Acting Business Boot Camp

Hi I’m Peter Pamela Rose, Casting Director and certified Life and Career Coach for the Entertainment Industry. My goal is to break down the business of being a working actor into a simple, actionable, step by step Roadmap.

Episode 282: Perfectionism and You! 05/01/2024

Episode 282: Perfectionism and You! Now I wouldn't say that I would sometimes call myself Peter Pamela Perfectionism Rose, but sometimes I've called myself Peter Pamela Perfectionism Rose. The biggest thing about perfectionism that I want to talk about today is that perfectionism leads to procrastination, leads to paralysis. The other thing that I think is so important about the lesson of perfectionism is to make your ears grow bigger, cunning, baffling, and powerful. I look at all the ways, in fact even this too, recording today's podcast, I was looking for the right time to do it. But do you know what the right time to do it was? Right now. Right now was the right time to do it. See, my wanting to, and this is just me but maybe you can relate, my waiting to just feel like it is perfectionism in a very cunning, baffling, and powerful way, trying to get me to not do what I most need to do to move my career forward, which is because for the past, I think over two years now, I have put out a podcast every week, even when my house flooded, even when my house flooded and that If you can start to override that perfectionism and let it go for just a moment so that you do that action now, bingo, we got some serious success about to happen. Now, I'm also going to lean into the fabulous Melody Beattie. She talks about how perfectionism is an individual process that necessitates making mistakes. So recovering from perfectionism necessitates making mistakes, struggling through problems and facing tough issues. And it's especially when I have to do things I most don't want to do that my perfectionism kicks up. Again, waiting for the right time, waiting till I feel like it, waiting until somebody else tells me I should do it. Again, cunning, baffling, and powerful, how I get in there, how perfectionism gets in there or my perfectionism gets in there to prevent me from doing the things that I most need to do in order to achieve what I most want to do. “Expecting ourselves to be perfect slows down the process to our getting to the level of success that we want to get to in whatever area of our life. It puts us in a guilty or anxious state. Expecting others to be perfect is equally destructive. It makes others feel ashamed and may interfere with their growth. Keep the focus on yourself.” It was one of the craziest things I've learned in core work. Is that once I finally got the focus on me and off of everybody else, I was like, how the heck did I even have time to focus on other people and try and control them and try and manipulate them? How did I even have the time? I'm so damn busy with me. I'm a freaking full time job. That's when the good stuff begins, when you start to really focus on you, that's when the good stuff starts. “People are human and vulnerable. We can accept and cherish that idea. Expecting others to be perfect puts us in a codependent state of moral superiority.” And sometimes I find I do that with myself. I put myself in “Peter, you're just gonna have to do it better than everybody else.” What the fuck is that? Oh, that's so much arrogance. That's so much moral superiority that I think I know what perfect is. IIt's really all about process and life being a process. “Expecting ourselves to be perfect makes us feel rigid and inferior.” And also as an actor, I find it makes us rigid. We have to do the scene the way we planned it. No, you don't. In fact, mistakes are the best things that can happen. Mess ups are the best things that can happen. I was talking with my producing partner who told me about these mistakes that happened on the set and the actor was like no, I have to redo it. And the director, he was like, ah, no, you don't. Because that was comedic genius. Remember, there is that in imperfection, some of the greatest creativity can happen as an actor. “We do not need to go to the other extreme, tolerating anything that people throw our way. We can still expect appropriate, reasonable, and responsible behavior from ourselves and from others. But most of us can afford to loosen up a bit.” Oh my gosh. I used to be so freaking tightly wound until I really gave myself permission to be me. And I am so much more fun now. I am so much more fun in my fifties than I ever was in my twenties and my thirties. “And we can stop expecting others to be perfect. We may discover they're doing much better than we thought.” And that's, that's also where that arrogance comes in. Where my thinking, what you should, what my thinking, I know what you should do for your life. Hell, I barely know what the hell I should be doing for my life. Why am I putting that on others? Another cunning, baffling, stinky way that perfectionism comes into our lives. “When we stop expecting ourselves to be perfect, we'll discover that incredible beauty in ourselves, and also the beauty in others.” Perfectionism. leads to procrastination, leads to paralysis. My assignment for you is to use your mind to govern your brain and notice the cunning, baffling, and powerful ways perfectionism comes into your acting career, and also into your life. And if I can help you with your journey to let go of your perfectionism, please let me know. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/31062323

Episode 281: Taking Risks 04/24/2024

Episode 281: Taking Risks Today I'm going to be talking about something that I have been doing recently, which I've been really taking risks. It's been real. It's been an adventure. And I've said to myself, I remember earlier this year, I was in a foreign country. I was driving in a foreign country, on the opposite side of the road. And I went in my car. It was late at night and I'd been traveling for a while and I just said to myself, You are so brave. You are so brave. And I think one of the things that I've learned in taking risks is really to encourage, be your own cheerleader while you're doing it. Because taking risks is scary. It gets us out of our comfort zone, and of course there's that, saying life begins at the end of our comfort zone, but it really is true. And I don't think you are ever too old to take risks. I did a podcast, oh gosh, I guess it was over a year ago, with my mom where, she shared with you all that she finished writing her 10th cookbook on her 80th birthday. And it's funny because now she's 85 years old and she said, I have this great idea for a cookbook. I'm going to do this. And I'm just like, man, you go, mom, you just go. So today is where I'm going to be encouraging you to take risks, not only in your acting, but also in your life. And to encourage you and to help me along in the format of this podcast, I'm going to be reading from the fabulous Melody Beattie. The Language of Letting Go And the subject, like I said, for today is taking risks. “Take risks. Take a chance. We do not have to indulge in obviously foolhardy or self defeating risks, but we can allow ourselves to take positive risks in our life. We cannot afford to keep ourselves paralyzed.” I really started to Up my game in terms of taking risks. About three years ago was right after I turned 50 and I don't know what it is about turning 50, but it's when you really realize, wow, I have less of my life in front of me, potentially, than I do in back of me. And I decided I wanted to have the best freaking second half of my life that I possibly could. And I was no longer going to let fear or judgment or other people's opinions, no matter how close they are to me, stagnate my life. I want to live. And the thing is that if you want to live, you've got to take risks. Or else, you'll be paralyzed. “We do not have to keep ourselves stymied and trapped out of fear of making a mistake or falling.” And here's the thing. One of the things about asking. Somebody says it says I don't know. Do you think they'll do it? And I go let's just ask. Because no is survivable. Hearing no is survivable. “Naturally, we will make mistakes and fail from time to time.” Again, that is survivable. “That's part of being fully alive. There are no guarantees. If we are waiting for guaranteed courses of action, we may spend much of our life waiting.” I don't want to be at the effect of my life anymore. I don't want to wait for life to happen to me. I want to happen to life. I want to be at the cause of my life. “We do not have to shame ourselves or accept shame from anyone. Anyone else, even those who are close to us for making mistakes, the goal of life is not to live it perfectly. The goal of life is to live, learn our lessons, and make our own decisions. And make overall progress.” There's a wonderful phrase that I love called progress not perfection. Progress not perfection. Remaining teachable, which I think is also just a wonderful phrase like progress, not perfection. Take a risk. Do not always wait for a guarantee. There again one of the things I've been thinking about recently is leap and the net will appear. Leap and the net will appear. Dust yourself off after a mistake and then move on to the success. Dust yourself off and move on to the success. One of the things my mom used to always say to me when I was a little girl and I would be disappointed because, I don't know, I didn't get a role in the play or something would happen, she would say to me, you dust yourself off, you pick yourself up, you dust yourself off, and you start all over again. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30961038

Episode 280: Vulnerability & the Actor 04/17/2024

Episode 280: Vulnerability & the Actor Today, I'm going to talk about something that I've been feeling recently—vulnerability. Yeah. Vulnerability. Just feeling a little tender. Now, the thing I always think about with vulnerability is vulnerability and emotional availability is two of the greatest assets that actors can have. All I have to say about that is that can also be like your cross to bear, as it were when dealing with the industry. Because as an actor, as an artist, we wear our hearts on our sleeves. But how I like to approach the business is the business. When I go in there, I do my work, my good work. What I want to do is focus on that and not focus on the business. So that's what Acting Business Boot Camp is all about. It's about getting you to focus on the right things at the right time. But today, we're going to talk a little bit more about vulnerability. I'm going to use my dear friend Melody Beattie. She says, “I've learned that the more vulnerable I allow myself to be, the more in control of myself I really am.” Now, I don't really like to think about it as in control. In a lot of my work and in my more chiropractor for the mind work, and think about that, chiropractor for the mind, really adjusting yourself so that you understand how you tick. I talk about emotional self-sufficiency, and it's not that I want to control myself. It's that I want to know that I can manage and handle myself emotionally no matter what situation comes up, including losing my voice and feeling sick and feeling unwell. Tender. Melody goes on to say, “Many of us feel that we can only show our strong, confident side. We believe the face we have to show to the world should always be one of politeness, perfection, calm, strength, and control.” But let's take a moment and let's take a step back and think about how incredibly unrealistic that is. I received some disappointing news the other day. And I just said to myself, Okay, it's disappointing. It's all right for you to feel sad. It's all right for you not to feel a hundred percent on, especially when I am someone who is on so much. It's okay for me to show a little weakness. It's okay for me to be vulnerable. And it's okay, or I should say, it's more than okay, for me to take care of myself when I'm feeling that tenderness. One of my favorite phrases is go as slowly as you need to in order to take care of yourself. And when you're feeling vulnerable, or you're feeling tender. Go as slowly as you need to in order to take care of that vulnerability and that tenderness in that day. This too shall pass. You won't always feel so vulnerable. You won't always feel so tender. My voice will not always sound like this. In fact, in a few podcasts, I hope it'll sound better. She goes on to say, “While it is certainly good and often appropriate to be in calm controlling and strong moods, there is also another side of all of us, that part of us that feels needy, that becomes frightened, that has doubts and gets angry.” Because, hello, guess what? You're human. That part of us needs care. That part of us needs love. That part of us needs reassurance that things will be okay. And again reminding ourselves, go as slowly as you need to in order to take care of yourself. Expressing these needs makes us vulnerable, yes, and less than perfect, yes. But this side needs acceptance too. There's a wonderful phrase that says, don't go to the hardware store for lemons. When I am feeling vulnerable, needy, or frightened, there may be people who are more appropriate for me to go to than not. And the number one thing I want to do for self-care—make your ears grow bigger as I say this—is not to go to that person who is the hardware store for lemons. Because they are not going to be able to give me that comfort, that love, that reassurance that I crave right now. It may be better for me to leave it out. When in doubt with people like this, just leave it out. Get off the phone, get off the text message, nurture yourself, and reach out to someone else who will be a little more caring. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable will help us build lasting relationships. Sharing our vulnerabilities helps us feel close to people and helps others to feel close to us. It helps us grow in self-love and self-acceptance. It helps us become healing agents. And it allows us to become whole and accessible to others. Just today I finished one of my weekly adjustment classes. And a few people were just vulnerable enough to share. What the response was from everyone else was, Thank you for sharing. You made me feel like I was not alone. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30857013

Episode 279: Nepotism and Grandiosity 04/10/2024

Episode 279: Nepotism and Grandiosity I'm going to be talking about something that a listener sent me, and I thought it was a really interesting idea for a podcast, which is about nepotism. I do think it is yet another one of those areas of the industry where we can get our heads in the clouds and not on our bodies, and really allows us to make excuses for not showing up and taking responsibility. As a NEPO baby, I am not one. I do not come from anyone in the industry. You have an advantage in that you have those connections. However, you also have to have the talent, consistency, and persistence to back that up. The other thing is that, oh, you're so and so's daughter or you're so and so's child. Oh. Then you must be fantastic, and then you have to live up to that, or you can never be your own person. Now, I have a friend of mine who is the child of an incredibly famous actor, but that child chooses to use a different name because they don't want to be known as so and so's child. Now, that is very admirable. I may go about it differently. I would say use every advantage you have. But this is the thing, and this is the real key point because most of you listening to this podcast are not; do not have nepotism in your family. What do you do? And this is the best advice I can give you. You need to keep your focus. So often, I have actors who look at point A and point B, and instead of just drawing a line between point A to point B, they go up, they go down, they go around, they twirl around. They walk outside, they come back inside, and then maybe eventually get to point B. The question, the thing is that things like nepotism and a lot of things that I feel in the industry, try to get your focus from the three points where you need to be putting your focus, which is your acting training, your business skills and the core work, the work on you are the things that distract you from taking real responsibility for the job that you have been given to do on this Earth, because I believe the universe has given you given all of us a gift. The question is, are we going to nurture that gift and are we going to stay focused on pursuing that gift? Or are we going to allow our focus to go off into things that we cannot control again? My favorite prayer or affirmation is the serenity prayer that reminds us of this. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I cannot change other people, places, times, things, or situations, and whether my competition has nepotism or not, courage to change the things I can. I can only change myself, my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions, and keep the focus on myself, my strengths, my career, and wisdom… Wisdom, my favorite word in the American language, to know the difference, which is the difference between what I cannot control or change, which is other people, places, things, or situations, or change. Nepotism and other actors I may be competing against and what I can change, which is myself, my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions. So, that's my response to the first part of that listener's question. I'm going to read the second part to you because I think this is very interesting. Getting past the “what chance do I have?” misconception, ever having the opportunity to compete with a nepotism child. Again, what I would say about that is your job when you go into an audition is to focus on the work. It is not to focus on who your competition is. I joke about how I used to go into an audition room, and I'd sit in the audition room and basically pick the actor who I thought was going to get the job. That is so working against ourselves instead of for ourselves. What I think is so crucial here is that when you go into audition, that your focus is again on that courage to change the things you can, which is really, truly freeing. Focusing in on your work as the actor and living the life of that character in that space and time, whether that be in a self tape or be in the room. The listener goes on to say, my own personal Cher story. I consider myself a Nepo baby to an extent. I was raised in a theatrical household with family members who made their living in the arts and entertainment. When I was a child, they would say things to me that made it almost impossible to understand. And trust me, we were nowhere near the Barrymore status. If anything, that caused far more damage. And then validation. It is something I have struggled with on and off. I could elaborate so much more, but I think you get the idea. So grandiosity, let's just talk about that word. I have also experienced grandiosity in my life, whether observing it in other people or, sadly, myself carrying it out. Oh, what dress are you wearing? Oh, it's a Valentino. When, actually, maybe it was bought at Target. Oh, we're a grand theater family. It's just a small theater town in Connecticut or somewhere, but we are the family known as the theatrical family. Where has grandiosity played a part in your life? Do you have family members who exaggerate? Do you have friends who tend to exaggerate? A partner who tends to exaggerate? The question is, what is wrong with the truth? What is wrong with the truth? We don't always have to sell ourselves. We can just be. And especially as actors, I find that grandiosity is about us trying to prove to an agent, a manager, a casting director, a writer, a producer, or a director that we are “so much better than we actually are.” But here's the thing. How you actually are is enough. I am enough. I always have been, and I always will be. And that is what I also want you to notice. Use your mind to govern your brain to notice. Am I trying to be more when just being me may be enough? I will also give you one final lesson on this, which is about from the casting director's point of view. You don't have to prove to me that you are good. You just need to do your job and know that you are good at doing that job. And that will make me want to bring you in for auditions, and that will make me want to hire you. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30757453

Episode 278: Interview with Casting Director Angela Mickey 04/03/2024

Episode 278: Interview with Casting Director Angela Mickey About Angela Mickey: Angela Mickey is the Managing Director of Casting at Liz Lewis Casting Partners, and has been working as a Casting Director for 24 years. Angela works across the board on commercial, voice-over, film, TV, and theater projects, with a concentration on comedy, real people, and theatrical casting. She enjoys working with both veteran and up-and-coming creatives, developing the best, unique plan for each project, and working as a partner to the producing process. Recent on-camera commercial projects: Spectrum, UberEats, DCU, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Tillamook, Door Dash, Woodbridge, NJ Lottery, Marriott. Recent real people projects: New York Presbyterian, Aleve, NorthAmerican Bancard, Redemption Whiskey, Chevy, Wells Fargo, JC Penney, as well as a variety of editorial projects for Condé Nast. Recent animation/podcast vo projects: Dee and Friends in Oz (Netflix), SuperKitties (Disney Jr), Get Rolling with Otis (Apple TV +), The Snow Globe (in conjunction with Chik-Fil-A), This Job is History (Wondery), Killer Questions with Daryn Carp (ID). Recent film projects include "Martyr of Gowanus", Lifetime's "12 Days of Christmas Eve", "The Legend of Lake Ronkonkoma: The Lady of the Lake", Filipino movie musical "The Girl Who Left Home", and Hallmark's "Where Are You Christmas" and "Mystic Christmas." Angela's got a treasure trove of tips, secrets, and stories that are pure gold for anyone in the acting game, whether you're just starting out or you've been around the block a few times. Here's the lowdown on what we covered: What You Need to Know: Reading Instructions is Key: Angela talks about how something as simple as sending the wrong file type can throw a wrench in your audition. She's all about paying attention to the details. Make sure you know what they're asking for and nail it. Ace Your Online Auditions: With auditions going digital, Angela shares the scoop on making sure your setup is on point. Good internet, good lighting, and a space where you can do your thing without distractions are your best friends here. Bring Your Flavor to the Role: Angela's not looking for robots. She wants to see what you bring to the character. It's all about showing up with your take on the role and being ready to collaborate to make something awesome. Self-Care for the Win: One of the big themes Angela hits on is looking after yourself. Acting's a marathon, not a sprint, and giving yourself permission to take breaks and live life outside the acting bubble is crucial. Top Quotes from the episode: "Making me work harder to fix your audition tape? Yeah, that's gonna make me think twice about calling you back." "Don't just show up expecting to be directed. Bring your own magic to the role. That's what gets noticed." "Worried about your online audition setup? Just do your best to keep things simple and stress-free. It's about what you do, not where you do it." "The industry isn't going anywhere. Taking a break for a bit of self-care or to just breathe is totally fine. You do you." /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30652958

