Gifts Actors Should Give

3 Gifts Actors Should Give THEMSELVES this Holiday Season

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Tis the season for giving! Many creatives I know are so used to giving and sharing their talents with others that they often neglect someone very important– THEMSELVES! You should use your holidays as a way to recharge and energize yourself as an artist and I have always been a believer in doing a little something for yourself each holiday season. So actors… read on to learn more about just a few simple gifts actors should give YOURSELF this December.

A NEW CREATIVE FRIEND/MENTOR

Jim Rohn said one of my favourite quotes; “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” I love this thought and I think it is important to audit your top 5 people regularly, especially when you are feeling life is a little lackluster. Are you surrounding yourself with people who inspire you? Are you surrounding yourself with people who are going after their own dreams and goals and love that you are pursuing your own? Exploring and strengthening an older friendship or finding a new inspiring relationship is one of the great gifts actors should give to yourself as you finish out wacky 2020 and head into a more hopeful 2021.

AUDITION-WEAR

What you wear regularly to a potential job basically serves as a uniform. You want to make sure those clothing items are clean, pressed and help you to look your very best without having to plan a whole new outfit every single time. For this reason, it is a great practice to have several items in your closet that fit you PERFECTLY, that you can keep clean and ready to go and ONLY wear them for auditions. Not first dates. Not family dinners. Auditions only! That way, they are there on the hanger, waiting for that self-tape with the quick turn-around. No need to worry about wrinkles or pulling something together–because you have several great items always ironed and ready in your closet! During this holiday season, treat yourself to a few “audition only” clothing options to keep you stress free and looking your best for last minute opportunities. Oh and take advantage of those holiday sales and pull together a few different career looks appropriate for characters you often play!

TIME OFF

In this fast-paced industry, it is easy to feel worried that you may miss a big opportunity if you don’t stay on point and connected 100% of the time. Without taking time out for yourself, however, you won’t be able to operate as efficiently and creatively as you would have if you allowed yourself a little rest. So this holiday season, give yourself permission to take time OFF! Completely off! Tell your agent you are booking out for a few days and put an autoresponder on your email that says to call you in an emergency… and then UNPLUG! Don’t work on new sides or monologues, don’t research another headshot photographer and don’t make adjustments to your website. Take time off for YOU and to do something completely unrelated to the industry that brings you joy. Paint. Take a Hike. Bake (and eat) cookies! Have a mini home wine tasting. Just enjoy the other aspects of life for a little while. Don’t worry– there will be plenty to hustle about in January!

Covid made 2020 challenging. Plans got cancelled, our industry stood still for a bit and life was drastically changed. If there was EVER a reason to love yourself extra in a holiday season… this year’s events would be it. You are a survivor. An adaptor. A creator. You deserve the extra self love and care this month– because 2021 is craving the best of you. And you are gonna BRING IT!

Image kindly by https://unsplash.com/@kadh.

What is “IT” Factor in Actors

What is “IT” Factor in Actors?

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What is “IT” Factor in Actors?

They’ve got it.

They’re successful.

They have that “je ne sais quoi.”

The room changes when they walk in.

I can’t take my eyes off of them.

We’ve heard or even said these phrases about talented actors before… but no one quite pinpoints exactly what that feeling is.

Well I’m here to tell you— It’s Energy.

Now I don’t mean energy so much as in bouncing off the walls, 3 coffees deep type of energy. I mean internal vibrational energy made up of two primary things… CONFIDENCE and POSITIVITY.

The energy of someone who walks into an audition with training, experience and a positive self-affirming outlook is measurably different than someone who walks in with the energy of desperation for a booking. That desperation has usually eroded confidence, EVEN if the person is well trained and talented. Both desperation and lack of confidence are also indicators of a negative and self-destroying outlook– and this energy will lose you the job before you even open your mouth.

Casting Directors are experts in matching the energy of the actor, to the energy of the opportunity. They have spent thousands of hours assessing the “fit” of a person for a role and a project and they weigh everything from the ability to handle the character with craft and ease to the ability to work seamlessly with the on-set production team. These questions have always transcended look and resume to include the ENERGY of the performer.

So you need to FEEL like the right choice so you can give off the RIGHT energy in order to book the job.

Well how do you do that?

Here’s a few tips:

1. FULLY PREPARE. Do ALL of your actor homework. Get as off-book as humanly possible. Know your backstory, intentions and immerse yourself in WHO this character is.

2. BRING YOURSELF TO THE WORK. They want YOUR take, not a second hand version of what you think someone ELSE would do/ Find a way to personalize the work and bring your own sense of uniqueness to it.

3. MEDITATE that day. Get yourself in the zone. Clear your mind and center yourself so you can stay crystal clear and focused

4. VISUALIZE your success. Have fun imagining what a great audition looks and FEELS like. Rehearse the FEELINGS. This does WONDERS for your energy

5.DON’T RUSH. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive and plenty of time to perform.

6. STAY POSITIVE. Keep holding onto the joy that brought you here in the first place and stay committed to thinking positive thoughts about yourself and your abilities!

Need help training while you do the important work of building up your IT factor energy? Check out our many classes and events at www.actorsconnection.com to help build your confidence and skill level in this competitive field.

Stay up to date on what the “IT” Factor in Actors means to us, by following us on Facebook. 

Untraditional Improv Practice for this Holiday Season

Untraditional Improv Practice for this Holiday Season

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Untraditional Improv Practice for this Holiday Season

As we head into the holiday season, people may be seeing family– including those adorable younger members– the kids! I know, you’ve already graduated from the children’s table long ago and you look forward to connecting with older family members you haven’t seen— but don’t underestimate what time with the younger ones can do for you AND for your creativity. This holiday season, I challenge you to take some time away from watching the holiday specials and sipping your favorite seasonal cocktails to get down on the floor —- and work on your acting career. How? Practice your improvisation skills!

Children are naturally brilliant improv artists. When you watch a child play, you’ll see them effortlessly create characters, scenarios and voices— making them the perfect holiday scene partner! Little kids can turn anything into a character and any amount of random items into a game using a bit of imagination. Help them create powerful memories and feel great about their own creativity by participating in a little creative play yourself!

Little kids will giggle at the creative voices you are working on in your voiceover class and will love the characters you create using skills from your dialects class. They’ll enjoy your ability to build a story and have a great time as their contributions help or hinder the character of your creation. They will delight in your comedic timing (or help you fine tune it) and they will give you great insight as to what is important to them thru their own impulses and choices. You’ll both learn as you test your ability to create stories on-the-spot without the pressure of a teacher, audition or comparison to a classmate.

These cute little peeps understand LOVE thru TIME and ATTENTION. Give them both of those things this season and give yourself the gift of remembering the joy that exists in this craft for yourself.

Don’t have young family members? Explore ways you can connect with kids in your local area by volunteering at a children’s hospital or getting involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters. There are many kids out there craving a positive role model– why not help your career AND be a great human!

Looking for classes to finetune your skillset in the meantime? Check out ActorsConnection.com and learn from ANYWHERE with our large selection of online classes. Explore voiceover, improv, commercials, working on camera and much more in one of our many offerings you can explore from the comfort of your home! For a full listing of programs, visit:  www.actorsconnection.com/classes

Share your favorite moments of Untraditional Improv Practice this Holiday Season with us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ActorsConnection

Photo Kindly by Andi Chatfield.