Feud – ABC television

NOPE!  Wrong! BIG RED X (ala Family Feud).  You actually don’t even need and agent to be successful, but certainly not at the start.  The next thing to do is to ACT in something.  Find a local community theater group (they usually struggle to find actors, so it is “easier” to get cast in them) if you are interested in stage.  Or look for independent or student films looking to cast in your area and submit for roles.  Get on ACX and audition for small books to get your feet wet. And then DO it…if nothing else you’ll learn whether or not you even like acting!

It’s not how you think it is

The truth is, while anyone CAN be an actor, not everyone should.  And I’m not talking about talent here.  The truth of being an actor is a lot less glamorous than it seem from the outside.  Acting means long days and a LOT of work.  Voice acting means closing yourself up in your closet sized booth for hours on end and talking to yourself – then learning audio engineering so you can produce it yourself.  It’s not glamorous, but for me (and most of the people I talk to who do this for a living) it is FUN.  If you aren’t having fun, you should not be an actor.

Here’s an example

I was actually on a film set a couple hours from home yesterday. Here’s how it went.  Call time was 12:30 PM, I showed up at 12:15 because, well…Navy.  Checked in with the producer, then headed to wardrobe to get my costume.  After dressing out, off to hair and makeup (HMU) to take care of my wholly uncooperative hair and cover up the three blemishes from where I cut myself shaving (Why does that always happen when I am headed to set?).  Once finished with HMU, headed over to the holding area to meet and chat with the other actors I’d be working with that day.  An hour later (still chatting) lunch was delivered, and we all ate.  THREE AND A HALF HOURS after that, we moved to a remote location to shoot “my” scene.  That took about an hour and a half.  Then we wrapped, changed, said goodbye and headed home. Total elapsed time: seven hours. Total work time one and a half hours.

And…

First, I’m not complaining, just being real. I am an extrovert, so I truly enjoyed meeting and talking to a bunch of new people for roughly 6 hours.  But here’s the other part:  It was HOT, and I was in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.  I was semi-uncomfortable, but I had a GREAT time anyway.  Plus, the piece was set in the 1930’s so there were some AWESOME vehicles to check out, and I actually got to ride in one…so yeah, a long day for a little work but a great day nonetheless.

Anyway…

My point here is this:  In my mind, if you want to be a professional actor, the ONLY thing that should keep you from pursuing it is the fact that it is not enjoyable…for you…personally.  Let go of all the negative self-image stuff that might be holding you back and go for it.  Remember: There is a role for everyone.

Looking for a new non-fiction read?  Look no further!  Check out the July Non-Fiction Book Giveaway!

 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!

 

 

REJECTION!

Acting, Encouragement, Voice Over, Wisdom

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  Rejection.  It’s the word (and thing) people fear. Maybe it’s the word we fear the MOST…but I’m not sure, so will just stick with fear.

REJECTION

I actually hate this word.  Especially as a performer…it’s just too negative, and to be honest I don’t believe that rejection is actually what’s happening in the industry.  Of course, rejection is a verb based on the definition of the word reject, so let’s see what the definition of reject is:

REJECT:

verb (used with object)

  1. to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc.: to reject the offer of a better job.
  2. to refuse to grant (a request, demand, etc.).
  3. to refuse to accept (someone or something); rebuff: The other children rejected him. The publisher rejected the author’s latest novel.
  4. to discard as useless or unsatisfactory: The mind rejects painful memories.
  5. to cast out or eject; vomit.

Pretty harsh.  And most of us see what happens when we don’t get a role we auditioned for as items 4 and 5 above.  It’s no wonder people fear rejection!  Useless or unsatisfactory!? Vomited!?  No one wants THAT!

Not just about performers, really…

While I am focusing on rejection as a part of the voice over and acting worlds, feelings of rejection are REAL and can happen in many areas of our life; it has some pretty negative side effects.  Feelings of rejection are painful and, in some cases, affect not only your mental well-being, but also your physical.  What follows is a discussion of how to handle what performers call rejection, but if you are feeling rejected outside of what follows as a performer, then I urge you to seek competent medical help.

Negative impacts…

Rejection makes people feel as if they are not wanted, valued, or accepted.  Everyone will experience rejection at some times in their life. These rejections are usually short lived, and we recover from them quickly. Ongoing rejection, however, can have severe psychological effects.