Episode 277: Are You Stuck? 03/27/2024

Episode 277: Are You Stuck? So, this week, I've received numerous emails from actors who have told me that they feel stuck. That's why I was like, if they're feeling it, maybe I should do a podcast about feeling stuck. So we're going to get to that. Being stuck. I think being stuck has a lot to do, at least for me, about timing. Generally, it always comes down to timing—not my timing; it's the Universe's timing. And then that sometimes just doesn't work. If I'm not in the greatest place, that frustrates me even more because I'm like, “Why not now?” “Why not now? What the fuck is going on?” And then I think I'll go great guns and put a ton of stuff out there, and then it'll be like this. Yeah, you get it. It's silence, right? Or things just aren't moving as fast as I would like. And ultimately, being stuck has to do with timing. It's just where you are right now. And if you are in the entertainment industry—which, chances are, if you're listening to this podcast—you know that we are going through one heck of a correction right now. But this is the truth, and I don't think anyone is really talking about it. But the truth is, the Universal Truth is this, too, shall pass. This, too, shall pass. The trick, and I really believe the difference between working actors and non-working actors, is what you will do with this time when things may not be as fast as you would like. Things are happening, but they are not happening at the rate that we were expecting. The other thing that I will say is I really want to fully recognize and validate this feeling because I've certainly been having it. We had COVID. The world stopped. My career stopped. Then we got all very busy. And then we had the strikes. First, we had the writer's strike. Then we had the actor's strike. And that went on for months. And now, that's all over with. Again, my career stopped. Nothing happened. And then, we had what we're going through in 2024. These first three months, where we're what the hell is going on. This is just, again, not what we were expecting. And then we hear rumors of the IATSE strike, and that's the reason: yes, the industry is contracting, but also, there's this threat of the IATSE strike, and, oh, wait a minute, their contract isn't up until July 31st. It's this feeling of stuck, and I feel like we're all in a collective stuck, and I just want to say, ah, yes, I'm so freaking frustrated by the whole thing. And when I feel this way. It is because things are out of my control. It's other people, places, things, and situations. And when it's another person, place, thing, or situation, I can't do anything about it. What can I do about it? I can change my life, my attitudes, my thoughts, and my actions. That's where my power is. I can also consider what I can do to take care of myself spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. During what has been a very tumultuous four years of the industry since, quite frankly, 2020. When I say tumultuous, I also mean good because a lot of good happened between 2021 and 2023. We had two busy years. But let's talk about timing, and let's talk about getting unstuck, and there's this wonderful reading. The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie. “There are times when we simply do not know what to do.” That's when you're stuck, right? “Or even where to go or what to do next. Sometimes these periods are brief, sometimes lingering.” And what I just have to say, what I feel as an industry, or certainly, yeah, as an industry, is it was like, nothing. Obviously, the world stopped with COVID-19, then it was feast. And now it's, I don't want to say it's famine, but it certainly isn't abundant right now. “We can get through these times. We can rely on our disciplines of taking care of ourselves.” We can cope by using our faith in the universe. Other people, good friends, and resources. And the resources are, for example, this book. And the resources are coaching. Just getting that extra little bit of hope and help. “Accept uncertainty. We do not always have to know what to do or where to go next. We do not always have to be clear. We do not always have to have necessarily a direction, but I certainly will say it helps.” “Refusing to accept the inaction limbo makes things worse.” I also just want to point out what I was talking about earlier, which is not accepting that we cannot do anything about other people, places, things, or situations. When we still don't accept that, things do get worse. Again, where we can do something, what we can manage is our own lives, our own attitudes, our own thoughts, and our own actions. It's okay to temporarily be without direction. In this moment, that is okay. Say, I don't know, and be comfortable with that. We do not have to try to force wisdom, knowledge, or clarity where there is none. While waiting for that direction, we do not have to put our life on hold. We can let go of anxiety and enjoy life.” Another big thing I talk about in my private coaching is letting go of anxiety or learning emotional intelligence by becoming emotionally self-sufficient. “We can enjoy the love and the beauty in our lives. We can do something fun. We can accomplish small tasks, and this is crucial. They may not have anything to do with solving the problem or even finding direction, but this is what we can do in the interim. Clarity will come. The next step will present itself. Indecision, inactivity, and lack of direction won't last forever. And like I said, this too shall pass. But this is the whole thing. We don't have to suffer. We don't have to suffer. And if I can help you to get through this stuck, weird period, please let me know. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30557793

Episode 276: Musical Theatre with David Cady 03/20/2024

Episode 276: Musical Theatre with David Cady About David Cady: DAVID CADY is currently a professor of commercial and musical theatre performance at AMDA, NYU, and Pace University. Prior, he was a casting director for Donna DeSeta Casting for close to 30 years. In addition to countless commercials, his casting credits include the original Dirty Dancing, Disney's Enchanted, Michael John LaChiusa's The Petrified Prince for the Public Theater, and the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman's Whistle Down the Wind, directed by Harold Prince. He was an original cast member of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along, and can be seen in Lonny Price's film about the experience, The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened. In an enlightening discussion filled with actionable advice and heartfelt stories, David Cady, a veteran of musical theatre, shares his extensive knowledge and passion for the art. This episode is a treasure trove for aspiring and established performers alike, offering guidance on auditions, the importance of self-awareness, and the intrinsic value of kindness and professionalism in the theatre world. Key Takeaways: Mastering Auditions: David discusses the crucial approach to auditions, emphasizing the importance of viewing oneself as a collaborator rather than just a hopeful applicant. The mindset should be about showcasing how you are the answer to a casting call, equipped with meticulously selected material that plays to your current strengths. The Right Material: The selection of audition pieces is paramount. David advises against reaching for material that's beyond one's current range, instead advocating for focusing on pieces that showcase one's abilities best. This includes having self-taped auditions with tracks designed in your key and reflecting your unique voice. Technical Savvy: The conversation turns to the technical aspects of modern auditions, highlighting the need for performers to become adept at using software like GarageBand and iMovie for editing self-tapes. This technical skill set is becoming increasingly crucial in a digital-first auditioning world. Confidence and Growth: Drawing from his own experiences, David talks about the evolution of confidence through the repeated cycle of auditioning, failing, and learning. He stresses that a failure is not a setback but an opportunity for growth. Building and Maintaining Relationships: One of the episode's most poignant messages is the importance of kindness, professionalism, and building lasting relationships in the industry. David shares personal anecdotes to underscore how your behavior and interaction with everyone, from the casting director to the monitor, can significantly impact your career. A Career for Life: The discussion concludes on a reflective note, with David reminding listeners that a career in musical theatre is a lifelong journey. The importance of cherishing and working with your current capabilities, continually learning, and building a reputation of kindness and professionalism cannot be overstated. Special Moments: David shares inspiring stories from his career, including his auditions and the lessons learned along the way. A candid discussion about the mental and emotional aspects of performing, emphasizing self-love and the journey towards finding and owning your voice. For More Information: To explore working with David Cady on your musical theatre auditions, click on the link in the show notes. Learn more about Acting Business Bootcamp and how it can advance your career by also checking the show notes. This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about musical theatre, offering insights and advice that span the breadth of a performer's journey from auditions to professional growth and personal fulfillment. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30449248

Episode 275: New Beginnings of Spring 03/13/2024

Episode 275: New Beginnings of Spring I don't know about you, 2024 is not exactly what I expected it would be in this industry. And, I'm after the strikes and, after everything we went through last year, seriously? This is it? Now, of course, there are reasons for this. There's the potential IATSE strike and the industry contraction. But the problem is that I don't know about you, but I'm left with feelings. And I thought that, since we just moved our clocks, I thought I would make this episode about spring and new beginnings. In fact, I had friends over for dinner the other night, and my dear friend brought me this beautiful plant. It had hyacinths and tulips. Of course, she knows I'm a Dutch girl. I love tulips. You can't go wrong with tulips and daffodils. And every time I look at it, it just makes me smile and it makes me feel good because spring is a time of renewal. So today I'm going to be talking about new beginnings and renewal. And one of those things that I need to renew is the way I look at things and resentments. Expectations are premeditated resentments. And I guess that's what I had about the industry. I thought we'd all be running back to it in January, and it seems to be, just a simmer, hopefully into a boil later this year. So here we go. The Language of Letting Go “Resentments are the blocks that hold us back from loving ourselves and others. Resentments do not punish the other person, they punish us. They become barriers to feeling good and enjoying life. They prevent us from being in harmony with the world. Resentments. are hardened chunks of anger. They loosen and dissolve with forgiveness and letting go.” So there's a lot to unpack there. But this is the thing. It's like when I have a resentment against something else or the business at large, people, places, things, situations. What happens for me is it's I'm taking poison and I'm expecting something else to be affected by that. I'm taking the poison and expecting someone else to die or to suffer. When ultimately with resentments, what's really happening is I am the person who's suffering. And a lot of the time, and this is something I was talking about with a client the other day, is that really, the person I'm resenting and angry at is me. And that's the whole thing. I love this thing of resentments are hardened chunks of anger. That's not helping me. And it certainly doesn't help me as an artist. As an artist, I want to be movable, malleable, changeable. And resentment stops that. She goes on to say, “letting go of resentments does not mean we allow the other person to do anything to us that he or she or they want. It means we accept what happened in the past and we set boundaries for the future. We can let go of resentments and still have boundaries.” Forgiving is not forgetting. It's letting go of the hurt because the only person that the hurt is hurting is me. And we can have boundaries and we can forgive. And a lot of times, like I said a little bit earlier is that the person I need to forgive most is me. For allowing myself to be treated like that, or for actions I may have done that may have not been in my own best interest. Because I find a lot of the times I get angry at myself, it's because I did not advocate for me. I abandoned myself. Sadly, in that moment, I wasn't emotionally intelligent enough to know how to take care of myself and to be emotionally self sufficient. “We try to see the good in the person or the good that ultimately evolved from whatever incident we feel resentful about. We try and see our part. Then we put the incident to rest.” So there's this fabulous phrase, trace it, face it, erase it. I need to trace it. Then I need to face it and then I can let it go. It's also awareness. I need to become aware of the situation, accept that the situation is going on, and then I can take action. It's another couple other really important, fabulous tools. Praying for those or sending someone good thoughts for those people that we resent helps to asking the universe to take our resentments from us. A very powerful prayer that I use a lot is thank you for taking away, if it's like an anger feeling, a resentment feeling, a fear feeling, thank you for taking this away from me, whatever that feeling is, and showing me where I can be of service. Show me what you would have me do, rather than wallow in anger. “What better way to begin this new time of year than by cleaning the slate of the past and entering this new season free of resentments.” I just I just love that because again, I feel expression fumbled the ball, I feel like 2024 in this industry, it's like we fumbled the ball somewhere and everybody's still looking around, like, where is it? And I think, again, another thing to remember is, and I'm going to give you another one of my slogans, is take care of yourself first and the rest will follow. There is work to be done. There's always work to be done. This business and being an actor is a marathon. Not a sprint. It is a marathon, not a sprint. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30349888

Episode 274: Setting Your Own Course 03/06/2024

Episode 274: Setting Your Own Course So today, I'm going to be going back to the fabulous Melody Beattie in her wonderful book, The Language of Letting Go, and I'm going to be talking about setting your own course. And it seems like the world is so turbulent. I know it sounds like we're always saying that, but it does feel like the world is so turbulent. And I think when it is very important for us to keep the focus on ourselves and how we do that is by setting our own course. I'm going to read a little bit. “We are powerless over other people's expectations of us. We cannot control what others want, what they expect, or what they want us to do and be. We can control how we respond to other people's expectations.” Now, I did a podcast on when your buttons get pushed and if this is already starting to vibrate with you, resonate with you, I beg of you, listen to that podcast if you haven't already. So again, we are powerless over others, other people's expectations of us. We cannot control what others want, what they expect or what they want us to do and be. But we can control how we respond to other people's expectations. One thing for me to keep in mind about expectations is that expectations are premeditated resentments. But what happens when it's coming at you? One of my favorite tips and tools, I should say, about what other people think of me as none of my business is the following, which is the serenity prayer. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” So let's just talk about that for one second. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I cannot change other people, places, things, or situations. I can't, and when I say people, that includes their expectations. So grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I cannot change people, places, things, or situations. Courage to change the things I can. I can change myself, my attitudes, and my actions. And that can be my attitude to their expectation. And wisdom, my favorite word. Wisdom. Wisdom to know the difference. That crucial difference between what I cannot control, which is other people, places, things, situations, or people's expectations, and what I can control, which is myself, my attitudes, my actions, and including my attitudes towards other people's expectations of me. Melody Beattie goes on to say, “During the course of any day, people may make demands on our time, talents, energy, money, and emotions.” But here's the thing, we do not have to say yes to every request. As I always say, no is a complete sentence. And another thing about when no comes at me, no is survivable. We do not have to be feel guilty if we say no, and we do not have to allow the barrage of demands to control the course of our life, it's our life. And we have the right to live it the way we want to. We can set our own course. We do not have to spend our life reacting to others and the course they would prefer if we took in our life. Again, I beg of you, listen to When Your Buttons Get Pushed, that podcast episode. We can set boundaries. We can firm up limits on how far we shall go with others. We can, and this is so true, we can trust and listen to ourselves. It's so important because you learn how to be emotionally intelligent. And how do you do that by learning how to be emotionally self sufficient so that, when you make a decision, you're making the right decision for who for you, we can trust and listen to ourselves, we can set goals and direction for our life and we can place value on ourselves. If you want self-esteem, do self-esteemable acts. Buy some time. Think about what you want. Consider how responding to another's needs will affect the course of your life. “We live our own life by not letting other people, their expectations and their demands control the course of our life.” Remember, no is a complete sentence. People can have their demands and their expectations, and we can allow them to have their feelings. They can absolutely have that, but we can own our power by choosing the path that is right for us. And this is something, I help actors with this all the time, because sometimes family members aren't that supportive about our dream to become a working actor. I'm always here if you need help. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30248783

Episode 273: When Your Buttons Get Pushed 02/28/2024

Episode 273: When Your Buttons Get Pushed Let's start talking about those buttons being pushed, right? And I want to talk especially about how to help yourself. There's a little phrase that I love. It's one of my absolute favorites, which is “if you're hysterical, it's historical.” I find that when my buttons get pushed, if I'm upset about whatever it is for longer than five minutes, it's not about that thing. It's about something from my past. The other really helpful thing to note about buttons, because it's generally family members who push your buttons, is that your family knows how to push your buttons because, hello, they installed them. Your family knows how to push your buttons because they installed them. So I want To help you so that when you have that moment, when your buttons get pushed, you can start to practice this particular formula. Now I need to also say this, when my buttons get pushed, I find it's better that I go by this saying, which is “when in doubt, leave it out.” out. I also find it's best for me to remove myself from the situation so I can do that very valuable thing, which is stop and take a step back. But I want to describe the full process of what happens when our buttons get pushed. Something will be said to us and we will immediately react. Now this is important because remember our reactions are fine, but it's our second reaction that we really need to be paying attention to. There's this phrase, and I love this because I think this is so true, “we are not responsible for our first thought, but we are responsible for our second.” So again, if you can split your paper into two sides, make two columns. On the left column, I want you to write, Something happens. Then, right underneath that, I want you to write, React. And then, underneath that, a couple lines down, I want you to say to yourself, “I am not responsible for my first thought, but I am responsible for my second.” Therefore, we have the second column. That second column is that something happens. Now, that could be your mother saying to you, “Oh, you're going to wear that?” Or, “Oh, you're growing a mustache now.” It's that, okay? Could be your father, too, or your brother, or your sister, or a friend, or an acquaintance, or an agent, or a casting director. So again, on this second side of the piece of paper, the same thing, something happens. And guess what? You are going to react. Especially in the beginning. You may not be totally reprogrammed yet, but after that reaction happens, you want to tell yourself this, “stop.” And sometimes I literally say to myself, “stop it right now. Stop. Just for goodness sake, stop.” And then I literally say to myself, “take a step back,” and sometimes, while that person might be continuing to put their opinion of me on me, I literally will take a step back. Literally, a physical step back. And I always use this example, and if you've listened to this podcast a lot, you've heard me say this, is if you put your hand on your face, and you literally attach that hand onto your face, that's how it feels when somebody comes at you and they push that button right in your gut. It's like your hand is glued to your face. But this is the truth. No, it's not. And you can't remove their finger from your button. And that, again, requires you to take a step back. So if you keep your hand where it is, but you move your body back, that's what I'm talking about. Because now you can look at your hand. See, when it's right up against your face, while they have your finger in your button, as it were, you can't see anything. You just see potentially red, or hurt, or weeping. So it's important to get it out. If you are, God forbid, shot, what do they do first? They remove the bullet. That's what taking a step back means. You remove the bullet. And when you've removed the bullet, then you can observe. You have taken a step back. And you can observe what was said, and you can ask yourself if what you are about to do is healthy for you or unhealthy for you, and then you can respond. And that response is a reaction with a pause and a thought behind it. And then we have triage. We need to ask ourselves the following questions. Afterwards, later that night, the next day. I always encourage it to be within 24 hours of when the situation happened. We sit down with pen and paper and our journals and we ask ourselves how emotionally reactive was I to this situation? What was my button? Which is your interpretation of what got you so damn upset. And then ask yourself, what is really going on here? Let's be honest with ourselves. Practice rigorous honesty with yourselves so you can get better. So that you can heal this button. And then If this situation comes up again, or this comment comes up again, how will I handle it? How will I handle it? Always remembering we are never given more than we can handle but we are given more than we can control. Also remembering that what people say or do is about them, but what you hear or see is about you. Know this, and disconnect yourself from the button. So I need to make that separation. I had someone once say to me that my life was like a bowl of spaghetti and I needed to take my strands out of all of my family members, my friends, everyone around me. I had to take out my strands because I would look at my life and not know what was mine and what wasn't. It was a very valuable image for me. And then I decided to make my own sauce. And it's delicious. Because now I'm keeping the focus more on my own life. Certainly don't do it perfectly. But it's a lot easier to manage and handle my life than try and control what other people think of me. Another valuable thing about my buttons getting pushed, remember, is that no one can push a button that didn't already exist. Nobody can push a button that didn't already exist. Remember, button pushing is about me. And my doing the surgery to remove it. It is a very personal and emotional thing. And it is so wonderful for me to become aware of my buttons, accept that they exist, and then take that Valuable action to start healing and repairing them. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30143808

Episode 272: Planting the Seeds of Success 02/21/2024

Episode 272: Planting the Seeds of Success Planting seeds for success. I call this a Foundation skill, and this is a skill I believe that you can use not only for yourself but also for other friends who need support. Who needs to be planting some seeds for success for themselves as well the idea is when you “plant a seed,” you are setting out an expectation that you can do it or that your friend can do it. And more often than not, when you plant that seed of success, and you say, “Hey, you can do it. Hey, no, I can do this.” You actually do it. That's why it's so important and why this is such a brilliant and useful foundation skill. You can think of it as almost the germination of an affirmation. So in other words, you plant that seed starts to germinate, and as you feed it with positive affirmations, it begins to grow. Then, as you add those action steps that support those thoughts and, of course, that ultimate goal, that's when the success happens. When you plant a seed with yourself or with someone else, you are expressing your confidence in yourself or for that other person to come up with something. And that can be either a thought or an action that will then linger and percolate in their mind, in their consciousness. The idea of what if I could run that marathon? All of a sudden, your mind starts to percolate and build up thoughts that make you think, oh, wait a minute, maybe you could. And with that could become the possibility of you can. So could becomes can. Now, whether you or that other person are consciously thinking about it or not, a part of you, like I just said, will be working on a solution. That's why planting the seed, allowing it to germinate, and then again, letting it grow into an affirmation, which then hopefully will grow into actions, those two things will support that goal. Now, this foundation skill of planting a seed can be used in many situations. I'm going to give you an example. Remember, or someone asks you a question, and you say I don't know. I don't know. This is when you plant the seed of “what would it be like if you did know?” That already is planting a seed of maybe you do know. So you're saying you don't, but maybe you do. What would it be like if you did? It also is an incredible way of empowering yourself. It empowers yourself or your friend to come up with their solutions alone. In other words, by planting that seed, we are empowering ourselves and our friends to fix it for ourselves or themselves. Planting a seed can sound something like this. “I'm gonna ask you in a little while because I have complete faith that you'll come up with something.” Now, if you're saying this to yourself, you can write down those exact words. Say, you know what, I'm putting down my pen and my paper right now, and I'm gonna journal about it in 24 hours because I have faith that I will be able to come up with that solution. I will be able to come up with that. Another wonderful planting the seed question or empowering question is “when you figure that out, what would be different for you?” I love to ask my private clients this question. If you didn't have fear, what would your life be like? How would [00:07:00] you operate if you didn't have fear? And it's always so interesting to hear their answers. And if they say they don't know, I go, “okay I'll ask you in a few minutes because I know you're going to be able to come up with something.” See, that is how I, as a coach, plant in you, the client, the potential solution. Also, ask yourself this or your friend, “if I figured this out, what would be different for me?” Or “if you figured this out, what would be different for you?” And this is what is so incredible about this tool. It is really saying to ourselves we know what we want. We know what to do. We just need to ask ourselves the right questions. It is so incredibly empowering. It is self-empowering. It's like what I talk about in life coaching. I call myself a chiropractor for the mind is I teach you to become emotionally intelligent. And while listening to this podcast, you are becoming more emotionally intelligent. Why? Because I am teaching you to be emotionally self-sufficient. You learn emotional intelligence by learning how to become emotionally self-sufficient and teaching yourself how to plant a seed for success. It's a big step in the right direction. Because planting a seed for success helps bring out a positive result or change. It helps bring out a positive result or change. And again, it empowers you or your friend or another person to figure it out on their own. Instead of looking outside of yourself to find the answer. Because the answers are always right within. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/30043238

