Acting Business Boot Camp
Today I want to talk about something that comes up in almost every coaching session I have with actors. Fear. Not just nerves before a big audition. Not just that pit in your stomach when you hit “submit” on a self-tape. I mean the kind of fear that quietly shapes your entire career. The fear that keeps you playing small, second-guessing yourself, or holding back in moments when you need to be bold. The fear that convinces you maybe this dream isn’t really for you. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “What if I’m not good enough?” or “What if I can’t handle...
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Episode Summary: In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on something I think we all struggle with at some point—especially if you’re a voice actor, on-camera actor, or creative trying to “make it”: shiny object syndrome. You know the feeling. You see someone post about a fancy new mic, a game-changing workshop, a big booking, and suddenly you're wondering… should I be doing that too? I’ve been there. I’ve spent the money. I’ve chased the dopamine hits. And I want to talk honestly about how jealousy, comparison, and impulse spending can quietly erode your confidence,...
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How to Land Acting Work in Smaller Markets (And Why It’s More Accessible Than You Might Think) Have you ever thought that real acting work is only found in big cities? Like you have to be in New York or LA to make it? I used to think that too. But my conversation with actor Aaron Marcus on the Acting Business Boot Camp podcast really shifted that perspective. About Aaron Marcus Aaron Marcus has been a full-time actor for over 40 years, with nearly 1,300 bookings across film, TV, commercials, and more. You might have seen his scene with Tom Hanks in the film A Man Called Otto. Aaron...
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It’s Mandy Fisher here, your Voiceover actor and creative coach. Today I want to dive into something that’s been on my mind a lot: how the neuroscience of decision-making can help us as actors and creative professionals. Because we’re not just making choices in auditions or on stage. We’re making decisions every single day that shape our careers, relationships, and—let’s be real—our self-worth. How the Brain Guides Our Creative Decisions Let’s talk brain science for a sec. The prefrontal cortex? It’s the part of the brain handling complex thoughts and decisions, like our...
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When we talk about acting tools, we usually mention headshots, reels, technique, or coaching. But punctuation? Not so much. And yet, punctuation—something you probably haven’t questioned since middle school—might be interfering with your most natural, honest performances. The Problem Most Actors Don’t Know They Have You get a script. Maybe it’s commercial copy, maybe it’s a scene. And without realizing it, your brain starts obeying the punctuation. Comma. Small pause. Period. Full stop, drop your pitch. Exclamation mark. Boost the energy, punch the line. Your body responds to those...
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Feeling behind in your acting or voiceover career? You’re not alone. But you might be burning through your creative energy in the wrong ways. In this blog, we’ll unpack something that rarely gets talked about in the entertainment industry: desperate energy. What it looks like, how it sneaks into your process, and why it might be the real reason you feel stuck. What Is Desperate Energy? Desperate energy is that anxious, frantic feeling that shows up when you think you're falling behind. It's applying to projects far below your rate just to stay busy ...
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Episode Summary: Feeling stuck? You are so not alone. In this episode, I’m diving into one of the biggest roadblocks I see actors (and creatives of all kinds) face: procrastination. I’m breaking down my signature framework—the **3 P's: Perfectionism, Procrastination, and Paralysis—**and showing you how procrastination is often just fear wearing a clever disguise. I’ll help you reframe your stuck-ness, understand what’s really going on underneath the delay, and—most importantly—take messy, imperfect, courageous action. And yes, I’m also sharing how the energy behind...
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Welcome back to the Acting Business Boot Camp podcast! 🎙️ I'm Peter Pamela Rose — casting director and certified life and career coach for actors. My mission? To help you break down the business of acting into clear, actionable steps that move your career forward. In today’s episode, I dive into a powerful concept from Energy Leadership by Bruce D. Schneider — the idea that we are constantly choosing between two mindsets: the dream and the nightmare. 💭 Are you focused on the dream of your acting career? Or are you unconsciously living in the...
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Episode Summary: In today’s solo episode, Mandy Fisher gets real and raw about something that far too many actors and creatives are experiencing but not talking about enough: burnout. This isn’t your typical “self-care” pep talk. This is a grounded, honest conversation about the soul-deep exhaustion that can hit even the most passionate, high-achieving creatives. Mandy shares her personal experience with burnout — how it feels, why it happens, and what it actually means — and offers a compassionate, human-first way to start recovering. You’ll learn: Why burnout isn’t a...