Some effects of ongoing rejection

If you are a performer, then you may be familiar with ongoing rejection.  We know intellectually that we are only going to book between 2-5% of the roles we submit/audition for, but emotionally it still stings when we are not cast.  Ongoing feelings of rejection can lead to:

  • Trauma
  • Depression
  • Pain
  • Anxiety

Not only that…

But ongoing feelings of rejection can cause anger and aggression and we often blame ourselves which destroys confidence and self-esteem.  NOTE: confidence and self-esteem are crucial for performers.

Fear

Being rejected over and over again makes us fearful to try again.  We turn inward and assume we got rejected because of some flaw in ourselves, which of course is impossible to identify because we rarely receive feedback (if at all) on our submissions/auditions.  This fear makes it difficult to submit or audition again, because certainly those flaws still exist since they are unidentified and uncorrected.

To reiterate:

What I am talking about here is the rejection a performer feels when they are not selected for a role.  The ideas I am presenting below are not intended as any type of treatment: I am not a therapist or even a doctor (although I could play one on TV).  What I am presenting below is a suggestion of a different way to look at the rejection performers feel when they are not cast.  Specifically, and only this.  If you are suffering the effects of long term, ongoing rejection, please seek medical help!

Selection versus rejection…

It may be subtle, but there is a difference between being rejected and not being selected.  If we look at the casting process as a process of selection, and not one of rejecting all but the best submission, we may avoid some of the negative consequences.  There are so many variables in the casting process that have nothing to do with you or your performance.  We have no way of knowing WHY we were not selected, so there is no real reason to immediately assume it was some flaw in what you presented.

Getting the role is rare!

Not JUST for you, for EVERYone!  Looking at it just by the numbers alone, you can see why my friend Michael Kostroff teaches actors that “You’re not getting the f*&%#ing job!”  in his AuditionPsych 101 class.  For a given role, depending on some variables, you can assume at least 100 people are submitting.  Out of those hundred maybe 20-40 will be asked to audition and then only 3-5 get forwarded to production for casting.  Of course, only ONE will be selected.  If you’re a bookie, you can easily see your odds of “winning” the role are slim.

Process…

We need to change our focus in the casting process.  We are not trying to get a job.  As Bryan Cranston (Walter White in Breaking Bad) says:

(From his book A Life in Parts)

“Early in my career, I was always hustling. Doing commercials, guest-starring, auditioning like crazy. I was making a decent living…but I felt I was stuck in junior varsity. I wondered if I had plateaued. Then, Breck Costin [his mentor] suggested I focus on process rather than outcome.

I wasn’t going to the audition to get anything: a job or money or validation. I wasn’t going to compete.

I was going to give something.

I wasn’t there to get a job. I was there to do a job. I was there to give a performance. If I attached to the outcome, I was setting myself up to expect, and thus to fail. My job was to be compelling. Take some chances. Enjoy the process.

Once I made the switch, I had power in any room I walked into, which meant I could relax. I was free.”

The menu…

I prefer to look at submissions/auditions as menu items and samples.  When you go to your favorite restaurant, do they have more than one thing on the menu?  When you select chicken instead of beef or pork does that mean you discard as useless or unsatisfactory – or even think of vomiting – beef and pork?  Maybe, but not typically. It simply means chicken fit what you were looking for at this meal. We need to see ourselves, and our performance, as just another item on the menu.

Samples

Sometimes, we aren’t sure which meal is the right one, so we ask for a sample.  We see these many times at the mall food court, or when wandering around BJ’s or Costco on a Saturday morning.  Your audition is the sample to help them choose.  Being asked to submit an audition is ALREADY a win, because they think you may be right for the role but need a sample to make a final decision.

A new perspective

Since we know the odds of getting cast are low no matter how talented we are and recognize that our submissions and auditions are there to give the casting team choices, then we can start to look at the process differently. When we are not cast, we are not being rejected; instead, someone else just got selected (and sometimes we get selected too…don’t forget!).

What can you GIVE…

If you focus on what you can give during the audition instead of focusing on the outcome, you are free to be as creative as you are capable of.  You are not going into an audition to GET a job, you are going in to GIVE a performance.  It may be (is likely to be!) the only chance you have to play this role, and if you do not attach the result (getting cast) to your performance, then you are free to give your best and then walk away.