Episode 271: Love Yourself this Valentine's Day 02/14/2024

Episode 271: Love Yourself this Valentine's Day Today, I want to talk about self-love because it's Valentine's Day. And the thing about self-love that I have found in doing this work for almost 30 years is that self-love takes on a lot of different forms. Yes, it is ensuring that I bathe, brush my teeth, get adequate sleep, eat well, and exercise. But it's also about taking care of the things I think and the things I do. A big thing that has come up for me, mainly in the past couple of years, is that self-love is about working for myself instead of working against myself. And how often I would be like, “I love myself, and I approve of myself,” I would say that wonderful affirmation, but then when a sticky or uncomfortable situation would come up, I'd be so eager to just give my power away. Ah, giving your power away. Yeah, that is not self-love. And that is why the core work, which is that work on yourself, is so incredibly important. It's about learning that you are your own best advocate. That you are there for you, no matter the situation. That is true self-love. Another way I practice self-love is my relationship with the Universe, God, Yahweh, Bob, Joe, or whatever you want to call your higher power, or a lot of people like to call it your higher coach or your higher intelligence. I like to establish that I am a part of the universe, which is a part of me. And I also like to acknowledge that the universe is the pilot. And I am the co-pilot. There's that wonderful prayer, the serenity prayer. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can. And wisdom to know the difference.” And that's grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, which are other people, places, situations, and issues. I can't control it. That's the Universe's job. Courage to change the things I can. I can change my own thoughts, my own attitudes, and my own actions. And wisdom to know the difference. The difference between what I can do something about, Which is my thoughts, my attitudes, my actions, and what I can't do anything about, which is other people, places, things, and situations. That is also practicing self-love. When I am worried about things, when I am tied up in knots about a situation or somebody or what other people think of me, that isn't practicing self-love. And this Valentine's Day, I encourage you, and I encourage myself to love myself as much as I possibly can by doing those deep things, like taking actions that work for me and thoughts that work for me as well. I understand this is not an easy thing, but it is actually quite simple. And it also is the best way to live our lives. Because the fact of the matter is no matter where I go, I take myself with me. If I please myself, chances are other people will be more pleased. One of the things I was thinking about as an actor was if I'm worried about pleasing the director or the producer or the writer or anybody else, all of my attention is outward, but chances are, if I work on that performance, excuse me, being as good as I can possibly make it focus on the work, do it so I know I did my best. Guess what? I pleased the only person I have any control over or manageability over. Chances are, other people will be pleased as well. It's all about practicing self-love. It's all about caring for you. It's all about you making sure that you work for you and not against you. You've done it long enough; it's time to let go. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29945238

Episode 270: Interview with Emma O'Neill and Mike Tobin 02/07/2024

Episode 270: Interview with Emma O'Neill and Mike Tobin About Emma: Emma O'Neill is a multi-award-winning voice actor specializing in radio and TV commercials, TV narration, TV promo, and corporate training videos. Outside the booth, she's a fitness and wellness enthusiast, and has been a certified yoga instructor for more than 25 years. About Mike: Mike Tobin is an accomplished, Montreal-born, award-nominated voice actor, MC, and event announcer who has made his ultra-fluent bilingualism the cornerstone of his brand for more than 20 years. He also loves technology and is an avid Mac enthusiast. What it's like to be a voiceover actor in Canada. And it can be very isolating and very lonely. So when you have people that understand the business, they understand the hustle. They understand the self-doubt that can come with things during slow times, or, you know, I was talking to somebody yesterday, and it was, you know, why them and not me that you can get into these spins in your head. And when you have someone who understands all of the levels of that, it's just; it makes you feel less crazy, it makes you feel less alone, it makes you feel like, you know what, I can reach out to Mike today, I have a little bit, and with Mike and I, it's great because we work so closely together, we've kind of gotten to this place where if I'm losing my mind, he's calm, and if he's losing his mind, I'm calm, so it's like, oh, this works, this is great, thank you. The universe's wind blows at different times. Part of this comes from our leaning on using accountability groups, which is a big part of our experience. So we do have our accountability groups that we lean on, but sometimes you just need one person. Weekly accountability group: At the beginning of every session, I say, okay, what did you do from this last week to this week? And in the end, what are you going to do? And we get into that and how important that is. So, I love that you guys are talking about weekly accountability. There are the things that are there regularly. There are, of course, auditions. Audition has to play a big part in every voice actor's life. There's only a few things you're going to get. Unless you're getting direct clients, which is another part of it, which is marketing and following up and keeping on top of all the business aspects of it, it's so huge. Many people who are creative, artistic, and talented get into this industry and this business—all the things that put a voice to a microphone, but then everything else. It can be very scary and intimidating for them because, after all, it's the voiceover business. You can have clients around the world. It doesn't matter, especially now with the connectivity that we have with Source Connect and other technologies. So it comes from all over the place. I love that you said that voiceover is a global industry. I love that. It's just because there's so much possibility. What do you think is the most important thing starting in Voiceover? Coaching. I always say coaching is the most important thing. There's voiceover, and there's voice acting. And there are people who don't do commercials. They don't do video games. They don't do audiobooks. They don't do character-based work. They do e-learning and corporate and stuff like that, which is still character-based, but it's much more accessible to the average person. You're not necessarily fully fleshing out a character. There's a commercial promo TV narration, things like that; you are fully fleshing out a character, but you still need to understand the nuance. Acting is acting. Period. End of sentence. It's got nothing to do with the sound of your voice but everything to do with the connection to the story. So, you need to understand the story you are telling. Once you understand the story you're telling and who you are in that story, whether you're just the storyteller or actually participating in the story, you can do whatever aspect of voice. So I think that with that, with getting it telling the story, this is the difference between voice acting and voiceover, is that I think that with AI coming in, and it's not going to go away. We need to work with it and understand it that as a voice actor, to be able to connect with the story, that part of voice isn't going to be taken over by AI. Because a computer can't yet do that. Acting is key. Learning the craft is key. I will say that people need to have some foundations in business in general. So they need to educate themselves and train themselves on basic things. I was listening to a show on the radio recently. They were talking about how many people now entering the workforce force don't have what we call many of the soft skills that are just expected of people in business, how to write a good email, how to handle yourself on a telephone call, how to, handle yourself in a meeting, either face to face with a real person or over video conferencing. So, many of the soft skills required to have a successful business need to be there to support your craft. The craft is great. You need it. You need to train to differentiate yourself, but if you can't deal with people, sell yourself, and market yourself, you'll be a great actor but won't make any money. Talk to me about AI. What are your thoughts about AI? AI, synthetic voice, generative voice, anything that is learning. It's not going to go away. And it's something that we need to be on top of, and I watch other actors who are much more advanced in their career than I am. When this became a thing, they jumped on it immediately, created their own avatar voice, and are using it for all sorts of things. I think with any new technology; there's always the fear, right? And because, yes, anything new, especially in technology, can be used for not the greater good as we're seeing already, there are also fantastic things that can come from this. It's just like a voice actor putting, creating your own synthetic voice. You can use that for pickups and long-form narration. You can use that; you're getting on a plane on vacation, and your agent's I need this audition now. And you're like, I am sitting on the plane. You've already got your different voices put into whatever version you're using, whatever platform you're using. So, the 11 labs. For example, you can put feed corporate, your corporate voice in your radio voice in all of your different voices and create like voice one through 10. And so this particular copy, you just feed the text into the AI and it spits it back out in your voice. And you just like. Let them know this is my AI voice. It's not actually me, but at least they get their copy in my voice. They can hear the basics of how this would sound and I can do and there's been so many stories of people doing that and getting off the plane, they've booked the job. Let me ask you, because devil's advocate here, my question is aren't you afraid that they will then take your voice and then just use it and not pay you? I am a cautious skeptic when it comes to the state of AI in voiceover right now. And part of that I think stems from looking at past disruptions of industry. If we take, for example the music industry. The music industry was disrupted in a big way when file sharing started. And to, to what Emma was saying nefarious characters, even though people didn't think they were doing any harm by, sending 500 files over the internet, over Napster in the middle of the night that led to some big changes in the music industry. I would say, you don't need to look very far and headlines and things like that is that the artists still haven't really recovered. I would think I think that there's ripple effects that even go beyond You know the fact that a stream only pays zero point zero zero, whatever how many cents? And I could you know one could argue this is what possibly led to the craze of crazy concert ticket prices and things like that because artists want to make their money and that's where they can do it. To bring it back to voiceover. I think what Emma said that it's not going away, it's there. We need to make ourselves aware. We need to find a way that we can. Leverage this into our own business model. I really praise people like Nava who are doing great things for the industry and who really have our backs and are trying. But like any technological thing the industry, and the technology itself moves forward very quickly, and the legislation and all the protections and the ethics of the whole thing tends to have to catch up. And that's the concern. I agree with what you say that’s the concern is there. Is someone going to take our voice and use it without our consent? That is a big worry. But What I'm hearing is that there are technologies that are coming into play that will hopefully protect us. Are we there yet? Doesn't sound like it, but it's coming. So things are moving at light speed. So definitely a finger on the pulse. Let's keep our head up and eyes open and we'll see what happens. It's the importance of having a contract going back. This is a business. You have to have a contract with all of your clients and a contract can be as simple as an email exchange. Once it's writing, it's a contract, but AI specifically working with companies to create synthetic voice to create your own synthetic voice and allowing them to then use said voice to create content. The contract has to be rock solid and there are loads of people in this industry who are really well versed in contract that are willing to review contracts for you. So it's talking about contracts, understanding contracts, what needs to be in the contract, so that it's, this is for this job or for this series of jobs. It's not for anything else. If it changes, you must come back to me with the change. And like I was saying, there's a lot of different technologies that are coming in that it's like, you can water stamp your audio that is not audible to the human ear, no one would ever hear it, but it's, you can track it. I really hope that those technologies that are going to help protect our voice prints and things like that really come to fruition in a very robust way. You go on YouTube, for example, and you search I was watching a video on how to use this AI technology that's built into some of the photo and video editing software. And the person, the content creator says, I'm going to show you how to do this. And this is the tool that you use. And then he says look, when you do this, you'll see that it. It puts a stamp, like a watermark down at the bottom that it says it was created with this technology. Now, let me show you how to remove that watermark. Hopefully we don’t experience that kind of thing. What’s one business skill that you think is super, super important? I think one of the skills that needs to be honed for many people is the ability to search for information and to vet that information on your own to decide is this good, valid information or is it not. Because we live in an age you can learn to do anything. YouTube University, let me tell you, if your washing machine is stuck and won't turn on, there's a YouTube video that's going to tell you how to fix it. I'm saying the skill to be able to find information that you need. And decide, is this from a source that I trust, is vetted, and then to take that information and take action upon it. I think that's a really critical skill, not just in voiceover but in anything. Networking. Learning how to network and understanding that networking is about relationships. It's not about shoving your business card down someone's throat. It's not about dumping your demos into someone's inbox. It's about getting to know who you're speaking to as a person. Because people are people, at the end of the day, yeah, as a casting director, as a coach, it's a producer, it's a roster, whatever. It's an agent. It's a person. It's a person who has interests outside of the acting world, outside of voiceover. Yeah. Get to know people as people. Build your network and make it into your community. Connect with people as humans, become friends with them. And that's how you're going to build your business is by having people as friends. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29835258

Episode 269: Change Your Career Direction- Ask Empowering Questions 01/31/2024

Episode 269: Change Your Career Direction- Ask Empowering Questions Changing your career direction by asking Empowering Questions. I'm going to start with a quote from Anthony Robbins, “quality questions create a quality life.” Successful people ask better questions. And as a result, they get better answers. And this is how I work as a coach. I ask you quality questions so that you can create a quality career. Because I do believe that successful actors are asking better questions of themselves. And, as a result, are getting better roles. So, let's unpack this a bit. What are Empowering Questions? They are questions. We all know what a question is, but these are a little bit different. These are powerful. These are open-ended. Now, what that means is it's not a yes or a no. How do you feel about going to the store? Why do you want to go to the store? Those would be open ended questions. Also, Empowering Questions are clarity seeking. They are clarity seeking, so they're looking for clarity. The other thing is that they are probing. They are probing questions. In other words, they're really trying to get in there. And this is a lot of the core work I do because this is the thing, I want to know what your motives are. And if you have some sort of a thing that you constantly do, put yourself down or something like that or have anxiety. My question is what is the payoff? So, see, if I ask you what is the payoff for your anxiety, or what is your motive for becoming a successful actor, those are very much Empowering Questions that are seeking clarity. They also are, I think you'll find, challenging. They're challenging. They're not easy questions necessarily. But that's what we unpack. That's what we figure out. And think of it when, you know that phrase, you've heard it so many times, you've heard me say it a lot of times, unpack. I want you to think of a duffel bag. Okay, think of a duffel bag with a bunch of stuff in it, but you don't necessarily remember or you don't necessarily know what's in that duffel bag. So, what we need to do is let's take out every item in that duffel bag and look at it, examine it and ask it Empowering Questions. The other thing is, and this is what I think to be one of the most valuable parts of Empowering Questions, is that it's thought provoking. In other words, it makes you think. Because one of the things that I have found around actors who are stuck, or just, quite frankly, people who are stuck, is they're stuck in that same cycle of thinking, and they're not getting out, and the problem is it's almost impossible for them to get out of it because they're stuck in their own head because they're not letting anybody in to say, “Hey, what if you thought of it this way?” The other thing is that they are future directed. In other words, we're always looking to improve upon where we are at now, looking at where we are at now, but more so where we are going. And I love this about Empowering Questions. They are solution oriented. Why am I not getting auditions? Why am I not booking? In other words, they're looking for the answers to those questions so that we can get some real movement going here. They cause you to search for answers. Because this is the thing, if you keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result, that's the definition of insanity. So, what we do with Empowering Questions is that we help you to search for new possibilities so we can get new answers and new results. And this, I love this, and as an actor, we all would love this, is that they spark your imagination. Now, this is a really neat little thing about Empowering Questions. Once you start to learn how to ask yourself Empowering Questions as a human, you can start to ask them of your characters, which will spark your imagination. To open up a whole new world to your character. How exciting is that? How exciting is it that you can use the things that make your life better? Make your characters better, your acting better, your skill set better. And again, they get you to think. And in terms of an actor and asking Empowering Questions of your character, they get you to think like your character, which is one of the things, they talk about when you really understand a language, you start to dream in that language. You start to think in that foreign language. So that's what I'm talking about. So, if you think of a character almost in terms of a foreign language, imagine thinking like the character, like you would think if you were learning, I don't know, Japanese. So, you start to think in Japanese, but not think in English. How cool is that? The right questions at the right time for the right reason, in the right format to get the right response. This is what Empowering Questions are all about. Imagine having the right questions asked at the right time, asked for the right reason, asked in the right format. So, in other words, that your brain understands how to get the most out of them to get the right response. And you can think of response as being result. You can think of response as being reaction. But reaction as in the good way, because I always am talking about how I rather have a response than a reaction, but this way, I mean like a reaction of how people are reacting to you and your career. They are value seeking questions. Yes. Empowering Questions are value seeking questions. I'm going to give you just a few examples to sum up this empowering question segment. What can I do about that? You have a situation, and you ask yourself, this could be any situation in life What can I do about that? And I do, I'm a big one about starting this kind of stuff off with really simple things. Like finding a parking space. I can't find a parking space. And I have an audition in 15 minutes. Okay. What can I do about that? What are my options? What about that makes it work? So, once you have some kind of an idea what about that would make it work? What about it? would make it work. What other choices could I make? I was talking to a friend about finances and I said, this is an exercise. She's going to give you this exercise. And I love this exercise because it starts to get really silly, which also opens your brain up, which is write down a hundred ways that you could make money. It can be like the most ridiculous thing that you would never do, but write it down. Because what starts to happen is you see the possibilities. So, what other choices could I make? What's another way to look at that? Now, that's a kind of question that it's really helpful to have someone with you going back and forth on that. But what's another way to look at that? How could you reframe that? And you can think about it as refocus. How can you reframe that to help you move on? I just went to the optometrist and they were testing me out for new contact lenses and new glasses. And, they give you the, what's better? A, B, 1, 2, and you go through that and what they were doing was reframing the way I saw the, I don't know, A, C, Q, R, 7 on the board, and that's, that was it because this is the thing, it's just like blurry vision Empowering Questions are just putting different glasses in front of my eyes so I can see things differently. Just like Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” And this is what's so exciting about Empowering Questions. Again, not only as a human being, but I think you take it even further into acting. And I think that is just so exciting. What is your next step? What is your next step? Let's explore that. What is your next step? And what have you accomplished in the past? And how were you able to accomplish that task? In other words, I talk about that as being a strength story. If you go to my second episode of this podcast, episode 102, what is your strength story? I tell a story about getting over my anxiety and really learning about my anxiety and sometimes looking in the past and asking what is a situation that was similar to this one, and how did I get myself out of it? And sometimes it's not even the how; it's showing yourself that, oh, you actually got yourself out of it. So, if you got yourself out of that, you can get yourself out of this. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29724543