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🔊 Episode Summary Hey hey! It's Mandy Fisher here, and in this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on something I see way too often in the VO world—over-relying on email templates to do your marketing. Especially the kind that demo producers hand out like candy. If you’ve ever sent one of those plug-and-play emails and heard crickets, this episode is for you. I’m digging into why that approach might be sabotaging your chances—and what to do instead. Because while templates can save you time, they can also strip away the one thing that books the job: your voice. So...
info_outlineToday, I'm going to talk about the subject of Wisdom.
Wisdom is my favorite word in the American language.
God, do I love Wisdom. The reason why I love Wisdom is because Wisdom gives me power.
And sometimes it isn't even the power of knowledge, but the power of knowing what to do.
And I don't have any script for this podcast or guidance for this podcast. I'm just talking to you about this subject because it is truly just the thing that I crave more of.
This past week I turned another year older.
I help people to adjust their thoughts and their lives to work for them instead of against them.
And, that's a really crucial thing because it's certainly something that I did a lot when I was younger.
I constantly worked against myself because I also was like, “Yeah I'm, I have so much energy and I'm so tough, I don't always have to be working for me.”
Oh, would I like to go back and talk to that 20 year old.
Becoming emotionally intelligent.
And how do I teach them to do that?
By teaching them to be emotionally self-sufficient. In order to be emotionally self-sufficient, I need to be very wise.
So I'm going to talk a bit today about a couple of prayers that I like that help me to become more wise.
And the first one is very obvious. It is the serenity prayer.
So if you're listening to this, I'm going to ask you to write the serenity prayer down.
I'm going to give it to you as I'm writing. If you need to push pause, that's fine.
So here's the serenity prayer.
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.”
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. So write that down and then skip a couple of lines.
Then I want you to write down the next line, which is “courage to change the things I can.”
And then skip a couple of lines.
And wisdom to know the difference.
And wisdom to know the difference. And I always, when I'm writing down the serenity prayer, I always circle the word wisdom.
Again, because it's something I want more of.
So let's go back to that first line, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
Underneath that, I want you to write this: I cannot change or control other people, places, things, or situations.
So grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
I cannot change other people, places, things, or situations.
I cannot change or control other people, places, things, or situations.
Let's go to the second part.
Courage to change the things I can.
I can only handle or manage, handle/ manage myself, my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions.
I can only handle/ manage myself, my thoughts, my attitudes, my actions. That's the second part.
And the third part is, wisdom to know the difference.
Wisdom underneath that, right?
Wisdom to know the difference between what I cannot control, which is other people, places, things, and situations, and what I can handle, which is myself, my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions.
So I am looking for the wisdom to be able to determine what I can do something about and what I cannot, because all anxiety, all unrest in me. It comes from my wanting to control something.
But here's the thing, that may not be my job.
That may not be my job. My job is to handle or manage myself, my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions.
And here's the thing, when you really focus on that, your life is busy.
You don't have time to control other things. You are not, you don't have time to control outcomes and other things like that.
You gotta focus on your own life. You gotta focus on your own life.
The Universe is the pilot. I am the co pilot.
And every morning I wake up and I say, good morning universe, Peter Pamela Rose reporting for duty.
And I invite the Universe into my day. And I ask the Universe.
This, and this is what comes from the 12 step programs. I pray for the knowledge of your will for me today and the power to carry that out.
I pray for the knowledge or the wisdom of your will for me today, and the power to carry that out.
But understand, I am not asking for the power to control. No. I am asking for the power to manage and handle myself, my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions.
See, my job isn't to control. My job is to handle.
My job is to manage.
That's what my job is. That's what my job is as co-pilot. So every morning I differentiate, using my wisdom that I have acquired.
I use my wisdom to differentiate. Pilot, co pilot. Peter Pamela Rose, you're a co pilot. Reporting for duty. I pray for the knowledge of your will for me and the power to carry that out.
Now the thing about wisdom is also there is a little bit of humility involved here because I need to acknowledge another little phrase I'm going to throw to you, which is, I can't.
The Universe can. Let the Universe.
I can't deal with this situation, but the Universe can. I'm going to let the Universe, but sometimes it's very difficult to admit to ourselves that there is nothing we can do.
All of these things, especially that ability to differentiate between what is my job, manage and handle, and what the Universe's job is to control or do whatever the Universe does.