Irony…

The irony here is this:  If you understand your job (presenting a menu item), the odds for ANY actor to get cast in a particular role (they’re low no matter how talented you are) and you don’t attach your audition to the outcome (getting cast) …you can relax and just have fun in the audition.  You can be bold, give them your best interpretation of the character and then just be glad you had the chance to provide a sample of your menu item.  This outlook removes all the stress and dramatically improves your confidence.  Believe it or not, those two things actually make you MORE likely to book the job!

Face it…

No matter what you do, chances are “You’re not getting the f&%$#ing job” anyway (just by the numbers!), so why carry around all the baggage of feeling rejected?  REJECTION:  It’s not really a part of this industry even though sometimes it can feel that way!  Relax, have fun…and eventually YOU’LL be selected!

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There’s no such thing as a free lunch

Acting, General, Voice Over, Wisdom

Well, here we are…

And I’m having to come up with my own topics again. I’m discovering that writing is easier than deciding what to write.  I’m not complaining, but when I decided to start writing a weekly blog, I thought the topics would be easy and the writing not so much.  I confess that I never (used to) enjoy writing, and yet, here I am enjoying it! What I’m not looking forward to is coming up with fresh topics each week, so if there is something you’d like me to write about, leave it in a comment below. Anyway, such is life.  Enough whining, let’s get on with it!

Interesting origin…

In doing a little research into the topic, I found that this phrase, which is common and recognizable, has its origins in the 1800’s USA when bars would offer a “free lunch” to anyone who bought a drink.  Of course, all of the food was very salty, which compelled the diners to buy more drinks.  Eventually there was a recognition that the “free lunch” had hidden costs such as driving a desire for more drinks.

But we’re not really talking about “lunch” here…

I mean, we could be, but speaking more generally it is referring to the idea that everything, even free stuff, has a cost.   And no, I’m not getting political and talking about governments giving people free stuff that other people have paid for.  For this discussion, we are talking about the cost to an individual receiving something for nothing. Bear with me, it’ll all be clear soon.

Everything has a value

If you think about it, everything we have has some value.  It may be monetary value, it may be sentimental value, social value, psychological value…the list goes on.  We start with the basis that everything has intrinsic value of some kind. The scarcer something is, the greater its value.

Opportunity cost

What we are really talking about here is this: Opportunity cost.  Resources are finite, so if you use a resource for one thing, then you don’t have it for another thing.  It’s kind of like the “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” thing. That one always baffled me; I mean… I always thought if you didn’t have your cake, there was no way you could eat it…but I digress.

Sometimes

It occurs to me that this phrase is usually, but not always, true.  In rare circumstances there actually IS such a thing as a free lunch (well, getting something for nothing anyway).  Chances are people who love you have given you food or presents or their time and expected nothing in return.  So, it is not really fair to say there is no such thing as a free lunch, but it sounds better than: There are very few instances when someone agrees to give you something without expecting anything at all in return.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth

Have you heard this one?  My stepdad had this mindset, he even told me when I left for bootcamp: “If the government wants to give you something, take it, even if you don’t want it”.  He took anything that was offered “for free” and never seemed to get ahead.  The truth s you should ALWAYS check out the gift horse’s mouth.  Ask yourself what this “gift” might be costing you.  In most cases, you’ll be able to figure out the cost if you just pay attention.

A couple examples

  • Mom offers to make your favorite dinner Friday evening since you are a freelancer, and she knows you don’t have steady income. What a sweet thing for her to do!  But what is the cost to you? TIME. Time may be the scarcest resource we have, and if you spend time with mom, you won’t have that time to do something else.  Now, spending time with mom while you still have her is also very valuable, but the point is you won’t be able to record that audition or go on that date Friday.  You have to decide whether time with mom is more valuable than whatever else you intended to do (hint: it probably is).
  • You want to go someplace for a quick vacation. You can drive or fly.  If you drive, it may take hours on the road, dealing with traffic and (depending on how far away) maybe even an overnight stay along the route.  Flying may be a lot more expensive, but far faster.  You need to decide if the cost of the airline ticket has more or less value than your time in the car.