Episode 268: Illusions and Empowering Questions 01/24/2024

Episode 268: Illusions and Empowering Questions I'm going to talk about illusion and illusion in your acting career in two different ways. The first way is I'm going to talk about how we have the idea that an acting career will go one way, but actually, that's just an illusion, and that's just me trying to control the outcome. So when I'm doing that, it is an illusion. And I remember this actually in terms of money. I always thought if I made X amount of money a year, I would be free. Oh, I'm going to be so happy. Oh, my life will be cupcakes and bubblegum. I will have no worries. Only to find out when I made that amount of money and much more. You don't get cupcakes and bubblegum. You get more decisions, and it becomes even more stressful. And really, the only thing money buys is convenience. And if you're not making much money right now, that might be difficult to hear. But money does not buy happiness. That was an illusion that I had. Another thing that I find as a coach in the industry, and to be quite frank, even more so as a casting director, is this illusion idea that actors have about what it takes to be an actor and what it takes to be a working actor. And it's difficult to explain, but I want you to think of something you have done in your life that was difficult. Okay, you're going to do this with me right now. Think of something in your life that you did that was difficult. And then I want you to imagine someone who has never done that before coming up to you and either telling you how that experience would be for them or how they would go about doing it. And you, having known how difficult that was and how that actually gets done, is listening, quite frankly, to this bunch of bullshit. And that's sometimes what makes it difficult to be a coach, a casting director, and meeting new actors, and having to break it to them and explain it's not that way. What is incredibly joyful for me, though, is the actor who goes, “Tell me more.” “Tell me more because I want to make that illusion a reality. I want to make that illusion a reality more than anything else in the world. Say jump, and I'll ask you how high.” That's exciting. That lights me up. So that is the first way I'm talking to you about illusion. “We do not see the world as it is. We see it as we are.” This goes into that example I just gave you previously about the actor and the coach or the casting director. I want to remind you of the definition of consciousness. Now, the definition of consciousness is your awareness of who you are, as opposed to the you that you believe you are or are taught that you are. So, I think of it as my consciousness is how the Universe sees me. Because the Universe sees me as it sees itself, which is Infinite. I, on my own, in my ego world, is finite. So I can choose to believe the me that I believe I am or was taught that I am, or I can believe the consciousness and have an awareness of who I truly am so that I see the world more clearly with more reality. Now let's also talk about, because I think this has really come up for me a lot in the past couple of weeks, how this core work helps you to be a better actor. If I can see things and understand things more truthfully, with more reality, oh boy, that will help me when I start working on character. Because I'm tapping into Infinite Truth, Infinite reality, as opposed to my own finite truth, my own finite reality. Because when you're Infinite, people are attracted to that. Quantum physics proves that the world is a creation of our perceptions. So I want my perception to be as much in line with the awareness of who I truly am, as opposed to the awareness of who I think I am or how I was taught that I was. I want to see the world Infinitely. And I want my perception to be Infinite. We simply attract and then see what it is we expect to see and can actually create what we expect to happen. So that can work for us, or that can work against us. So, I want you to take a moment now just to write down this question: How do I see the world, and do I see the world in a way that works for me or against me? And then I want you to journal about that. We create our world. Through the interpretations we make. So, if we want to create a more enjoyable life experience, we can focus on finding peace, joy, and abundance. And that focus produces a more desirable perception of the world and those in it. So now we're talking, this second part, we're talking about how to create a world that is happier for us, that is more desirable for us, that makes us feel good. Dr. Wayne Dyer has this great quote, and I say this as an affirmation quite a bit: “I want to feel good. I want to feel good. I want to feel good.” Dr. Wayne Dyer also has another quote that I love, which is all about illusion: “Change the way you look at things. And the things you look at change.” And that is, again, why I want my perceptions to be as aligned with my consciousness of the awareness of who I really am. Meaning in line with the Universe. In line with Infinite thought. Remember, like energy attracts like energy. So the more positiveness I create in my life, the more positive energy I self-generate, the more I'm going to see that in my perception, in my beautifully created illusions. Our goal is to see the world through the inner eyes of Universal Truth and inspire others to do the same. Remember, capital T truth is Universal Truth. It's plants, it's nature, it's in alignment with that Truth, it's the wind. And little t truth is ego's truth. An acronym for ego is easing God out. And remember, I consider this to be the God of your understanding. God can also, a wonderful acronym for God is good orderly direction. Oh, wouldn't I love some more of that in my life, wisdom and some good, orderly direction. And again, I remind you of the definition of consciousness, which is the awareness of who you really are, as opposed to the you that you believe you are or were taught that you are. So that capital T Truth is who you really are. And that little t truth is who you think you are. So there I've given you two ideas on illusion. Illusion in your career and illusion in your life. And how you create a more beautiful in both. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29622288

Episode 267: Interview with Manager Spencer Robinson 01/17/2024

Episode 267: Interview with Manager Spencer Robinson About Spencer: Spencer Robinson is a literary and talent manager at Art/Work Entertainment who's been in the industry for over 20 years. He represents writers, actors, producers, and also a full book publishing company. Spencer’s writer clients have been on the writing staff of shows for Netflix, Amazon, Max, HBO, Comedy Central, and many more. He’s also sold clients’ features to studios as well as brought in financing for independent projects. Spencer’s actor clients have been in films with directors Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Clint Eastwood, Gore Verbinski, Jeff Nichols, and more. In the TV world, his clients have been regular cast members on shows for Netflix, HBO MAX, Amazon, Disney+, HULU, The CW, NBC, FX, Starz, Nickelodeon, EPIX, and more. Spencer’s clients have also recurred on series for Peacock, Netflix, Freeform, TNT, AMC, Showtime and many more. I'm a manager. I'm a talent and lit manager. So I manage actors, writers, producers, and I actually also represent a fully functioning publishing company for all of their IP. How the heck did you get there? It was almost by accident actually, kind of accident when I was growing up I was a musician and I'm still a musician, but I played music And I love movies and television and I knew I wanted to do one of those two things. So I went to film school for exactly one year. I grew up in Los Angeles and I went to San Francisco, stayed for one year. And I was sitting in a class where they were teaching us how a camera works. And I was like, I don't care about this at all. Don't care. I was really bored. And I realized I don't want to actually shoot things myself. I don't want to, be the person that does that. And I don't really need to know how a camera works. So I actually ended up dropping out of school. And came back to LA and I'd realized at that point too, that I left Los Angeles to work in the film industry, which was probably pretty dumb. So I came back and I had no actual real connections to the film industry, even though I grew up here. My mom's an elementary school teacher. So I asked her, I said any of the parents at the school you work at, do they do any television or film? And she goes, one of them does commercials. I said, great. Can I have her phone number? It was okay. I called and I introduced myself and I said, please, will you give me a chance as a PA? Can you give me one day? And she said, okay. And it was a 23 and a half hour day on a car commercial. And it was very long. But it was cool. It was like, I'd actually never been on a set before. So for me, it was really cool to see, crane shots and very serious people doing very serious things and craft service and all that kind of fun stuff. And I liked it. And then for the next year and a half to two years, she hired me and everything she did. So I got, a lot of commercial work, a lot of independent film work. And I did anything that I could to pay the bills at that point. I think I worked in a costuming house for a couple of weeks. I just, whatever I could possibly do. And I realized after about two years that I did not want to be on set for the rest of my life. I actually wanted to learn how Television and movies were put together. So I wanted to get into an office. And I knew that like you could be an office PA or a mailroom person. I knew that was a thing that existed. So I entered an ad in the reporter, the Hollywood Reporter back when it was still a magazine, and it was a million years ago. And it was an ad in the back that said, looking for a mailroom employee at a management company. And I was like, I don't know what that is, but I'm going to go try. And because I've been a PA for a couple of years at that point, I've been delivering packages and then on set, I was actually qualified to sort mail and deliver packages. So I got a job at a management company called MBST, which is not around anymore. But at the time, they were a cool place to work. They had Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, they managed the Beatles affairs, and they had a development deal with Disney. So it was a great company to learn at for me. Just because I got a chance to see how it all worked. And the owners had produced a bunch of movies, and they represented all these very big people in their careers. It was really cool, and I learned what management was and I delivered packages all day and I build it at people's desks and did all the things that you do when you're the bottom of the wrung. And after being there for a couple of years, one of the partners broke away and started his own company and asked me to go with him. He liked me and he said, you do a really good job. I want to put you on a desk working for two mags X and I said, great. So I worked, I got put on a desk at that company working for a talent manager and a lit manager. So I was watching somebody pitch actors all day and watching people take out scripts and do the whole thing and give notes and it was really cool. And after being at that company for about a year and a half, they started getting more into doing film distribution, which I did not care about actually like management and I wanted to stay in it. And one of the actors left that company to go to a company called Howard entertainment and refer me to his new manager and said, “Hey, if you need an assistant, this guy's good.” And I was really good. I was good at everything except for filing. I never filed anything. I had a big stack of papers. I just sat on my desk and I refused to file them, but everything else I was very good at. I read scripts and I, yeah. Was aware of what was going on and all that kind of stuff. And when I went to the interview for that job, I gave the worst interview of my life and got hired anyway. But the upside was that, this person that I went to, that I went to interview for who eventually became my mentor she represented a lot of comedians and comedic writers. And I knew all of them. I was a comedy nerd and I knew all of her clients, I knew her business really well. So she was like, Oh yeah, I'll hire you. Like you already know what I'm doing. Ask questions, sit in my office, and answer them. Yeah. And I did that every day for two years, two and a half years. I read every contract, I asked every question, I sat in her office, like at her desk next to her and watched her work and learned as much as I possibly could. And it was a great, really amazing experience that I still have today, and really great relationship. And after being there for two and a half years with her, the head of that company said to me, “Hey, I'm never going to promote you just so you know.” I was like, cool. That's really great. So I talked to Cindy and I was like, look I'm never going to get ahead here. She goes, I know she'll look, I'm probably not going to be here much longer either. So you should probably leave and we'll figure something out. And I said, okay I'm going to quit then. So I quit and I didn't really know what to do with myself at that point because I'd been, an assistant at a lot of companies. I didn't want to go start somewhere else. And I was a little bit burnt out on the idea of trying and never being able to actually get that job as a manager. So I took a break. And I joined a band and I went on the road. I joined a band that I was a fan of the band had one record out like on an independent label, but pretty quickly after the band was called the Lords of Altamont. Still around not in the band anymore, but they are still around. And pretty quickly we got a French record deal. So we started doing European tours, like three times a year, every year. And I did five years of going to Europe three times a year and then doing some shows in the U S and we would play for a couple hundred people in LA and maybe, eight or nine people in the middle of the country. And then we go to Switzerland and pay for 40,000 people. And I played with the Pixies and the Who and Depeche Mode and all these really cool bands all over Europe and made a little bit of money doing that, not a lot. So when I was back in the US, I played professional blackjack for a living to pay the bills. So if you've seen the movie 21, the MIT blackjack team movie with Kevin Spacey, I was on an offshoot of that team. At the time, we were the biggest blackjack team in the country. There was 40 of us. And the team was started by some attorneys and some people that were tired of practicing law and wanted to make some money a different way. Started driving around the country and counting cards and winning money, and they built it into this massive enterprise. And I joined, and we were, we had a million dollar bankroll for a weekend in Vegas, and we had smaller bankrolls for these little trips in the South and the Midwest, and I would go to Las Vegas for a weekend, make a bunch of money, and then I'd go on tour for six weeks and make very little money, and I'd come back and do it all again, and basically, or I'd go to Biloxi, Mississippi or, Gulfport, Mississippi or Tunica or whatever, somewhere in the South and play river boats and wear disguises and get kicked out of casinos and go next door and do it all again. And for three years I was on that team and I loved it. It was really great and exciting. And, we would mostly win, lose sometimes, but mostly win money because you're, you're playing with the edge, of course, that's how counting cards works, but you don't win every time. But it was a really cool experience. And I met a bunch of very smart people that are very good at math. And after being on the team for three years, we actually ended up folding the blackjack team, not because you weren't winning. It's because the wins weren't as big as they had been because people were getting better at catching card counters. There'd been a lot of movies that came out and television shows and books and. Everybody was talking about card counting, so they just got better at catching us. And we could still win, but the wins were getting smaller, and we no longer needed a team of that size to go in full force, because we were going into Vegas and we couldn't go back for months, because they knew us and they threw us out. I started walking into casinos and they'd be like, “Spencer, no,” before I even sat down. So it was like, oh my god! Yeah, and if you can't play, then you can't win, right? So it got to the point that we couldn't go in this big full force with, and heat up the entire state of Nevada at once. We had to pare it back. So I needed a job. And Cindy had left Howard Entertainment and started her own company. And I went back to her and I said, can I please have a job? And she goes, okay, yeah, you can come back and work for me. You can still go on tour with your band, be my assistant, and I'll get a temp when you're gone. And finally she said to me, look I wanna promote you. I want you to be a manager of my company, but you have to be here. You can't be gone half the year. So if you wanna stop touring. The job's yours. And I thought about what I wanted to do with the next, 20, 30 years of my life. And the band that I was in, I love, and I could keep doing those same tours, but I was always going to be scrounging for money when I got back. And I love music. I love playing, but I also wanted to, be in one place for a while and actually have a little bit of financial security. And I really love management. I wanted to do it already. I just got stopped at one point. So I said, okay, let's do it. And I left the band that I was in on very good terms. I'm still very friendly with the guys. I saw some of them last night, and took a job. And I said to Cindy, when I first when I first got promoted, I said, look, I want to work with writers. I love writers. I love giving notes. That's my thing. And she was like, cool, you're starting with actors. And I go, but I said, writer, she goes, I know. And the reason why she said that is because. Calling a casting director, and at that time we used to call casting directors because they were in their office. And they didn't know who I am, they didn't know my clients, and getting them to actually stop and listen to a pitch, and give auditions to this person they don't know, to actors that they didn't know yet. Cindy was like, if you can do that, you can do literally anything. And she was really right. And it took me about six months to get really good at that. And then she was like, okay, now manage whoever you want. So I've always stuck now. And I actually really, as much as I wanted to work with writers, I love working with actors too. And I didn't, I wouldn't have known that I had to not forced me to do that, which is really good. So I've always represented actors and writers. And about two and a half years ago, I took on producers and a publishing company. And I've just been doing all that ever since. And she merged with Artwork about 14 years ago, and I came along with her. And when we merged with them, they were all lit. And we had actors, writers, and comics. And we were a little more comedy focused, they were a little more drama focused. So it was a really good marriage of the two companies. And now it's great. There's four managers there. It's a boutique company, and we all work as a team for all the clients. And me and one of the other managers run the talent department. And then I have a bunch of lit clients and some producer clients. You never know where anything is going to lead you to. And another thing that I am a big one on when talking to actors we're talking to anyone is just ask. Yeah. Just freaking ask. You'll survive the no. And the funny thing about doing my job is I hear no all day for my clients. I hear, I pitch actors. No, I pitch writers. No. A thousand times. And then you get the one. Yes. And it's okay, then the last thousand knows are worth it because now someone got a great opportunity or a great audition or a great job, or someone's willing to read their script, whatever it is, that you go through a lot of nos, but. At some point they start, they stop really hurting, the nos. It's okay, another no, fine. They're wrong. I remember when I think it was the Golden Globes or I think it was golden globes or maybe the Emmys or Mike White won for White Lotus. And he was like, we went to everyone and you guys all passed on this, and pointed to the room. And I love that. Cause it's true. It's like people pass out a bunch of really good things until somebody doesn't. And they pass in giving actors auditions until somebody doesn't, and I love that you have to just keep trying. What would you say is your biggest piece of advice to actors? I think, obviously always be training in some kind, always be in some kind of class, learning to do something, always working that muscle. That's a really important piece. And this is the fun thing is be aware of the industry, watch TV, watch movies, know what's out there. If you, when you get an audition and you only have a day and a half to do it, if you've already seen the show, you've now saved yourself two hours of having to go watch that show to learn the tone. You know what I mean? It's those kind of little things. And always be off book when you're doing an audition. Make sure that your self tape stuff is in the top shade that it's ready to go at all times. Most of the actors that I know have their self tape corner set up at all times and they don't have to worry about setting it up. And it becomes a time management thing. Always have someone to read with you. All of those things that they sound like they're obvious, but all of those things together make for really great auditions. And I do think too, and I have a client of mine that is an acting client that for me is the best actor I've ever seen. He's phenomenal. He works nonstop. He's somebody that the biggest problem we have with him is that we get more offers than he can actually take in because there's not three of him, and he started doing self tapes. I started, I pulled him out of the room eight years ago from auditions because he wanted to self tape and he was always somewhere else in the world anyway. But he, what I've seen for him is he's somebody that when that tape starts, he's already 110 percent in character and he always is. And what I mean by that is. Some actors, when they're doing self tapes, you can see them waiting to speak. You can see their eyes go dead when they're not talking. You know what I mean? And it's you have to really, when we're having a conversation right now, we're both engaged with each other. And that's the way it should be when you're acting too. It's really to have, to be in it 110 percent all the time. Even when you're just reacting and you're not the one speaking. Any interesting success actor stories that you'd like to share? That client I mentioned his name is Damon Harriman. He's an Australian actor. He already had a career when I signed him, he had a great career in Australia and he was just starting to have a career here in the U.S. but he was recurring on a show on FX, which was great. And I met him and he's a phenomenal actor. And we said, look, we're coming in. We're new people coming into this company. And he was deciding if we wanted to stay there or not, because they really weren't repping actors before. And I said, “look, give me a chance.” I said, “what do you want out of your career?” And he goes, “I really want to do features. I've only done television here in the U.S. and I really want to do movies.” I said, “cool, give me six months.” And within, four months I had him in a Clint Eastwood film. And from then on, he's just been working on some ever since doing television and movies. And it's not just because of me, it's because he's so damn talented, but it was just a matter of, he needed somebody to just champion him and make sure that every casting director and producer in town knew how talented he was, and now they do. So now it's a matter of him, just doing one thing after the other in Australia and America. And like I said before, it's just the biggest problem we have is that there's not enough of him to go around. Talk to me about actors and content creation in terms of actors becoming multi hyphenates. I think it's great. I love when actors are also writers. But I also, cause I represent writers too, right? So I love when someone wants to take it on, I take writing very seriously. I think structure is really important and learning all of those things. So when somebody wants to take it on. Like actually learn it, learn how to do it, learn the proper way to write a script, learn what the structure is, learn how to do it, learn the formatting, all of those things, and do it properly. So I think it's a great idea to do, but I think you got to be smart about it. I think if you want to write a script for yourself to be in that's fine, but write a couple of other roles that are also big size roles to cast some more well known actors if you're not well known. As because we all know we have to get financing for your movie, right? And that's going to take some people like... /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29521268

