Acting Business Boot Camp
Actors often wait for motivation. We hope a burst of inspiration will get us moving, keep us consistent, or push us to the next level. But real growth rarely starts with motivation. It starts with one small choice. In this episode of the Acting Business Bootcamp Podcast, I talk about the simple cycle that has changed my life many times over. Choice. Habit. Love. It’s a framework you can use in your acting career, your training, and your personal development to build strength and momentum in a way that actually lasts. The Moment I Realized Something Needed to Change A few years ago, I was...
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Why Slow Is the New Secret Weapon for Actors The entertainment industry glorifies hustle. Fast auditions, faster turnarounds, constant pressure to keep up. But what if slowing down is the real secret to booking more roles and building a lasting career? In this episode of the Acting Business Bootcamp Podcast, I talk about the power of slow and why being intentional, grounded, and patient can make you not only a stronger performer but also a more fulfilled human being. The Myth of Hustle: Why Speed Doesn’t Equal Success We’ve been conditioned to think that “busy” means...
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The Irony of Paid Transparency I saw a post the other day that made me stop mid-scroll. An actor—let’s call him Workshop Guy—was going viral for saying he was “tired of gatekeeping in the industry.” He wanted to break down the walls, create transparency, build community… all that good stuff. And then, at the end of his video, came the link. A $200 workshop. I laughed out loud. Because, honestly, that’s not transparency. That’s marketing. Let’s talk about why. The Anti-Gatekeeping Paywall Here’s the thing: if your solution to exclusivity is to sell tickets to your...
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The Heart Behind a Great Self-Tape I’ll be honest—I couldn’t even remember how I start my podcast today. “Hello, I hope you had a great week?” That sounds right. Anyway, welcome back to Self-Tapes That Book, Part Two. Last week we talked about tech and mindset, about creating a space that supports your confidence instead of draining it. The kind of space that makes you feel like you just slipped into your favorite outfit—the one that makes you feel unstoppable. That’s exactly how I want your self-tape setup to feel: effortless, energizing, and completely you. Four Keys...
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In this episode, I’m diving into one of the most important topics for any working actor today: self-tapes. They’re no longer an occasional request or a pandemic workaround. Self-tapes are the audition room now. That means your setup, your mindset, and your energy have to communicate professionalism and confidence before you ever say a line. After losing my voice for a few weeks (and getting some incredible help from Mandy Fisher, Rose Marie, and Taylor), I wanted to come back with something that felt useful and practical. Because here’s the truth: the actors who treat...
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Voiceover is a beautiful and rewarding field. But if you’re not protecting your energy, creativity, and finances, it will eat you alive before you ever find your footing. I’ve seen too many talented actors get burned out because they thought VO was just about having a “great voice.” It isn’t. It’s a craft and a business rolled into one. And if any of those three pillars is running on empty, your career won’t last. Energy: Your True Currency Behind every polished 30-second spot is hours of research, auditions, editing, outreach, marketing, and more. Without systems to...
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In this episode, I talk about mottos. Those little slogans or mantras that can actually keep you going in a business that is often messy, unpredictable, and overwhelming. A motto is not just decoration. It’s a tool. It helps you: Stay grounded when the industry feels chaotic. Filter choices and make better decisions. Communicate your identity and values quickly. Build momentum through small daily actions. I’ll share a quick history of mottos, what makes a good one, and a few of my favorites like: Grow through every no Truth over performance Consistent action, creative life ...
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Why Learning the “Language” Matters Actors spend years honing their craft, but many miss one critical piece: learning how to communicate in the Language of the Agents and the Casting Directors. This isn’t just about vocabulary. It’s about aligning your training, business practices, and mindset so the industry sees you as the solution—not the problem. As a casting director, I see it firsthand. Actors who know how to speak this language get representation, book roles, and build sustainable careers. Those who don’t? They’re quickly overlooked. The Three Pillars of a Successful...
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Hey there, it’s Mandy Fisher. Welcome back to the Acting Business Boot Camp Podcast. I’ve been in the voiceover world for over 20 years, and if there’s one thing I repeat over and over, it’s this: all voiceover is character work. Yes, even that five-second toothpaste ad. Even the audiobook that goes on for twelve hours. Even the one-liner in a loop group session. If I don’t believe in the character I’m creating, the audience won’t either—and you’d be surprised how quickly people can tell when something feels fake. Why Character Work Matters in VO Voiceover isn’t...
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This week’s episode is all about documentary narration. Voiceover actor Paula Tiso joins me to share her journey from sketch comedy in Los Angeles to working steadily in promos, radio imaging, true crime, and documentary series. We talk about training, the shift from “perky” reads to grounded storytelling, and what it really takes to support a story with your voice. About Paula: Paula Tiso is a veteran voiceover actor whose work spans documentary narration, true crime, television affiliates, video games, and more. She’s voiced Smithsonian Channel documentaries, Oxygen and ID...
info_outlineAn actor shared that they had turned down an opportunity because, ultimately, they felt that they didn't deserve it.
And, I think that is an incredibly painful place, especially when she realized afterward what had been done and why they had done it.
It brings up the question, how many times have I turned something down or walked away from a potential opportunity because I felt I didn't deserve it?
And that programming that we have in our, as I put it, motherboard, in our belief system is so deep within us because that is what we operate out of.
And yet, what I am trying to do in these weekly classes is to make you more conscious.
And what do I mean by more conscious?
What I mean is when you are conscious, you are operating out of what the Universe sees you as, who you truly are, as opposed to who you think you are or how you were taught to be.