Tradeoffs

There are tradeoffs in nearly everything in life.  We make these tradeoff decisions sometimes hundreds of times a day, usually without even thinking about them. If I was going to summarize what I’m getting at here it would be: Think about them.

What’s the catch?

It’s wise to always look at a “free lunch” situation by starting with the question: What’s the catch?  I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase often, and it forces you to look for hidden costs.  In the vast majority of situations where you may be receiving something “free” there is an expectation that you’ll give something in return.  I’ll help you move for free, but you have to feed me and buy the beer.  Or we’ll give you three nights in our beautiful resort if you’ll sit through three hours of high-pressure sales tactics for our time share program.

It’s not always money

Sometimes the catch is money, sometimes it’s time, or maybe even some emotional drain.  The “catch” may be well hidden, but you’d do well to at least find and understand the catch, so you know if it’s worth taking whatever is offered.  Sometimes the free thing is worth more to you than the hidden cost, so it is perfectly reasonable to accept…but it should be a conscious choice.

Your career

As a VO artist or actor (or both) it is imperative to look for and understand the cost of that “free” thing you are considering.  At the very least these things are likely going to cost you time, workmanship quality, money, or reputation.

Getting started

I get it, you want to do VO or start acting in order to earn extra money, not spend a bunch.  I’ve seen countless people on social media trying to get started as cheaply as possible, and I get it.  You’ll definitely have to make tradeoffs in your career in order to start generating income but be aware of the costs of doing so.  Can’t afford a professional booth and want to build a moving blanket fort to record in?  Fine, but know going in that means you’ll wind up having to record at odd hours when everyone else is asleep and spend longer editing/processing afterward.

Training and coaching

This is where I see most beginners make the mistake of not understanding the true cost of either not doing it at all or finding the absolute cheapest training you can find.  This industry requires you to know what you’re supposed to do and how to do it and do it well.  The only way to do that is through training and coaching.  Well, assuming you want other people to pay you for doing it.

Equipment

If you want to be considered a professional VO artist or actor, you just can’t avoid buying professional equipment.  You simply cannot record VO on your mobile device and get hired.  You’ll need a decent microphone, interface, and software to accomplish it.  If you are an actor, while you CAN record good video on your mobile device, without proper lighting, background, and a microphone you will struggle to land paying jobs. The cost of buying equipment on the cheap (unless you are buying good quality used equipment from a reliable person or place) is that your quality is going to suffer.  At a minimum it will require a lot more time to have a good, finished product, and at worst you won’t EVER be able to have a quality finished product.

There are a million more things

There are a multitude of “free” items that you’ll have to assess every day in this business. Make sure that when offered some free service or item you are asking “What’s the catch?” and looking for that hidden cost.  And remember: There’s no such thing as a free lunch!

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Make Goals

Acting, Encouragement, General, Voice Over, Wisdom

Continuing the series

With this week’s topic “Make Goals”.

Drum roll please!

And…here we are. This is the long awaited 38th in the series post finishing the series!  So, I suppose the heading to this ought to read: Ending the series.  At any rate, this is it, the end of the line for my subset of the 100 wisest words series.  I don’t know if you’ll miss it, but I myself will now have to start coming up with my own fresh topics each week. So, part of me will definitely miss it!

It’s kind of ironic

I didn’t plan it this way, but the irony is not lost on me.  40+ weeks ago I made a goal to write a weekly blog based on a list of “wise words” published by someone else, and here we are as I reach the goal with a post about making goals! I promise it just happened that way.

What is a goal?

The term “goals” gets batted around a lot, but before setting a goal it is important to know what it is, and what it is not.  A goal is big and time sensitive.  It is not an objective (those are the steps you take to reach the goal), a resolution or a mission.  A goal is something “out of the box” that you are trying to achieve.  You should have goals set by week, month, year, 5 years and 10 years (as an example)

Goals

OK, so let’s dive in.  Why is it so important to set goals? The short answer is; without goals you’ll never know when you’ve achieved what you set out to achieve.  As author Bill Copeland says: “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.”.  And that is just what many people do.

How does making goals help?

There are several things making a goal will accomplish.  Goals give you focus, help you stay motivated and measure progress, they help you stay motivated and ultimately help you achieve more.  Of course, just setting the goal is only the first step…you have to take action to achieve the goal once it is set.