Episode 266: Avoid This Mistake in Your Voiceover Career 01/10/2024

Episode 266: Avoid This Mistake in Your Voiceover Career About Mandy Fisher: Mandy Fisher is a NYC-based full-time voiceover actor with over 15 years of experience in the industry. She has worked with brands like Crayola, Disney, Peloton, Coke, Walmart, and Kohls to name a few. Her passion for voiceover and genuine love of helping people inspire her to work with actors of all stages of their career. With a theater background, she brings her training to guide copy analysis and character creation. As an industry vet of 15 years, she has witnessed the changes and understands the ebbs and flows of the business. Mandy created her own voiceover business from the ground up and has a successful and replicable model to help actors build their own successful businesses. All of this adds up to a coach who can provide audition and career advice while helping actors become the best they can be! I am a professional voiceover actor, and I've been in the industry for a little over 15 years doing lots of different things across the industry. And I wanted to share with you some things that have happened to me in my voiceover career that maybe you can learn from so that you don't make the same mistakes that I did. The number one thing I think that I wish if I could go back tomorrow, right, if, if I could start my career all over again, the number one thing I would tell myself is to not rush the learning phase. You only have one opportunity in your career to be a beginner, to be a newbie, to be fresh into the industry. You have this one golden sweet spot of time where you don't know the answers. You don't have the training. You don't have the experience. You are a fresh baby bird, and it is a little intimidating sometimes to not know, to not understand, to not have the answers and to not know how to move forward. But that sweet spot of being able to learn and grow and ask questions and figure it out is so important. And I rushed that. I was always rushing from one thing to the next. I graduated high school early, I graduated college early. I was always just trying to move on to the next thing, and I wish I would've taken more time to just breathe in these moments of learning, breathe in these moments of not knowing and, and getting the opportunity to have different perspectives. Because also when I was first starting in voiceover, there was nothing, there was literally no resource, no people teaching voiceover, definitely no people on the internet teaching, no forums, no nothing. And nothing for anybody, but especially nothing for a child. So we were scraping, trying to figure out how to make this a business. And it was very, very difficult. And now you are exposed to more information than ever. There is so much information out there, a lot of free information out there, right? I always point people to by D Bradley Baker. It is a fabulous resource. There's so much information there, but it can also be very overwhelming because there's so much information there. And while you can definitely read it over and over and immerse yourself in from the starting from zero point to checking out all of the myths, tips, and tricks and ways that you're going to be able to set up your business, it's not comprehensive enough because it's just from one person, you need to expose yourself to multiple people, to people who say things that maybe you don't agree with, to people who have only been in the business for X amount of time, for people who have been in the business for 10 times that amount of time, the new people, the older people, the vets, the people who are just breaking in. There's so many perspectives. There's so many people writing blogs, showing off TikTOK, showing their experiences in different ways because technology has evolved and the landscape of the industry has evolved. And it is so important for you to take this time to absorb all of that information. I've been doing voiceover for a really long time, for over 15 years. And guess what? I still, to this day, I will still take beginner voiceover classes. And you may be thinking, why would you waste your time? Why would you waste your money? Don't you know all of the things? Don't you have more important things to do? Hell, you're teaching voiceover. Don't you know what you're talking about, Mandy? Yes, I do. But the point is, the reason why I do that is because I need to keep my ear to the ground to understand what these teachers are teaching new actors. I want to know what the new trends are. I want to hear what an agent is going to say to new voiceover actors. I want to hear what a casting director is going to say to new voiceover actors. I want to hear what other actors are saying to new voiceover actors. I want to understand how the industry has changed from their perspective and, and adapt that, as it makes sense, to my business, to my craft, to how I am not only teaching, but how I am performing. So taking beginner voiceover classes, even if you are an established voiceover actor is a very good idea. It's going to keep you in the know. It's going to keep you relevant. It's going to keep you understanding, but it's also going to keep you in that growing phase. Like I said, doing this a long time, 15 years. You never have too much knowledge, you're never gonna say, “Oh, well, I've learned enough and I'm all done. I don't need to grow anymore. I don't need to change my business model. I don't need to do this. I don't need to do that.” That's [00:07:00] that's just not how this works. That's not how you're going to grow and scale. You need to constantly be absorbing information. And if you establish that as your foundation right out of the gate, you're never going to lose that zest and yearn for more information. If you only do a couple of classes, maybe coach with one person, it's not going to be ingrained in your creative DNA to seek out those new knowledges and seek out those new teachers and, and try new things. You might get stuck in a pattern. You might get stuck in quote unquote, traditional ways of running your business, and that is not going to help you scale. It's not going to help you adapt and evolve and change and grow. And that's what the entertainment industry is all about. learning, adapting, changing, growing, scaling, and being sustainable. So one thing that I just want to encourage you to do, even if you feel like you have reached the epitome of your knowledge is maybe take a step back. Maybe, you know, you've taken advanced commercial classes and advanced interactive. And you've taken workshops, four week workshops with casting directors, and you're about to take an amazing business voiceover program with this woman named Mandy Fisher. Maybe you're doing all of these things, right? But take a step back. Let's examine how you feel about your confidence. Let's examine how you feel about your approach to your craft, to your business, because there's two sides, right? There's your performance side and there's your business side. And the marriage between those is how you're going to keep your business sustainable and financially sensible. So I want you to take a breath in. Relax into this time where you are allowed to be in the unknown and to gather the information to ask the questions. Look, you can always ask questions, right? But at a certain point in your trajectory, it's always okay to be inexperienced, right? You're always going to have all of the bookings and all of the experience in at certain points in your career. It's okay to be inexperienced. What's not okay is to be uneducated. You have more opportunity than ever to get the education for free for paying classes. There's so many opportunities to learn. So it's okay to be inexperienced. It's not okay to be uneducated. And take it from me, from somebody who has lived those moments of rushing the eagerness to work and to book and to make the connections without having the education behind me, I got experience, but it wasn't formed in education. And that made my booking ratios plummet. I got lucky in some instances. Yes, I was in the right place at the right time. I met the right people at the right time. I sounded a certain way that someone needed at the right time. But because I didn't have all of the other tools in my arsenal to sustain that, to keep that going, to build a business behind, I ended up walking away. I knew that I couldn't keep myself afloat that way, so I ended up stepping away from voiceover for a while. And in that time I trained, I met with coaches, I took classes. I wish I would have taken more business classes because there's so much about owning your own business that I never knew. And I wish I would have had that foundation because once you decide to be a voiceover actor, you are a business owner and there's so many hats that come along with that. You're the CEO, you're the CFO, you're the head of sales, you're the head of marketing, you're also the janitor, you're all of these different things. And I just wish I would have understood that in a different way to keep my business growing instead of having to stop and start all over again. So take that with you. I sincerely hope that I will see you in my free masterclass coming up. And if you feel inclined to join a voiceover gym, I would love to work with you. If you feel inclined to join the voiceover actor road map, I would love to work with you, but my door is always open. So if I can help in any way. Please shoot me an email at [email protected]. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29420853

Episode 265: Managing New Year's Anxiety 01/03/2024

Episode 265: Managing New Year's Anxiety Managing Anxiety for the New Year. Sometimes when I have something really large looming in front of me, like an entire year, I get anxious. I think, “How am I going to do this? How am I going to handle this? This seems like too big of a thing to tackle.” And there's that wonderful phrase that says, “Anyone can eat an elephant one bite at a time.” And that's what I like to help actors with, not only helping you in the business, in the basics, because I have this theory that really the business is something that can be learned. The problem is it's taught so poorly in so many places, and I have a tried true system that really works. And once you get on that system, it just chugs along in the background. It's like it works and it chugs along so that you can focus on the two other things that I think are the most important things, which is the ability to do your job, which is acting. So to become a better actor. Possibly, more importantly, what we're talking a bit about today, which is core work, which is the work on yourself. Because the more you know how you tick, the more you'll be able to apply that to a character. So the more you become emotionally mature and the more emotional intelligence that you have, the better you'll be able to translate that into a character. For today, talking about managing New Year's anxiety, or managing anxiety with an entire year in front of you. You will never be given more than you can handle, but you will be given more than you can control. And why is that? Because control is not your business. Handling is. That's also where that phrase, “Take the action, let go of the result,” comes in. It's my job to show up and do the absolute very best I can. My job is to suit up and to show up and to be the very best I can be in every single moment. “I can handle this.” It's something I say to myself quite often, especially when faced with such a big thing in front of me. Also, asking myself the question, “when the anxiety comes up, what do I think I can't handle?” The other thing that I find, and this is just magical, is once I take responsibility for doing something in the area that I have that anxiety in, the anxiety does start to dissipate. It starts to disappear. Why? Because I've taken responsibility. There's something else about fear and anxiety that I want to point out,fear is your anecdote to success. Let me say that again. Fear is your anecdote to success. It is a bridge. If you can, slowly, methodically, quietly, stealth fully, do those things that you are frightened of, you'll start to build real confidence, a real understanding of you. And that confidence that will carry you to the success that you want in your life. It becomes the road more traveled. That when that thing that comes up that you're frightened of, you do that. It’s very important to stop, take that step back, and observe. And at the beginning of this year, I so recommend you taking that moment, sitting down and doing a lot more planning and organizing. And then, of course, doing that very difficult thing of following through. I want to be responding as much as I can to 2024 and not reacting. When I react, I go by my first thought, and my first thought generally is not healthy for me. But my second thought is, because my second thought is more of a response. And a response is a reaction with a pause and a thought behind it. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29314518

Episode 264: Goal Setting for 2024 12/27/2023

Episode 264: Goal Setting for 2024 So today, we are going to talk about goals for the first quarter of 2024. January through March 31st is the first quarter of the year. We are setting 3 to 5 goals for the first quarter of 2024. Now, the other thing is that if you do the full yearly goals, you could break that down a little bit, baby-stepping into that first quarter. But what I want you to be thinking of is the first of the year through March 31st. That's where I want your focus to be because it's a much more bite-sized piece to apply your goals to and your positive thoughts and actions towards. I want to give you some questions to think about: The first question is, with these goals that you have, where do you feel you are at in achieving them? Talk about what you've done in the past and where that has brought you. And then the next thing I want you to ask yourself is, looking at where you are at in achieving them and what you've done in the past, how has that made you feel? What are your emotions around it? If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired, you will change. Now, the reason why I asked you where are you at in achieving them and how does that make you feel because if you did write something down, "I feel like I've let myself down, I feel like I just keep procrastinating, I feel like I'm such a loser…" I want you right now to feel that pain. I want you to feel it. I want you to get uncomfortable. I want you to recognize all of those things that you just said. Why? Not because I'm some masochist. No, but because I want to get you to change. If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired, you'll change. And then I was hoping you could write this: Today is the first day of the rest of my life. There's that wonderful phrase "Do something today that yourself in year from now will thank you for." Use your mind to govern your brain. Perfectionism leads to procrastination leads to paralysis. Now, I have one more journal question for you: How do you feel when you do not do what you said you were going to do? When you have a thought, that thought leads to an emotion and then to an action. Which then goes back to reiterating that initial thought. I want you now to make three columns. I want you to put one of your goals in the first column. So you're going to put down one of your goals. And then, in the second column, I want you to write down some thoughts that support that goal. So, if my goal is to be a working actor, the thought or thoughts that you would want to write in that second column are I am a successful working actor. I go from success to success in my acting career. I love myself, and I approve of myself. So some good positive affirmations around that goal. Because your thoughts need to back up that goal. What else needs to back up that goal? Your actions. So, I want you to take a look at whatever that goal is, and I want you to think of one to three small actions that you can take towards that goal. What's your goal? What are the thoughts that support the goal? What are the baby actions that you can take towards supporting that goal? And that is the secret to success. It's your thoughts, and your actions must back up what you want. I want you to go back now and look at your goals, and I want you to put next to them, whether they are a habit goal or an achievement goal. So let's say I want to take a vacation in 2024, a two-week vacation in 2024. You need to save up for that. That's an achievement goal. But let's say you want to practice your voice five times a week for half an hour each one of those times. That is a habit goal. So take a moment and review all the goals you have written down and write down if they are habits or achievement. I want you to look at each one of your goals, and I want you to ask yourself, is it a goal that is actually achievable or attainable by the end of the quarter? Or is it a quarter/year project? It should make you just a little uncomfortable. If you babystep your goals enough so that those baby steps are something that you eagerly put yourself forward to do that help you to move in that direction, that is something that is great. Again, that is great because it builds self-esteem. It builds confidence. Now, I want you to look at your goals and I want you to ask yourself questions about them. What is my motive for making my first goal, second goal, third goal happen for me? What will I get out of making it happen? What is my motive? We do things because there is something in it for us. And it's okay to be selfish. When you get to those times when you really do not feel like doing the action step for your goal, you can remind yourself what your motive is. And that's when you can really start asking yourself. How bad do I want it? I consider that question to be the secret ingredient. I operate like this all the time because not every single day do I feel like doing things towards my goals. But when I remind myself what my motive is, I remind myself how it's going to feel when I achieve it. Ooh, baby, that lights a fire under my ass. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29237168

Episode 263: The Great Podcast Recap of 2023 12/20/2023

Episode 262: What to Get your Reps for the Holidays 12/13/2023

Episode 262: What to Get your Reps for the Holidays What do you get your reps for the holidays, especially this year? Because it is this year, the year of two strikes, after, let's see, a global pandemic, and a heck of a lot of other things going on in the world, I think we can be assured that it doesn't have to be some momentous gift. So let's say you had a Killer year, maybe in theatrical at the beginning of the year, or you had a killer print year, or a killer modeling year, or a killer commercial or voiceover year, again Wahoo! I want to hear about it because that sounds fabulous. If you did, you can be more generous in what I'm going to suggest. This year, I would go for a card. A card that says something sincere in it about how much you appreciate them sticking by you or how much you appreciate their sense of humor or something genuine. Now, that is if it is a very lean year for you. If it's not been a lean year and you really want to do a little something, I go to my old standard of Amazon gift cards and Starbucks gift cards. I know that's not that imaginative, but honestly, from the casting director's point of view, it's just a token. If you want to take it one step further, then do a little investigating. When you were there, What were they eating? Was it Chipotle? Was it Sweetgreen? Was it McDonald's? Whatever it was, they have a little thing. Maybe you know that they love VR games. If they do, then get them a gift card that's appropriate for that. If you know they love going to movies, get them a movie gift card to a movie theater near their work or their home. You can be imaginative with this. The other thing I recommend is A charity. You can say, listen, in light of this being a crappy year for a lot of people, I wanted to give a little donation to a charity of your choice. Ask them. ASPCA and Women for Women International are the two charities of Acting Business Boot Camp. We give a portion of our proceeds every month to those two charities. Broadway Cares, Equity Fights AIDS, that's always a great one for the industry. The Actors Fund is another charity that's fantastic for the industry. You can do stuff like that, too. I always feel these things are better than alcohol or cookies because then they get to choose and they get to have something that's special for them. And I also love those gifts where somebody gave it a little more thought. Do some homework on this. Think about it. What would your reps really like? And honestly, if it's just a card with something nice, that's perfect. Just take that moment. Stop and take that moment and think about what you most appreciate them. Thank you for noticing me. Thank you for seeing me, seeing my talent, and believing in me. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/29050118

Episode 261: Radio Imaging with Mandy Fisher 12/06/2023

Episode 261: Radio Imaging with Mandy Fisher About Mandy Fisher: Mandy Fisher is a NYC-based full-time voiceover actor with over 15 years of experience in the industry. She has worked with brands like Crayola, Disney, Peloton, Coke, Walmart, and Kohls to name a few. Her passion for voiceover and genuine love of helping people inspire her to work with actors of all stages of their career. With a theater background, she brings her training to guide copy analysis and character creation. As an industry vet of 15 years, she has witnessed the changes and understands the ebbs and flows of the business. Mandy created her own voiceover business from the ground up and has a successful and replicable model to help actors build their own successful businesses. All of this adds up to a coach who can provide audition and career advice while helping actors become the best they can be! The first thing is, what the hell is radio imaging? Radio imaging is when you are the voice of a radio station, not the DJ, but it's virtual branding for a radio station because they want people to when they turn on their dials to a specific radio station; they want that familiarity. They don't want it to be confusing. They want to have that brand recognition. And that is what is done through your voice. My next question is, how is one even hired for radio imaging? My first kind of foray into it was by accident. And I didn't realize I was doing radio imaging as I was doing it. I didn't realize that's what it was. I started this several years ago when I was a struggling voiceover actor trying to figure my stuff out. I was sending samples of my voice to different radio stations, like all over as many radio stations as I could look up and find on the internet. I would send them my voice and say, can I do anything for you on your radio station? Do you need anything? Is there anything I could do? And they would say, Oh yeah. And they would throw me a couple of lines, and that was radio imaging at the time; I had no idea that's what that was. But now you can still do that; by the way, you can still absolutely reach out to station managers and say, Hey, I like your radio station. I'm a big fan. I think I could fit in with your other radio imagers. So you can always absolutely reach out to a station manager, but I work with a specific manager, not an agent, a specific manager who handles my radio imaging career; that is definitely a way because he has all of these connections and has been in the business for a very long time. So, if you're really interested in forging a career in radio imaging, I would suggest trying to get a manager to do that because it's a close-knit group and tons of station managers know each other, and they've got this sort of radio world that they're in. It feels very different than other verticals of voiceover. So, if that's a passion, I would say try to get a radio imaging manager. So, let's actually talk about the difference between a manager for voiceovers and an agent for voiceovers. It's very similar to the theatrical world, where agents are in voiceover. You are almost expected to freelance with several agents in non-competing markets. I don't know of any full-time voice actors who only have one agent. And they're going to source auditions for you. They're going to help you in different verticals of voiceover, whichever kind of vertical you're interested in. A lot of people have a commercial voiceover agent. And if that agency doesn't have an interactive department, they'll find an agent who specializes in interactive or audiobooks or radio imaging or whatever, but a manager is someone who will really handle the career aspect of your voice-over world. So, very similar in theatrical where you have agents who source auditions for you and are less handholdy than, say, a manager who will craft some of the other things, help you with your pitches, help you with your demos, give you feedback, really be there to help you along your career. Interactive is all things animation, video games, toys and games, things outside of commercials, audiobooks, long-form, e-learning, or anything else. It is the umbrella of animation, video games, mobile, and that kind of world. First, is there anything you want to say more about radio imaging? Yeah, I would say, if you're interested in doing it, I wouldn't say it's necessarily hard to get into, but I would say if you don't have a lot of experience in voiceover, you should try to take like a promo class or a commercial class or improv class. Because you do need to provide a lot of variety, and usually it's short little lines that they're going to cut into what's happening on the air alongside the DJ and other people, other guests, whatever on the show and songs and what you're listening to. So they like to have a ton of variety. That variety is going to help you book with more stations because they don't want the plain, boring, or the overly kind of sticky sound that was of long ago and is no longer popular these days. But you wouldn't know if you didn't know that and taking classes like promo, commercial, and even radio imaging classes exist. Before you start pitching yourself in that area, try to get a bit more knowledge so that you are prepared and can start getting radio stations under your belt. I'm saying the same line over and over again, but it is in multiple different ways. So anything else regarding radio imaging besides the fact that we're going to have you now tell us about these VO gyms that you've been doing for acting business boot camp that people are just freaking loving that people can either attend and participate or they can audit. It's amazing for me. I love getting to work with actors. I love getting to, it's educational for me as well because I love seeing what people come up with because what I would do in copy is different than what someone else would do. So seeing that variety, getting that variety from everybody, is a gift to me. But it is so much fun. Working with actors who are just eager to work, being a part of an environment where it is safe and fun, supportive, hopefully, it's educational, and people are learning from me. It is a blast. Auditing classes, I think, is so valuable, especially if you don't know the teacher. If you don't know them sometimes taking a class and working in a class with someone you don't know can be very intimidating. I understand how this person works and their sense of humor is how they are, and you can decide then, all right I feel comfortable working with them in the future, or maybe not. I got what I got from them, and I can move on. If you see an opportunity to audit, obviously, you should participate first, in my opinion, but if you don't know the teacher, it's a great vetting tool. It usually is for less than the actual price of the class. You're combining voiceover business skills and you're combining core work big. You're like one of my biggest fans on that one. So, can we talk about how amazing you are working with someone one on one building, teaching them how to build a six-figure voiceover career? How do you do that? Building a six-figure voiceover business is not easy, and it's hard to sustain. And I've definitely had years where it hasn't been six figures. I've definitely had years where it has been that and plus and that's all great, but it's. For me to achieve that, it hasn't been about chasing the money, because if you're chasing the money, I think in any entertainment field, you're going to get burnt out. It's not a sustainable way. It's not a good way to look at your career from a holistic bird's eye point of view for the long term. Sure, money is achievable in the entertainment field, but if that's what you're doing, especially in voiceover, you'll get burnt out very quickly. You're probably going to get depressed very quickly, and all of the investments you've made to get to where you are right now will feel heavier and will make you feel heavier and it will be harder for you to climb out of that. So don't think about the money. Sometimes I get auditions that are like huge $50,000 for the job, $100,000 for the job. Of course, my heart quickens a little when I see jobs like that come through, but you have to treat every job the same way, the $250 jobs up to the $100,000 jobs, because it's not about getting the money. It is about being remembered by the casting directors and the people that you are working with. That's such a working actor mentality. It's about being remembered. It is about making choices in your audition and having the opportunity to perform for somebody. Anytime you have an opportunity to use your skills for somebody, you have this opportunity to showcase your abilities, that's a gift right there and giving that to them for them to remember you is that's your goal, baby. That is the goal, which is how you will build your business. Any other words of wisdom before we go, Mandy, that you would like to impart? Just know that voiceover is the long game. If you are in it for a career, look; if you're in it as a hobby, God bless. There's plenty of hobbyist work out there that you can go and pursue and not have. The mindset of it being part of your business. But if you're in it as a careerist, you need to think like a careerist. You need to treat it as a business, not just something fun to do but something sustaining you both creatively and financially as part of your career. Just remember, it's not about chasing that money. It's a long game, for sure. AI. AI has been around for a long time and has only recently reared its ugly head in the entertainment industry, specifically towards voiceover. I haven't read the agreement yet, so it's hard to comment on everything. But I do think I've had many a client this year, big clients. I have quote unquote lost them to AI and they said, "Sorry, we're no longer going to utilize your services. We're going to go the route of AI. And Thank you very much." Months later, this was actually like at the beginning of the year. And then they came back to me around June or July. And they said, "Hey, are you still available? Because we really don't like it. It's not for us. We tried it. It sounds okay, but we prefer working with a human being, and we prefer working with you." So I've lost them, quote-unquote, and they have come back. I think it's going to be a mixture. It's just going to be a new learning curve of how we will work alongside it, not against it. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28949548