So there's who you really are, how the Universe sees you in all of your glory, in all of your greatness, in all of your incredible wisdom, and then there's who you think you are, or how you were taught to behave or to act or to think. And most of the time, that is two very different things.
It's really about success and deserving success.
You deserve success.
And a wonderful affirmation that she talks about is every experience is a success.
Now, why is every experience a success? Because I learn something for it. I either gain something in terms of a win, or if I don't is an experience for me to learn.
"What does failure mean anyway?
Does it mean that something did not turn out the way you wanted it to or the way you were hoping? The law of experience is always perfect. We out-picture our inner thoughts and beliefs Perfectly. You must have left us out a step or had an inner belief that told you that you did not deserve or you felt unworthy."
What are you out-picturing, out-feeling, out-believing?
Are you thinking positively and with the Universe's thoughts behind you and the Universe's strengths and Truths with a capital T behind you, or are you operating out of "the motherboard" because somebody told you only deserved "X" amount of success?
Or you told yourself that because you are (fill in the blank), you only deserve Y.
Your beliefs can be changed from someone who feels they don't deserve to someone who very much knows it is their right to.
She says, "It is the same when I work with my computer..."
If there is a mistake, it is always me, which I find very frustrating. It means that something has not been done to comply with the laws of the computer. And what it ultimately means is that there is something for me to learn.
If you think of the Universe that same way, that is really powerful.
Because there are laws of the Universe.
My job is to get myself in line with them, but I can always ask for help in doing that.
I can invite the Universe into making this podcast, guiding me to think more positively, guiding me to get on my own side so that I feel I am deserving of that success.
And it takes attempts at this.
I never did this perfectly.
I have been doing this work for 28 years. And guess what? I've never done it perfectly, but I've always aimed in that direction.
When a plane is on autopilot, It's only on course 10 percent of the time. The 90 percent it's trying to find its course.
In my learning to be deserving of success, I've probably only been on course about 10 percent of the time, but ultimately, I have headed to a much more happy and successful life.
Thomas Jefferson said, "The only time we ever really fail is our last attempt at trying."
And the old saying that Louise Hay talks about here is, "If at first you don't succeed, try again."
And it's true. It doesn't mean to beat yourself up and try this old same way again.
It means to recognize your error and try another way until you learn to coordinate with the Universe.
Adjust yourself to the station of the Universe if you think of a radio dial. Tune myself in to the station of deserving as opposed to the beating up of not.
Which, again, is how I may have been programmed in my past.
Louise Hay says, "I think it is our natural birthright to go from success to success all our life. If we are not doing that, either we are not in tune with our innate capabilities,
because I so strongly believe. That we are smarter and more capable and greater and wiser than we think we are. That was today's lesson in the weekly coaching group.
And if we don't believe that is true for us, We're not going to even recognize our little successes along the way, which is so important.
I think another thing that I keep talking about in my weekly coaching group is this idea of being your own best friend, of having your own back.
And that's when good stuff happens, and also when not-so-great stuff happens, but having your own back in all areas throughout the day.
When we set standards that are much too high for where we are in this moment, standards we cannot possibly achieve right now, then we're going to always fail.
But I'm a big one about teaching people how to baby step. Because with each little success, we get something that we cannot buy, and that is self-esteem, and that is confidence.
Self-esteem and confidence are magnetic. They are magnetic. People are drawn to them.
When a little child is learning to walk or talk, we encourage and praise them for every little improvement they make. Why are we not doing that with our life today?
And the child will beam, and they will eagerly try to do better. Is this the way you encourage yourself when you are learning something new, or are you beating yourself up?
Are you working for yourself instead of against yourself in your quest for success?
In your quest for knowing that you deserve all the good and the abundance the Universe has to offer you.
Or do you make it harder to learn by telling yourself you're a failure, or you're stupid, or you're not good enough in some way?
And I love this because Louise Hay goes on to talk about actors and actresses.
"Many actors and actresses feel they must be performance perfect when they arrive at the first rehearsal. I remind them that the purpose of rehearsal is to learn. Rehearsal is a period of time to make mistakes, to try new ways, and to learn.
Only by practicing over and over do we learn the new and make it a natural part of us."
When you watch an accomplished professional in any field, you are looking at innumerable hours of practice.
And it's the same thing if you hear truth in my podcast. If stuff is resonating, understand I have spent countless hours, decades, almost three decades of my life devoted to practicing this, to practicing opening myself up to Consciousness.
The Consciousness that I am a part of the Universe and it is a part of me. I deserve all the good and the abundance the Universe has to offer me. I am deserving of success.
If you say that out loud if you write that down, see what other things follow up.
It's taken me a long time to say I deserve success.
And the answer that comes right after it is yes because it used to be, "No, you don't. Are you kidding me? You're such a loser."
That is the kind of stuff that used to come up. Everything that I coach in the weekly coaching group and in these podcasts, everything that I coach, I have guinea pigged on myself.
And I share it truly because if I can help you, if I can share with you one moment less of the agony that actress I spoke about at the beginning of this podcast felt when she realized she turned down something because she felt she didn't deserve it.
But you know what? She learned something from it.
She learned that she actually does.
So that when that next opportunity comes up, she'll say, "Yes, of course, I'd love to."
This is why we refuse to try things that are new.
Because, on some level, they scare us.
I encourage you to try new ways of thinking and new ways of acting that are in line with that belief that you deserve success.
Affirmations to think of are, "divine intelligence gives me all the ideas that I need."
"Everything I touch is a success."
There is enough success to go around for everyone. It's not that if Jane gets success, I won't. It's not that if Bob gets success, I won't. There is enough success out there for all of us.
You deserve success.
"I am a magnet for success."
"Golden opportunities are everywhere for me."