It’s like driving

I like to compare goal setting to taking a road trip.  Before you jump in the car and head off down the road, you need to have a destination in mind.  Just driving around until you see someplace you want to stop will only waste time and money.  And with fuel at $5.00 a gallon (or more in some places) you can’t sustain that model.  No, you must have a destination selected before you even walk out the door to get in the car!

But the goal itself is just not enough

What good is it to know where you want to go without some idea of how you plan to get there?  Again, like driving, simply saying “I plan to go to Los Angeles” and then driving around aimlessly hoping eventually you’ll wind up in Los Angeles won’t work.  You have to map out the trip.  And, yeah, I know with a GPS in your car it’s easier but stick with me here.

The first step

The first step in goal setting, believe it or not, is knowing where you are NOW.  If you want to go to LA, establishing a starting point is paramount!  Following directions from Atlanta to LA doesn’t work if you are in Billings, Montana.  And yeah, I get your GPS figures that out for you but don’t get stuck on that, the whole driving thing is just an analogy.

One BIG goal, many smaller objectives

You may have heard it said that the way to eat an elephant is: One bite at a time.  This is also true with goals.  Let’s face it, big goals are not achieved in one fell swoop (now THERE’S an oldie for ya!).  Big goals are achieved one objective (bite) at a time.

Which means

Once you have decided on a BIG goal and know where you are at in relation to that goal it’s time to look for intermediate objectives.  A series of smaller “goals”, if you will, that lead to achieving that big goal.  Let’s go back to that trip from Atlanta to LA by car.  Getting to LA is your big goal, but now you have to map out your route, and since you know it is going to take several days you’re going to have to figure out where you’ll stop to rest along the way.

So…

You pick a route (a series of highways) and then decide how many hours per day you’ll drive and figure out where you’ll be along the route when you need to stop.  In those locations you’ll make sleeping arrangements…maybe family, maybe a hotel, maybe a campsite…it doesn’t matter as long as you know ahead of time so you’ll have a place to rest.

Now…

Now that big goal doesn’t seem quite as daunting.  You have smaller, objectives (intermediate goals) to achieve along the way that keep you moving toward your bigger goal. So, you don’t have to worry about LA on day one, you only have to worry about reaching your first stopping point.  You set objectives that are reasonable, measurable, and achievable.  Achieve all your objectives, and you achieve your goal!  Easy right!?

Not so fast!

What if something interferes with an objective, or you change your mind about wanting to go to LA along the way?  In our example, what happens if your transmission decides to blow out on day two?  In those cases, you need to re-evaluate and replan.  It’s as simple as deciding if LA is still your ultimate destination (it is in this story) and then set objectives anew from wherever you are at.

Periodic review/renewal

Goals are not stagnant.  It is important to periodically review your goals and decide whether they are still goals you want to achieve. The goals are yours, so it is perfectly reasonable to drop a goal and add a new one…let’s face it LIFE HAPPENS, and we need to adjust when it does.

In business

As a freelance business owner (face it, your VO and acting career is a freelance small business) it is imperative that you set goals for yourself and your business.  Without goals, you’ll never know if you’ve become “successful” (as you have defined success for yourself).  What do you want your VO or acting career to look like next week?  Next month?  Year?  Decade?  Only you can answer these questions for yourself, and I would bet there are as many right answers as there are voiceover artists and actors.

And then…

Set some objectives for yourself.  Want to become an A-list actor?  Ask yourself what steps you need to take to get there.  Will you need training?  Maybe a degree?  Just like our trip from Atlanta to LA (which is a trip many VO Artists/Actors want to take, BTW) the first step is to determine where you are in relation to that goal.  Find a coach who can evaluate your talent/ability (someone who won’t pump smoke up your…well…backside). Then, based on that honest evaluation, map out the objectives along the way to get where you want to be.  Get training, get an agent, book some student films, then a couple Indie films and finally some 5 or less roles and co-star roles.  Whatever it takes.  And then FINALLY…keep at it…keep your eyes on the next objective and routinely evaluate if your ultimate goal is still right for you.  There are many forks in the road, and you MAY want to take one!

It’s your journey

And only you can map it out.  It doesn’t matter (to anyone but you) what your goals and objectives are.  What’s important is that you HAVE them and are tracking them.  So: Make Goals!

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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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