Episode 260: Social Media with Heidi Dean 11/29/2023

Episode 260: Social Media with Heidi Dean About Heidi Dean: Heidi Dean is known as the industry’s top social media strategist for actors and the creator of Marketing4actors.com. She’s a social media writer for Backstage Magazine and a frequent speaker at film festivals, SAG-AFTRA, AEA, conferences, podcasts and universities across the country. Her clients include Emmy Award-winners, Broadway stars, series regulars, directors, producers, casting directors, voice actors and audiobook narrators. Heidi turns social media rookies into ROCKSTARS! How the heck did you get into doing social media with actors? The tweetable version is well, I really got my start in social media marketing and I was actually running social for my husband who is a Broadway and television actor and now audiobook narrator. And a lot of the things we were doing for him and promoting his album and everything, just started taking off. And of course, working actors know working actors, and I started running social for other people, for actors, producers, and casting directors. What I started to realize is that I was not just running social media for them, I was acting like them, and the people interacting with me had no idea I was this person. They had no idea. So it was enlightening to me because I realized that actually, nobody was helping actors with their social media. You had to be like an A-lister and have media training and social media training and really have someone running your social media to actually get that kind of education. And so that's when I started my blog, Marketing for Actors, now 2015. And really just talking about the mistakes I was seeing every day, as people interacted with me when they thought I was this producer, this casting director, or this big actor, and that's when the blog just took off because no one was helping. And there was a need that nobody was fulfilling unless you paid thousands of dollars every month to have someone run it for you. How important is it for actors to be on social media? It's important for so many reasons, and I feel like the conversation gets stuck on followers all the time. I love that you're asking this because, like I said, I think this conversation of like, How important is it? Why is it important? It tends to get stuck on this conversation about followers and I think it's the wrong way to approach it and it's not even the most important reason to be on social media. So let me give you a couple of reasons why I think it's important and hopefully, that's going to help reframe some things for your listeners. Yeah. First of all, it's like almost 2024. You may be listening to this in 2024 and social media is just part of the world. It's, and it's becoming part of your job, right? Your next gig is probably going to have posting guidelines. They're gonna have some guidelines about when you can post, when not to post, what to post. There may even be posting requirements in your contract, which, just so you know, it's actually a powerful thing. If they require you to post, and you have any kind of audience, ask for more money. This is powerful, okay? So you may have guidelines, you may have requirements. Your next job could have an Instagram takeover or they could ask you to go live or do live tweeting. These are all just reality. So it's becoming part of your job. It's also part of your first impression. We know this business has gone virtual and people are looking you up all the time. It's a business of referrals and also, people, they need to know who you are. So they're going straight to social, they're going to Google, and guess what pops up for a Google search for your name. Your social media, your bio, you can read it right from a Google search. So if you're using social media, I want to make sure it looks professional because it is part of your first impression. Another reason I think it is so important is that it can help you get cast and this is not just about followers, but yes, whether you like it or not, having an actual, real live social media following can help you get cast. But I don't want to sit on that idea. I've witnessed it over and over again, social media helping actors get cast in so many other ways, from my students sharing a post with their special skills. Or creating a post that has a certain location hashtags or special skills hashtags and people went online and they were looking for an actor with that skill and now they're auditioning. It happens all the time or even now that we've been gifted vertical videos like TikTok and reels and Youtube shorts you have all been given a virtual stage to perform and yes actors are getting cast all the time because of it so you know It can help you get cast beyond the followers reason, right? Honestly, I think the biggest reason, it helps you build relationships and your relationships are your career. I always say your network is your net worth as an actor and social media can help expand this network and you can actually put yourself in circles of the people you want to know. But even more than that. It's the world's best tool for staying top of mind with the people you already know. And I really believe it's the people who already know you and your work, that's the fastest way to booking new work because they already know and trust you, right? For those four reasons alone I feel like social media is such a powerful thing for an actor. If you're looking at it the right way. Because one thing I would say is, I can tell you everything I just told you. I could give you a hundred more reasons, but it's not going to matter if you don't switch your mindset toward social media. I've worked with thousands and thousands of actors on their social media and I can basically group them into two categories with how they approach their social media. We've got, actor A and actor B, they're both looking at the same pathway of stones, and actor A sees these social media stones as stumbling blocks, something they have to do. Why do I have to be on social media? It's a waste of time. I just want to act, that's actor A. Now actor B sees the same path of stones as stepping stones for opportunity to, build their influence, to grow an audience for themselves, to meet more people in the business or as a virtual stage, for their talents, and you're never going to get good at something that you hate or you don't want to do. So if actor A, the actor that looks at social media as a stumbling block, looks familiar, I want you to switch that mindset and start seeing social media as a stepping stone because you're never going to get good at it if you don't want to do it. You've got to make that switch. You're never going to get good at it if you don't want to do it. We all want to be actor B. Learn how to love auditioning because you're going to be auditioning for the rest of your life in some way or form, even if you're being offered stuff, you're still going to be auditioning, when you meet a new up-and-coming director, when you have those new opportunities in your life. Can you quickly talk about know, like, trust factor? In terms of relationships, this is a business of you will get more jobs from people who already know and trust you than just random auditions, right? It's a business of referrals. It's a business of who you know, and who knows you. So the more people that can know and trust you know and trust your talents, know and trust your accountability and that you're consistent, you're going to show up and that you deliver in the room, the more opportunities you will have. When I talk about relationships, I actually invite actors to first look at the people who already know them. Because, like I said, those are the people that know and trust them. If we can stay, the more they can stay in contact with them between that, the phone ringing, the email coming in for an audition, the more auditions they will get. And that's what social media can do is it can, help you stay top of mind. It can help increase that know and trust factor. And the reality is that meeting new people online, it can create a relationship and also build that know and trust factor online. So it actually ends up being an audition, being an actual new connection as well. Your network is your net worth. How you stay in touch with people that you know in this business is going to change the trajectory of your career. Who do you know and how well are you staying in touch with these people? It will change your career. Your network is your net worth. What is a good social media following for an actor to aim for? A following is not their goal. Like I actually when I work with my clients and students I would say, okay, let's figure out what your goal is. Is it to share your talents? Is it to share your projects? Is it to build relationships? Is it to grow an audience? What is it? It might be a combination, but what are the main, what is your main goal? Because it doesn't have to be to grow a following at all. And that is completely fine. What I want you to do is make sure you're growing your following with every job you book. So whether it's fans of that project or people, the casting directors, the producers, the associates, everybody, fellow actors, you're always building your following with every job you book because you're getting these little fans, whether it's the fans of the project or the fans that, are working with you on the project. So I do want to put that out there first because, in terms of numbers, this is impossible to answer really, because if you talk to people in the industry there are smaller projects that, having a hundred thousand followers, even having 10,000 followers and the other person up for the job has no social media. That's a that's an advantage because you're a team player. You have more people you can share it with. But when we're talking like big blockbusters, we're talking millions of followers really turn, make it make a difference. And a lot of times it's just the tipping point. At that point, both actors are right for the role. They both are funny and beautiful. They're both right. But one person has a larger audience. And a lot of times now, I really want people to hear this. We're in a different time in the past. This used to be an influencer. Now, you're getting [00:15:00] Juilliard trained. Actors, you're getting NYU-trained actors. You're getting, conservatory-trained actors that are growing they're following. So it's not just, it's this person that's never had an acting class getting a job. It's actually trained actors that are taking control of their career and growing their following. That's something I hear a lot too. It's people saying, oh, it shouldn't be about followers. I'm like these people are, they're taking control. And I do want everybody to hear this too. If you're becoming an actor in this career, it's hard to hear. This career has always been a popularity contest. We have different metrics now with social media. So the job you got into in the first place, it's always been about putting butts in the seats, whether that's a movie theater or a theater, it's just the metrics are slightly different now, and we can complain about it, but that hasn't changed much. The thing that has changed. Actor B. You can grow your audience. That's the thing that changed. And in the past, you couldn't control that. You can grow an audience now. And I wanna say again, I'm putting in a plug to be actor B, a stepping stone. The biggest mistakes I see actors make, and I think it comes out of this idea of, they're so set on hearing about followers, is that they treat their follower count like a number instead of a person. Stop seeing numbers, start seeing the people behind that number. You're not just growing a number, you're growing an audience, you're growing a community, and I encourage all my students, all my clients, to not call it a following, but to call it an audience. Number one, I don't know an actor out there who doesn't need an audience, performing for yourself, but you're growing an audience; these are actual people with actual struggles and hopes and dreams, just like every single one of you. And I really want everyone tuning in, look at your follower count and I want you to think about it. If you have 400 to 500 followers, you filled a 747 airplane. If you have 3,500 followers, that's the audience at the Oscars. If you have 1,800 followers, you filled the Hollywood Bowl. That's a whole lot of real people. I want you to think of these as people, not just numbers, and take five minutes, hop into the comments of your post, and have a conversation with some of your audience. Or click over some of your followers accounts and show them some love on their post. Make a connection. Because when you make this switch, everything changes for your social media. And you start approaching followers in a whole different way. And you're trying to get more and more numbers when you're not even honoring the followers that you have. I'm going to share with you what I think is the biggest mistake that actors make in social media. “I'm having a really tough day today.” And they shoot that. Because what that makes me as a casting director go is, “Okay, that person's emotionally unstable.” That's rough to say, but I don't feel that's appropriate to share on social media. What I want to know is that the actor that I'm hiring, I need people who are emotionally stable, they are going to show up early, going to be prepared, they're not going to bring their shit into the room, and they're going to concentrate on what I consider the actor's most important thing to do, which is they're going to focus on the work and getting the job done. Because honestly, once we get into a studio, once we get in on a set, the most important thing is the work. I also realized that I might be having a generational thing here go on, but keep in mind that a lot of people from my generation are in, are watching it, and are going, my husband and I, who I do a lot of casting with, he goes, “Oh my God, did you see so and so's post?” And that's not reflecting well on that actor. Now, it's not that we don't have compassion. That person is having a bad day or, is going through a tough time and I'm not talking about I just put my animal down or my mom just died and sharing about that verbally. I'm talking about, you're in the car, and you're just crying and sharing about whatever. I just find it, for me as a casting director, it does not reflect well on you. Now, mind you, if I need that person for a particular job, of course, I'm going to hire them. I think it comes from a couple of places. I think some of them are doing it for views and I immediately know when they're doing it for views, which makes me not like, know, and trust them anymore. My trust in that the actor would be able to get onto a set the next day goes down. I invite you to take the Insta out of your Instagram. As an actor, you're a public figure. So number one, if you are a parent of a child actor, take the insta out of your Instagram. You should never be shooting at the Magic Kingdom when you are there. Take the insta out of your Instagram for safety, for spoilers. Too many projects have been spoiled because you shot something thinking you weren't giving anything away but your location did or something did. When we take the insta out of Instagram, we're able to take that second and really ask, put together a good post and should we be posting this? And it directly relates to what you just talked about as well. If something just happened, I think it is a generational thing, some people just turn on the camera and go and, as your career goes, you need to take a pause. And, either enjoy the moment or deal with a moment. Really take the time to reflect on what you're going to say. It does not happen just because it happened right now doesn't mean you have to post about it right now. And I feel like when you take that little bit of time, it does make us create a different post, usually a better post, and tell a better story with what's happening. Even if you're hopping on video, it's going to help you make a better video for watch time, which more people will see, if you just take a second to think about what you're saying. Stop, take a step back, observe. Is this healthy for me? Is this unhealthy for me? Respond. A response is a reaction with a pause and a thought behind it. And that's precisely what you're saying here. Just because it happened right now does not mean you have to post it right now. What platform should actors be most active on in 2024. It's hard for me just to give a blanket answer for everybody here because your social networks which you choose, should always be based on your goals, no matter if it's 2023, 2024, 2030, it always has to be on goals. I want you to write down these questions. This is what I do with my students, my clients. These questions will help you decide if the platforms you're using are right for you and your goals. They're also really good to go through when there's a new platform that you're not sure if you should use. Yeah, grab your name on that platform, but these questions will help you decide if you should play there. So write these questions down. Number one, will this platform help me reach my career goals? Number two, does it help me with my networking? Meaning do the industry pros I know and do the people I want to know spend any time there? And then number three, after you have learned the 101 of that platform, do you actually enjoy it? Use the networks that play to your strengths and talents. It's not the same for everyone. Like I said, you're never going to get good at something that you don't like to do. Does it help you reach your career goals? Does it help you with your networking? And do you enjoy it? And there's a bonus question, too, so I guess it's really four: if you're in a show, do the fans of the project spend time there? And that's important because sometimes you like a certain platform, maybe you love Facebook, and you've been there forever, but the show you're on, all the fans are on X, or they're on Instagram, or maybe they're on TikTok. Every job you do is an opportunity to gain a fan base. And if the fans are on a different platform, you should be spending time there. Now, I want to reframe this question a little bit instead of what platform for 2024. I want instead of what platforms I want to think about what features. So many actors are afraid of vertical video: the vertical video thing, TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts. Vertical video is the future, which is now; it was the future two years ago. I have been preaching this. I've been preaching TikTok for a while, but I've been preaching Instagram Reels since the day it came out; I think it was August 5th; I know this because I was camping for my daughter's birthday in 2020. That's how long Instagram reels have been out, and I know some of you have never made one. Vertical video. It does not mean dancing on TikTok. It doesn't have to be lip-syncing, pointing at things, or doing trends. It could be you sharing your talents with the world, with a video that is just shot vertically. Vertical video is the best way to get more views on your talents. Vertical video is not going away. Video is not going away. I want to challenge everyone listening today to lean into more video in 2024 and beyond. Because it's so important, you're actors. We need to see you on video. It will change the game. Okay. So choose platforms... /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28837003

Episode 259: Interview with Casting Director Maribeth Fox 11/22/2023

Episode 259: Interview with Casting Director Maribeth Fox About Maribeth Fox: Maribeth Fox has worked with Laura Rosenthal Casting for fifteen years and has had the privilege of working alongside major talents like Todd Haynes, Paolo Sorrentino, Oren Moverman, Joachim Trier, Ed Burns, Mindy Kaling, Anton Corbijn, and Lisa Cholodenko as well as up and coming feature directors, Guy Nattiv, Olivia Newman, & Paul Downs Colaizzo. Favorite credits include Olive Kitteridge and Mildred Pierce both for HBO, Jay-Z’s music video for Smile, Wonderstruck with Todd Haynes, A Quiet Place, Modern Love for Amazon and Liz Garbus’ narrative feature debut, Lost Girls. Two of her three films at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival broke sales records, Late Night and Brittany Runs A Marathon. Most recent credits include Sharper for Apple TV, directed by Benjamin Caron, Bottoms, produced by Elizabeth Banks, Murder Mystery 2 with Happy Madison, and the upcoming A Different Man from Killer Films and A24. How did you become a casting director? I learned how to work with actors, what they need you to tell them, and what they don't need you to tell them about ego. And I just decided to spend five to seven minutes with actors instead of a career with them. So I switched to casting, and I worked for CBS primetime casting for two and a half years, which was a really good learning experience, but corporate wasn't for me. I wanted to do more film, and I wanted to be freelance so my eight-week job with Laura turned into 16 years. How does a casting director get a film job? So oftentimes, we are one of the first people hired and production companies hire us, producers that know us, that know what The material is that we're drawn to. Sometimes we're hired by our directors who you hope to get repeat business if you've worked with them before. The first thing we'll do is read a script to make sure we're creatively aligned and feel like we strategically know how to cast the job. And then we're offered one of two situations. The first situation is. Attach names to this to green-light the rest of the financing. So we do that side, and then sometimes people come attached to a film, which is wonderful news. And they're like, “We just want you to cast this movie if you like it. And this is who's doing it.” So we're normally found by producers and directors, and we're one of the first hires. So, just a question I have: if you are asked to attach a name talent, and let's say it's one part, let's make this real simple, Sure. How long does it generally take to cast a film, would you say, to attach that kind of name talent if it's a good script? It's a long time. It's a long time, so much so that Laura has received producorial credit on quite a few of her features because of the time, attention, and effort it takes to get those attachments in place. You think about somebody, let's say you're offering something to somebody like Julianne Moore. It could take a month for her to read it. Not because she doesn't read quickly but she's got a lot going on. And somebody of that ilk, their whole team, has to read it. She has to read it. Everybody has to have an opinion. They have to have a discussion about it. And so we try our best to set respectful boundaries with agents and managers to say, “We really need this to be read by this time.” But if a creative team is invested in a certain person, oftentimes, that deadline will stretch. So you could be with one actor for a month or more. We try to get them sometimes to line up like their top three for each part if we're doing more than one part so that if there is a pass, it's not an utterly crushing situation. The producers knew that a writer strike was imminent, and I was a little shocked to hear what you said, that you stopped getting calls about six months before. Can you talk about that and what that was like? It's helpful to know just in terms of our similarity to what actors go through that a lot of our business is independent film and that really continued. That was not a problem. We were still getting calls. We were still getting pings for that, but in terms of the book of business that would streamers and network, which is a lot of people's businesses, they anticipated the strike. And normally, we have no shortage of things to read, think about, sign on to, or not sign on to. And I think all casting directors experienced a similar shut-off. That was very different than the strike in 2008 where we were out of work for a little while, but no big deal. But yes, like the work has been. It's been different this time around. How has it been different, do you feel? So I think a lot of people feel, there's a lot of feelings this time around. Where, as there should be, right? I obviously heartily support the actors and what they're going through, and it's, it's time, right? It's time to do this and ensure everybody gets what they're owed fairly. And also, I think there is, within the SAG interim agreement, there's some stuff where I think we all need to work together in community to understand what everybody does and what everybody is going through and maybe have a little bit of empathy and open conversation and understanding because right now, it has felt a little bit of an angrier time and I understand it. Also, It's hard to think about what life will be like after the strike ends, and I don't know. I think a backlog of projects stopped right before the strike or started to shoot, not believing the strike would fully happen. And those are the things that are going to start to go first. And those things are already crewed up. So, from my perspective, could it be an influx of new work? Maybe. I sure hope so. But also, we have to think about all the stuff that got interim agreements is stuff that mostly was already staffed. And so I wonder how much the huge influx, or if it's just going to be figuring out what's actually going to shoot now and what's going to be put to the side. The great news is that I think you're right about the flood. And actors will feel it. And start to work and self-tape again. And hopefully, it'll get back to business as usual. And I think what's very important for actors to understand is it's not only you who is on strike, it's everybody. I'm so proud to stand with the actors that I love and support in my day to day. And absolutely, we are with you a thousand percent. And also, it's real, right? Many people have turned to survival jobs that they haven't had since they were 22. Everybody's done. Employment is out. And you live in an industry town, so every business is thoroughly affected by the lack of availability of income for people. The actors are the ones who are fighting and are going to get the benefits but do remember when you get on the set, there were a bunch of other people who were fighting right along with you, who are not going to get necessarily, the benefits that you were fighting for. They were supporting you, but the hairdressers aren't going to get any more pay, or hair stylists, the grips aren't going to get anything. I think that AI is an existential crisis for actors, and I don't think that is something I cannot give up my voice and my likeness and have you pay me once and that be okay, so I do think it's a worthy fight and as you said, it's a definite fight. I also think it's in the forefront of what humanity will be dealing with. Bartenders will be dealing with it, taxi drivers will be dealing with it, it just has come. Not here first, but here. We don't do any background casting, and I don't know what that life is. But I do think about that entire loss of an industry. That will go first, right? And it already has started to go. They take your picture; they can pump you in if they need an arena full of people. I've had many family and friends during this time try to like talk in a fun way about chat GPT and those types of services. And they're like, have you played around with it? I'm like, no, I don't want to help it get smarter. And I think it will have real ramifications, and it already is having ramifications for our industry. No, I'm not going to hang out on that service, but thank you so much for asking. What do you want actors to know [00:18:00] about self-tapes? So many things. The first thing is it's a grocery store sample. If you're at Costco, yep, that's exactly right. If you're at Costco and the old woman is serving you pizza, you're not going to steal the whole pizza. You're going to take your sample of a square. We do not expect a fully baked moment for a self-tape. I think artists are artists, and folks are getting bored. And so there's a lot of Heavy wardrobe, heavy movement choice the ability and the time to make almost like a short film. It's not the job. A self-tape should look different than how you would behave if you're on a set with a DP. I think the other thing that I've noticed that I've started to see as self-taping goes on and on, as a public service announcement for actors, is... You're getting too good at them, and I'm going to explain more. I think actors are really great at self-taping now, and it can almost feel robotic at times. Because they've gotten so good at knowing and thinking about, their mentality has shifted from what I want to put forward as an artist that's unique to how can I get this job by thinking about what they might want. And so then they know what pace to do. They know what tone it is. They've done their research and all of those brave, bold choices start to get ironed out and it's safe acting work. It's still beautiful work, but it's safe because they're so good at it. They know exactly what they might want instead of infusing their own artistic uniqueness in the mix. And I think casting directors hear the plight of actors, and I think something great that's going to come out of the strike is, I think there's going to be more options offered. So some actors love the self-tape process and bless, please, if that's how you feel comfortable, wonderful. I will still take time to adjust you via Zoom. If you need an adjustment, if I get your self-tape and there's something close to there, I will still take time for you on Zoom and say, hey, and we'll workshop it together. But then there's, we really do hear actors that they want more of us again. I do think that in-person chem reads and callbacks will start to come back. In the meantime, I think casting directors are far more open to reopening Zoom rooms, to make sure that we're available in some tech-helpful live way so that we can make better connections with actors. I still get lovely, vibrant self-tapes on everything that I do. But generally, I think, there's a mindset that I've been thinking a lot about that actors carry that is, I think trained into a lot of people that it's just a scarcity mindset. And so you come out of school and you're told that your job is so hard. There are so many people competing. You're in constant competition. There's not a ton to go around. SAG releases their statistics that only 3 percent of actors are working. And it creates this mindset that can be helpfully hungry and eager. And it can also really destroy the artistic spirit of what an artist has to offer. I think within that scarcity mindset, the goal of this is how I feed my family. This is how I gain health insurance, pension, and welfare. And I can't make that brave, bold choice because we don't have a casting director anymore. You don't have us in the room to be like, “Okay, let's just do that a little bit faster here. I know the director wants this. Let's just clip it up.” Or give you a simple redirect that could really change your performance. Now, a lot of us are doing that. We are adjusting people who give great self-tapes. Actors feel like I've got one shot at this. I'm sending it off into the void. It better be exactly what I think they want. The one thing that I have always stood by is that it's one audition in a lifetime of auditions. I am going to get the opportunity to audition again, and there is enough work for everyone. What's important for me is what's going on in the work. People ask me, “what do you look for in an actor?” And I'm like I'm looking for the actor who shows up a bit early, not too early. Knows they are, knows themselves. They are good at their job and I'm also looking for someone who when the work starts, they're focused on the work and not what I think of their work. Actors do have it tough in the sense that, it's the only art form where you have nothing to stand behind. You’re not painting a picture to show me. You're not singing a song, which is separate from your acting. You're not doing a dance, which is your body and your emotions. But it's just you; it's just your subjective raw emotion. And I think what a lot of actors specifically, I love my New York actors in our market, they've all been to school. They're all crafty, great actors. And I think that a lot of actors think, “Gosh, I must be doing something wrong.” And so much of film and television is just subjective look-based. If you're in an audition with me, you're probably a well-trained, good actor. And so it's not about someone being such a better actor than you are. It's about the dinner party atmosphere we're trying to create. And somebody was a better fit. So we invited that person to the dinner party and not you this time. And that's hard. You can be the most talented actor in the world. You get the opportunity, but ultimately it does come down to who doesn't blink at the end. And I also feel that it's the person who knows they are good at their job. And what I want to give actors the perspective of is, you know what? Maybe you're doing everything right. Maybe you're doing everything right. And you just need to keep doing that. Because a lot of times, it's about what's being written. Are there roles for you right now that really fit your marketing package and your type? Do you fit the world? With our eyeballs. And so that has nothing to do with your craft a lot of the time. You do have to think about this as a business. And so you think about putting somebody on set, and when we get to cast somebody and it's their first job on a set like that's a great day. There is like buoyancy and adaptability that we're looking for in people to be able in that callback setting to turn something on their head if needed, to be able to take direction quickly. And if they're not understanding what we mean or what the director means, ask a question. Nobody's going to think you're stupid. Nobody's going to think you can't hear it well, or like that you don't agree. It's okay. We all have days when we're not that great at our jobs. If I give an actor a direction that's not clear, I don't want them to yes to me and nod their head. I want them to ask me a question and follow it up. If you're not understanding, then the two takes are going to look exactly the same. Read the directions out loud. I think it's really important that when you get a breakdown and, they say, submit it this way and, specifically, do your slate at the end. One of the things that I encourage the actors I work with is to really, read the directions out loud, then you know you've heard it, and highlight anything that's specific. Speaking of breakdowns, I think. A lot of times, people's focus on the breakdown will be the small adjective-filled description that we write instead of knowing that if you've got the audition, the breakdown has already done its job, that part of your job has already been done, your agent or manager or you submitted yourself based on the breakdown. I saw your headshot. I selected you. Now it's done. So you briefly look at the breakdown and ensure you're in the realm, but actors often get old breakdowns. And it's not because we're lazy. It's because we don't want to resubmit a breakdown with a subtle change to hundreds of agents and managers. So if an actor gets a breakdown and they're 55, the breakdown says 30 to 40, they freak out or they think their manager or agent isn't doing a good job. It's you just got an old breakdown; you don't have to worry about that anymore. Focus on the work. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28750953

Episode 258: Handle this Family Filled Holiday Season with a Plan! 11/15/2023

Episode 258: Handle this Family Filled Holiday Season with a Plan! Today, I am going to talk about what is honestly sometimes a very painful thing to talk about, which is going home for the holidays. Because actually going home for the holidays for me is a joyous thing now. But when I was younger, it was harder. And it wasn't necessarily because of my parents, but it was things that triggered me, like the cold, like it being darker. And those kinds of things would bring up a lot of anxiety with me. One of the things I will be talking about is triggers and how to take care of yourself around triggers. So, what do I mean by a trigger? A trigger for me is it gets darker earlier. If you listen to my podcast episode 102, you'll hear that when it started to get dark when I was a child, that's when my anxiety would kick up. Guess what happens now? It gets darker earlier. Now, I will be honest with you: it still reminds me every year, but I also have come so far that it doesn't bother me anymore. But I'm not going to tell you that if I get emotionally ruffled, it's not going to get kicked up again, and that's what I want you to look out for this holiday season. Exercise: Either on your phone, while you're listening to this or pen and paper, I want you to think of three to five things that could potentially trigger you this holiday season. So for me, it's that it gets dark earlier. The other thing is that my family lives on the East Coast. And guess what? It's cold on the East Coast. It's freezing. That's why I live part of the year in Los Angeles because it's nice and toasty here. Those are things that immediately crop up for me. My parents also live in the country. And for some reason, even though in L. A. I'm in the middle of nowhere in the middle of L.A., and I, for some reason, get very triggered by the cold and the night and being isolated. So those are the three things that trigger me. And I want to ask yourself what your things are. Is it a family member who says, “Oh, wow, that strike? Hey, are you even going to still have a career?” Whatever Uncle, whoever Aunt, your mom, your dad, that older brother. I recently heard from a dear friend of mine that his older brother used to put him down a bit. And although time has passed, it's still a trigger. So, write down your three to five triggers. If you have more, that's fine. Then, what I want you to do is I want you to think of a contrary thought or an alternate thought that you can say to yourself if you start to get triggered. One of them, which is the ultimate Truth, is this too shall pass. Or reminding yourself, is there something soothing you can do for yourself? One of the things I like to do is have these special peppermints. My mom gave me them. They're Dutch peppermints. I like to have them in my pocket. It's just a little thing that comforts me. Also, sometimes, putting my hand on a particular area of my shoulder comforts me. So it's things that I can think of and things that I can do. You want to think of an alternate thought and an alternate action. With an alternate thought, as I said, “This too shall pass,” but also, a good thought would be, “It's going to be okay. I got you. It's going to be okay.” Reminding yourself that the Universe is on your side. One of the things that I do is light a candle that makes me feel safe because it reminds me of the presence of the Universe and that I'm not alone, that this too shall pass, that I'm going to be okay and that I love myself. I approve of myself and that I've got myself emotionally during that time. The thing is, and Melody Beattie talks about it in Language of Letting Go, for some people, it's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate; it's that time of year. And for some people, it's like the worst trifecta in the world, which is Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, or Thanksgiving, winter holidays, and New Year's, and they're like, “Oh God, I just want to get through.” How can you take care of yourself this holiday season? One of the ways you can is to write down those potential triggers and create a plan. Create a plan of positive thoughts. Create a plan of positive actions that are going to help you. What are you going to do if you get triggered? Are you bringing a pet with you? Is there a pet where you're going that you can go to? Is there a relative who you know you're safe with? What can you do to take care of yourself? Remember, you also have this podcast. There are so many core messages. In this podcast, I've done over a hundred of them. Bring it with you. Bring me with you on your holidays. I'm more than happy to be your companion. Write to me if you get scared. I'm here. [email protected] The thing is, have your own back. Have a plan. If you need to, go a little late and leave a little early. And also remember, you can just listen. That's one of the best things somebody told me about triggering situations. When you're in a triggering situation, start asking the person about how they're doing. What's going on in their life? You don't have to prove anything to anybody. Do you know what you need to do this holiday season? You need to love yourself and take care of yourself. And how do you do that? Write down those potential pitfalls, those potential triggers, and then write out your thought plan and write out your action plan of how you are going to get yourself through. Because you know what? You can do it. You are capable. You can manage this holiday season. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28646068

Episode 257: You Deserve Success 11/08/2023

Episode 257: You Deserve Success An 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." /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28550564

Episode 256: Energy, Truth, & Your Beliefs 11/01/2023

Episode 256: Energy, Truth, & Your Beliefs Energy attracts like energy. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi Like attracts like, and we attract and create our world. If I am not treating myself well, that is what I am giving out to the world, and I will end up attracting people who don't treat me very well. By focusing not on what was but on only what can be, we create the world we choose. And we do this through the practice of affirmations. So again, by not focusing on our past but focusing and putting our attention on the now and the future we wish to create, that is how we create a better life for ourselves. Now, I'm not going to lie to you. When I first heard this kind of stuff, I was like, “That's a bunch of voodoo, voodoo, gobbledygook.” Until I was, honestly, sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I was desperate enough to change. Until I was like, “I cannot stand my life as it is right now. I need to change things up.” So, I started the practice of affirmations. I stopped putting my focus on my past and started putting my focus on now and the future I wanted to create. And here I am, decades later. And I have a life beyond my wildest dreams. Everyone wants an abundant life. Living an abundant life begins with believing in and focusing on an abundant world. I just finished teaching a class on Money Mastery. And one of the things I talk about is how I used to believe that there was not enough money. But that's the biggest bunch of bullshit out there. That's thinking out of my ego. That's thinking out of finite thinking. I need to be switching my thoughts, aligning them with universal thought, with infinite thinking. Which is there is always enough money. That's the way I think today. There's always enough money. If I don't have any at the moment, I will be making more. There's always enough money because there's always more money out there. Why? Because it is an abundant and infinite Universe. We are practicing gratitude and a gratitude list. It is so important because whatever we put our attention on will expand. So if I am putting my attention on abundance and the abundant Universe, whether that's even in this moment there is an abundance of air around me, if that's the only thing I can put my thought on that I can grasp in my brain, fine, we start there. It doesn't matter where you begin in this. It's that you begin. If we focus on lack, if we focus on failing relationships, if we focus on not finding work, if we focus on not having enough money, like I just explained, we start to live in those “realities.” And I put the word realities in quotation marks. And what am I doing by doing that? I'm putting a label on myself that I always have failing relationships, that I'm never able to find work, that I don't have enough money. And then that is the world I find myself living in. But I don't want to live there. I gave that up a long time ago. I want to live in an abundant life. And I want to focus on an abundant Universe. Because it goes so much further than planet Earth, it's universal. The Universe is constantly expanding. And it wants us to expand. Why? Because we are a part of it. It is a part of us. Always remember the Truth is that the world is an abundant place with enough resources for all. There's a fabulous affirmation for you. “The Universe is an abundant place, and there are enough resources for all.” And now, I'm going to move into the concept of truth and talk about how truth exists past my ego belief. I must understand the difference between Truth with a capital T, which is universal Truth, higher Truth, my intuitiveness, higher knowledge, and little t truth, which is ego's truth. Now, there's a wonderful acronym for ego, which is “easing God out.” Now again, I consider this term God to be of your understanding. Someone once told me that God can be “good orderly direction.” It can be nature. It can be the universe. It is up to you. You can think of it as higher intelligence. Or your higher intuitive self. It can be that. It's the part of you that knows what good, orderly direction is. Capital T Truth is Universal Truth. It is plants, it is nature, it is the wind blowing. And I want to be in alignment with that Truth. Because I don't want to be tuned into that ego truth. Because of that, I'm only then relying on finite amounts of information and wisdom. I want to have access to all the wisdom. And that is Universal Truth, infinite wisdom. And here's the thing: if everyone in the world still believed that the world was flat, would it be flat just because we believed it to be? Some things are the Truth, whether you believe them or not. Including there is enough. Including I am enough. The incredible thing is that successful people question everything. And they also do what they most don't want to do by noon. But successful people are curious people. Do not believe anything, and most importantly, do not believe anything you think about yourself that is limiting you in any way. That is just a limiting Belief. Remember, we started this podcast talking about energy. Then we moved into Truth. Truth with a capital T. And now we're looking at our beliefs. The definition of consciousness is who we really are as opposed to the you that you believe that you are or we're taught that you are. So again, we talked about energy. We talked about what kind of truth. Now, I am challenging you with what is your consciousness. Are you operating out of your limited beliefs and thereby accessing little amounts of energy and little amounts of truth? Or are you truly conscious? Understanding who you really are from the universe's point of view, that you are infinite. Your success, your money, your abundance, your happiness, your achievements are unlimited. I'm going to end this with a journal question, and it's a challenging one, so I encourage you to take pen to paper. If I did this, and then (fill in the blank), what would be possible for me? If I did (fill in the blank), what would be possible for me? For me, it was if I solved the riddle of my anxiety, what would be possible for me? And if you go back to the second podcast, now we are 150 podcasts in, more than that, but if you go back to the second one, you'll hear my story about anxiety. It's even been in the journey of doing this podcast on a weekly basis that I've really started to see what the possibility is if I solved the riddle of my anxiety. I'm now seeing what is possible. And it's infinite. And I wish the same for you. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28479212

Episode 255: Interview with Writer/Director Jason Figgis 10/25/2023

Episode 255: Interview with Writer/Director Jason Figgis About Jason Figgis: Jason Figgis is an award-winning IFTA-nominated film and TV director who has had feature work commissioned or acquired by major broadcasters that include Sky One, Sky Arts, Channel Four, Hulu, RTE, Apple+, iTunes, KSM, SVT, Cinedigm, Discovery Channel, Amazon Prime, and Lionsgate Studios. This work has been placed in territories that include 150 countries worldwide. Figgis’ work includes the IFTA-nominated Discovery Channel documentary THE TWILIGHT HOUR, the Sky Arts documentary A MAVERICK IN LONDON (featuring Alan Rickman, Richard E. Grant, and Joanna Lumley), SIMON MARSDEN’S HAUNTED LIFE IN PICTURES (featuring John Hurt), High Fliers Films / Pinewood Studios release THE GHOST OF WINIFRED MEEKS (starring BIFA winner Lara Belmont) and LOVE? (written and presented by Samantha Beckinsale). Figgis directed the official music videos for the QUEEN OF ENGLAND’S PLATINUM JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS IN 2022. He also restored the classic German horror film NOSFERATU for the 100th anniversary. Figgis is in production on the authorized documentary looking at the life and work of actress Olivia Hussey called THE GIRL ON THE BALCONY and has just completed an authorized series of films looking at the life and career of prolific writer and philosopher Colin Wilson under the title COLIN WILSON: HIS LIFE AND WORK. Other feature documentary work on the slate include A MAN FOR ALL REASONS, which looks at the life and work of former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, the Manchester County Council sponsored feature documentary SHIRLEY BAKER: LIFE THROUGH A LENS which looks at the life of the celebrated Mancunian street photographer, DIE STRONG which looks at Fallacy of Barriers founder Lily Brasch and FATHER OF DRACULA which looks at the life and work of Dracula author, Bram Stoker. Figgis started his career in TV and film in animation for Murakami-Wolf on the celebrated cult TV series TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. He went on to work for Steven Spielberg at his London-based Amblimation Studios on the feature classic AN AMERICAN TAIL 2: FIEVEL GOES WEST and for legendary animator Richard Williams at his studio in Camden, London, on the cult classic THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER, which starred Vincent Price and Kenneth Williams. I started in communications and then decided that I wanted to be a filmmaker. As a boy, I'd always wanted to be a filmmaker; when the digital world opened up, and it became something feasible, I realized I could launch and start getting work done. So I moved into the field of documentary because I've always liked reality over artifice. Even when I write screenplays, I put my mind into a real situation instead of creating something fantastical. So I'm much more interested in relationships, other than big spectacles. In the film industry and writing, a lot of the things that happen, you don't plan for you. You have relationships with people that you feel simpatico with, and you start developing things. So I worked a lot with a writer called Simon Golding, and he's a real facilitator. He puts people together who he feels will work together. I like to write because when I write, I have to get my mind into a character as a real flesh and blood person. I always loved the idea of putting a camera on a real subject. And having people and letting it just unfold in an interview, for example, but the horror and the beauty, I always think the two of them can live quite well together and that a lot of the real horror in the world is what goes on behind closed doors and people's houses. Obviously, I don't mean everybody; I mean, even in ordinary couples where you might have an explosive argument and for that brief moment, there might be fear between the couple that it could escalate into something terrible. Thankfully, it rarely ever does, but there still is that how you can go from a really happy moment to a very dark moment in the blink of an eye, if somebody says the wrong thing or something happens, or even if a vase is dropped on the ground and suddenly this explosive anger. I just think that the light and the dark live very closely together, and to be able to show that on-screen and for people to see a beautiful couple, but then what they hear about, in the narrative or the narration, is the complete opposite to what they're looking at. So you can have beauty and horror right there simultaneously on screen. The discipline of documentary filmmaking has helped you with scripted content. When you're interviewing a real person for a documentary, when they're talking about their own real-life experience, I find that if you're really concentrating on the person and what they're telling you, you get a much greater understanding of the human condition all over because you're forced to put your attention on a subject when you want to bring it to life. For example, if you're directing narrative fiction, you're worried about all the different aspects. You're concerned about the lighting, camera setup, exterior, and any extraneous noise, and it's quite stressful. But if you're doing a documentary, it doesn't matter about the other stuff happening around you. If something annoys the person while you're doing an interview, it's part of the reality and that real moment. What are the key questions to get the best response instead of just the standard questions? I like to get to know the person before I film. So then you get an idea of how you can relate to them on camera. Will they be able to trust you in a given circumstance? I'm working on one at the moment. An amazing thing called Gladiator School with a guy who was a former prison inmate and who decided that when he was in prison, he was going to change his life. He's come out of prison, and he's now setting up a thing called gladiator school for kids on the street to get them away from crime, motivate them to do creative things, and follow their passion. But again, when working with the young man involved, I had to be very careful about the kind of questions, I had already spoken to him beforehand. I said, “Look, what kind of things can I ask you? Is there anything triggering that will throw you right off the page?” And he was like, “Ask me anything you want. Ask me anything you want. I'm here to be honest. I'm here to be truthful.” So I did. So I asked him some searing questions about how he ended up in prison, what led him, what were those life choices, what were those experiences that moved on and rolled onto another experience that got him into a position where he ended up in drugs and prison. But again, it's still essential that I get to know him first and have a few phone calls to build that between us so I can ask the right questions. If you're passionate about something and put your mind, thoughts, heart, and feelings into something, it's amazing how the Universe works on your side and allows those things to happen. But what's really important is to be yourself, be genuine. Don't have somebody meet you and go, “There's an artifice there. I don't believe how he's dealing,” because if you do that, they're not going to trust you. They're not going to work with you. One of my main things is I'm always myself. I never tried to be anything other than. Just being yourself is highly important in anything you do because people know. How do you come up with your ideas? It could be anything. I could read a headline. I could see a little snippet in a book; it is a line that will lift off the page as an idea. It could be a name; from that name, an entirely fleshed-out story could emerge just from the title, which has happened with several things. I'm open to being inspired by absolutely anything. Once I come up with the story and know who the characters are, I will allow the characters to speak to each other. And a lot of the time, I've no idea the direction they're going in, and I just follow it. I speed write with it, so I don't think, if anyone saw my notes, they're illegible, and I do have very neat handwriting, but when I'm writing a script, I always write freehand in notebooks, like A5 notebooks. I'm usually excited by the characters' direction and the elements of their life that emerge just through a conversation. What are the questions that you ask them to start getting, moving them in the right direction? Decide on a character they're comfortable with and then get to know the character and allow the character to speak to them. But if you're going to write a one-woman or one-person show, don't miscast yourself in the role, right? Write something that's going to suit you. That the people are going to look at you and go, “I believe this immediately, I believe this.” What's the story you want to tell? Now, take that story and put it into the mouth of a character you can inhabit in that 45 minutes or an hour and a half on stage and grab people's attention. The scripted content becomes a documentary because it's that real, or you know a character so well that it's not a character; it's a person. It's taking what I've learned in making documentaries and bringing them into scripted, you know, narrative drama because if you listen and listen, the words will come to you. Now, just find this character in a particular situation and let them tell their story. When I started writing, I never knew I could write screenplays. I realized that with honesty, you could write things that came across powerfully. I believe that Characters exist in space, waiting for the right actor that they can choose to play them. Creating the backstory for your character, you arrive in a scene, but who were you before that? Acting is reacting to your environment and the people you're in the scene with. People just need to get out of their own way. Find the people who can see what you're trying to do. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28415339

Episode 254: Interview with Entertainment Lawyer Joshua Lastine 10/18/2023

Episode 254: Interview with Entertainment Lawyer Joshua Lastine About Joshua Lastine: Joshua Lastine, Esq., Entertainment Business and Transactional Attorney is the Founder and Managing Partner at Lastine Entertainment Law. A strategic negotiator, fierce advocate for talent, and a practical problem solver, Lastine strengthens his counsel with an ineffable passion for show business, its players, and creators. As a former Lionsgate and ViacomCBS attorney, Joshua Lastine launched Lastine Entertainment Law in 2021, formally Lastine Impressions, to protect the artistry and livelihood of actors, production companies, writers, producers, directors, animators, social media influencers, and podcasters. In his representations on behalf of entertainment talent clientele, including rights acquisitions, development/production deals, branding/commercial advertising deals, talent deals, and other contracts for new media, social media, and the Internet 3.0, Joshua Lastine has an intrinsic aptitude for structuring deals and closing contracts that are shaping the future of the entertainment industry. In addition to his legal negotiations, Lastine also serves as an adjunct lecturer on entertainment business law at The Los Angeles Film School, further impelling the future of the entertainment space and its novices. Joshua’s production legal and talent transactions have spanned a wide breadth of media and projects from $100M+ Netflix series to $30K YouTube branding, endorsement, and commercial deals. To learn more visit, . Follow on. Let's talk about protecting ourselves and how the law can help us to do that. User generated content creators. It's anyone really nowadays with the creative backbone. I think that's one of the great things about technology and where we are. There's a lot of downsides and we can talk about that in a bit, but one of the great things about technology and where it's at today is that it really. Democratizes the creative endeavors. I'm a lawyer and I can now start to exercise my creative fingers in a way that I never could before because of the apps and because of the different technologies and algorithms. I think we've all become more savvy in how we figured out to, to express ourselves and create art. I think it's unfortunate now that art and entertainment is being referred to as content, but that's still really what it is. Whether you're creating content for YouTube, you're creating content for TikTok, you're creating content for Instagram or you're creating products and services that blend the line. User generated content refers to anyone with a creative backbone that wants to make something cool. And then try to maybe find a way to, to monetize, exploit, and expand on that idea. For every television show, there's a head of business and legal affairs, a head of production legal that supervises the day to day happenings of the show, whether it's the contracts for all of the actors showing up on set that day, getting the transportation in place, craft services. The visual effects deals, transportation of large scale assets, planes, trains, automobile pieces all the way through the final credit roll, watching the final credits and making sure that all the credits align with the deals that I had negotiated through the season. Doing that on a season by season basis for those shows, building a rapport and in a relationship with the shows themselves to make sure that we're getting what they need done to make the show because at that time, shows like Transparent, Man in the High Castle, I Love Dick which came on a little bit later. These were first of their kind in 2016, 2017 in terms of Amazon shows. They did a lot to push the envelope in terms of what we could do on TV. I was party to many a nudity writer negotiation with many stars, where we did, nude simulated sex orgies. And we did things like hang swastikas in Canadian subway rails to film scenes for Man in the High Castle. And it's my job as the attorney was to liaise with the line producer, the unit production manager, the guys on the ground to get all of the deals done, to make sure that filming stayed on schedule and that the company is protected and that, most importantly, in my opinion, that the people on set are protected. We do a lot with stunts, we do a lot with practical effects, prop guns swinging from buildings, insurance, putting people in helicopters. I'm also part of those discussions to make sure that those people are protected. So it's a lot that goes into overseeing a television show or a feature film through the production side. That's part of what I do at my law firm. The other side is the more traditional talent representation, representing actors, writers, directors to negotiate their contracts. Why does an actor need a manager, an agent, and a lawyer? We love our agent manager friends to death and we work very closely with them, but oftentimes there's a lot that gets left off the table. I myself, when I work as representing the studio or the production company, I'm the one negotiating against the actors, agents and managers. And I can see those deals. And I can tell you with experience that an actor may get 40, 50, 60 percent of the deal on the table with an agent or manager, but as soon as they bring in a lawyer and it's the three of them working in tandem, they're getting just about everything on the table. But really, also the devils in the details with regards to the contract especially nowadays studios are taking a wider position in what they can do with an artist's name, voice, and likeness, what they can do with their image. And how it can be exploited. And, I think even actors at a certain level, even series regular, reoccurring guest stars, special guest stars, people with speaking lines and stuff like that, they can ask for reasonable restrictions on how their name, voice, and likeness is used. And obviously that builds your precedent up as you move on in your career. Obviously, the bigger you are in your career, if you're Margot Robbie or Anya Taylor Joy, it's a big fight to be had but there are small things that an attorney can ask for that just can up your game and make you seem a little bit more sophisticated and increase your precedent for your next gig. I think when you start making some serious money and you start making a serious living off of being an actor, it would be wise to reach out and start building a relationship. What we should be doing in this industry as seed planting, right? Every single job interview that I go on, in business and legal affairs with a studio, every time I have lunch with an agent, manager, attorney, an actor I'm planting a micro seed that someday we will potentially probably work together again. You never know where these relationships are gonna lead and gonna go. If, and let's say you take on an actor, what does that look like? Is there a retainer? How does the actor lawyer relationship begin? So typically for my actors, we engage on a standard 5 percent deal, meaning I'll take a 5 percent gross commission for the contracts that I negotiate and work on myself. There's no form of exclusivity the way that there might be with an agent or manager. You don't have to keep coming back to me. Although the better the relationship, the better I understand and know your needs, the better it is for me to be able to communicate and advocate on your behalf. I'll give you a good example. One of the actresses I represent has asthma, and that's something that I didn't quite know. But she was on a film set and there was heavy smokers around and I found out way later, way after the fact. And, that is an easy phone call or an easy conversation that a lawyer can make that maybe an agent or manager might not want to make or, oftentimes we get put in the uncomfortable position of being the bad guy. If you are getting deals, you're getting engagements, you're getting work, that's just an easy 5 percent deal. If you are wanting more help developing your behind the camera services, you want to be a writer, you want to be a director, you want to be a content creator in your own right. We will usually charge an hourly rate or a flat rate for something like that. Once you become part of the law firm family, we have lots of dinner parties and receptions and meetups between clients. So plug into the lasting entertainment law rolodex and really just build that community, build that relationship. A lot of, being an actor [00:13:00] is really the dedication to your craft and learning how to grow and show up to that position. I think a lot of people want to be actors, maybe not for the right reasons. You got to be truly talented in your own right. But the actors that I do represent, the actors that are on my roster, I will try to, recommend or suggest them or help them take general meetings with my current existing clients, or if there's somebody that they want to build a relationship, they feel very strongly and I already have that preexisting relationship. Maybe it's something we can work on together, but not as a general. When do you know you need a lawyer? Entertainment Law School 101. In America, in the United States, there is no protection for unexpressed, unwritten down ideas. On the flip side of that, the beauty of how the United States copyright law works is if an original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium, that work of authorship qualifies for copyright protection and has copyright protection at common law. So the second your pen hits paper and starts writing, the second you start painting with a paintbrush, start creating with your keyboard, the ultimate creative expression of that work is going to have some level of common law copyright protection. It behooves you when you have some more of a concrete final product to register for federal copyright protection, it's $65. It's not a lot of money, but in that instance, you qualify for what is known as statutory damages. If there is a lawsuit for whatever reason later on, you can bring it in federal court, and it's a little bit meatier than just relying on common law copyright protections. But, at the end of the day I think it's Picasso who said it, good artists borrow, great artists steal. Deep Impact and Armageddon came out the same year, and anyone can rip you off at any time. Really, what you need to do to protect yourself is to grow and expand your brand on as many different platforms between your social media pages, between YouTube. You need to develop that idea and make your brand as expansive as possible. And really, it's a tricky thing, but what Disney does is they rely more on trademark protection than they do actual copyright protection. The Mickey Mouse copyright is going to go into public domain in 2024. So long as they're exploiting his image as a trademark in merchandising, it has more qualified protections. And really the best thing that you can do is plant your flag and say, “Hey, I'm here and make it known and open and notorious.” This is your idea and this is what you're doing. And do a little bit of due diligence to see if there's anyone else out there. Doing something similar because that is really a barrier towards monetization. If I'm a buyer and I'm in, and someone brings me an idea and I'm looking at it and I'm saying, “Hey, there's a hundred of these other things just like it.” It's not original. I am not going to take the risk on it. So, do due diligence yourself, make sure the idea isn't already exploited. B, make yourself as big and loud like a puffer fish as possible. So you can try to create and protect your brand, start to create merch and you can qualify for trademark protection in that, get your copyright protections and fill out your creative ideas in various medias. When do you think it is a good idea for a creator to start thinking, “hey, maybe I need somebody on my side?” When there's actual money on the table being had that starts to say, “hey, you know what, there are sophisticated players at the table. Maybe we should have someone relook at the paperwork. Maybe we should have things done correctly by a lawyer.” And then number two, I would say if this is your baby, if this is your project, if this is your investment, if this is your life's work, then it really is worth the $500, $1000. I do free consultations, free 15 minute consultations, but to draft paperwork and make sure paperwork secure work for higher agreements, transfer rights, spending $1500 to make sure that your project is protected is a drop in the fucking bucket. Talk to me about the current trends. Let me articulate it with a little story. I was at the variety marketing summit back in March. And, lots of executives in the advertising marketing space world. That's not really where I do a lot of my business. I'm working with actors, I'm working with writers, directors, producers, and I'm making shows and making content. But the number one thing that I took out of that meeting is how they are blending these areas and how advertisers are striking back with a vengeance in kind of a way, since the Netflix and the streamers of them all have kicked them out for the last 10 years, they are interested in creating TV shows around more products and services like Chipotle and whatever. If you look at the top grossing films this year, we had Nike, Blackberry, Super Mario Brothers, Barbie. These are products and brands and not the same IP temples like the Star Wars and Marvel that we saw in years past. I think Gen Z and now Gen Alpha, who's coming up, have a very different way of interacting with entertainment. So if you are an actor, Focus 100% on your craft and build that out first, but also look at ways that you can, monetize and do use social media, Tik TOK and YouTube and how you can start to think about yourself as a 360 brand business. I don't like that idea per se, in a world full of Zendayas and Sydney Sweeney's it's what it takes to get there. But you can capitalize on making content in a niche world for something that you like, say toy collecting and you're going to find your audience out there if you're true and authentic and it's something that you're passionate about and love. I think that at the macro level, we're going to have to decide what we want to address as a society, as humanity because it is something that threatens every specific industry as it relates to actors and writers. I think it's atrocious. The idea that you could take an actor's likeness and decide that you're going to own it and reuse it in perpetuity for the rest of your life as it relates to the final embodiment in a film or TV project, of course, but you don't own that person's image It's something that I believe is going to have to take a fundamental shift in government and in legislation that maybe recognizes the individual right of self likeness. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28351940

Episode 253: Fear and Courage 10/11/2023

Episode 253: Fear and Courage Fear and Courage. Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway "If everybody feels fear when approaching something totally new in life, yet so many are out there doing it despite fear, then we must conclude that fear is not the problem." Fear is not the problem. It's our attitude and our actions. One of the things I coach with people is I look at their goal, and then I look at their thoughts around that goal, or their affirmations, their affirmative thought around that goal, and then I look at those actions around the goal. So we make sure that the affirmative thoughts, or the thoughts that you are having around being a Working Actor, are not thoughts like, "Oh, I'm not good enough. It'll never happen. I'm too old for this shit." Whatever it is, that we start turning those thoughts around because we need to have our thoughts and our actions supporting and backing up that goal. That is how you create success in your life. But for me, when I started first to learn this work, I was like, "Yeah, but I'm fucking terrified, and I am filled with anxiety, and I cannot imagine calling my manager and asking, how come I don't have any auditions, or I haven't had any auditions for a couple of weeks." But yet, those were the things that I needed to do, either to get more activity or learn that manager was really not that into me and I needed to find someone else. Fear is not the problem. But what the problem is, according to Susan Jeffers, which I concur with, is how we hold and manage our fear. It's our attitude toward fear. So again, remember that fear is not the problem. How we hold and manage the fear is. Last week I talked about how you will never be given more than you can handle, but you will be given more than you can control. And manage is another word for handle. If how we hold and manage fear is the problem, guess what is the phenomenal, exciting news about that? Then there's something we can do about it. There is something we can actually do about it. Because if it's in our realm of being able to handle or manage. Hey, that's our job, remember, controlling is not. You're never going to be able to control your fear. Believe me, I spent a lifetime trying to do it doesn't work. But I can manage how I handle it. I can manage how I think about it and what I do about it. And the thing is that if I stay, in that belief, that fear actually is the problem, then I'm staying in that victim energy. Then I'm staying in that catabolic energy, that hopeless energy. "There's nothing I can do," bullshit. There is something you can do. Now I'm not going to say that it's going to be easy, and I'm not going to say that it's simple. But it is doable. In fact, it is simple. It's just not easy. So if we accept the truth that how we hold and manage fear is the problem, and I stress that is a truth, that is a Universal Truth, not an ego truth. That is an infinite truth. Then we put ourselves energetically of taking responsibility, and then we can move forward. So if we put ourselves energetically saying, "You know what? I understand I have fear. I, but I can manage it. I can handle it." By just doing that, we take ourselves out of catabolic energy, victim energy and in to anabolic energy, which is the energy of taking responsibility. But if we stay with the idea that fear is the problem, guess what? We stay stuck. So many people, I was at a networking event yesterday and it wasn't an actor. It was just a neighborhood networking event. The number one thing that everybody told me was "I feel stuck." The reason why you're stuck is that you are afraid. So let's get you unstuck. Now, if again, how we hold and manage fear is the problem, we can move out of fear and then we can accomplish our goals or our wants or our needs. So Susan Jeffers talks about a how we hold our fear, and she has a chart. When we hold our fear, we have some kind of what? Pain. And that pain is caused by feelings of helplessness, feelings of depression, feelings of paralysis. But when we move into that anabolic energy, we take responsibility of managing and handling our lives as opposed to controlling it or just not doing anything, then we end up with choice. We end up with excitement because "oh my god we're actually doing it now." And we end up with action. And when I talk about this power, this idea of power of how we get ourselves to do what we want. I am talking about the power within ourselves, which is ultimately building self-esteem. So if we have power over our perceptions of the world, we have power over our thoughts. We have good, affirmative thoughts. Then, we have power over our reactions. Let's say something happens. I spill coffee on my new blouse. My immediate reaction will then be, "Oh God, that was so stupid. Or I'm so stupid." But then I want to tell myself, "Stop." I want to stop. And then I want to take a step back from what I just said to myself. What just happened? Stop. take a step back. And I use that example of putting your hand on your face and you cannot really see your hand. But if you move back a foot and you look at your hand, you are then in a place of what you are in a place of observation. When you are in a place of observation, you can ask yourself that valuable question, "is this healthy for me to behave, to think this way, or is it unhealthy for me?" Then, of course, I'm going to realize it's unhealthy for me to have such a negative reaction to just what was it? A fricking little mistake. So what am I going to do? I am going to respond. I'm going to respond with a loving thought. I love myself, and I approve of myself. And here's a genius idea. Go get some club soda. Go get a towel wipe off your blouse, and take it to the dry cleaner. Was it worth beating up on yourself? For all of that? For just spilling some coffee? No. Because nothing is worth a dig at my self-esteem. Nothing. I have a phrase that says, "A Response is a reaction with a pause and a thought behind it." And when we have power over our reactions or our perceptions, we are using that process of stopping, taking a step back and observing, looking at it for what it is from a distance because, again, we're in that valuable place of observation and then responding to the situation. Power to do what is necessary for our own self-growth and career and all of these things make you feel better about yourself. It creates healthy self-love, and we need self-love to be in this business of show because the business is not going to supply you with that love. And this is the biggie. As a casting director, I also [00:13:00] am letting you know you cannot ask it to. As a casting director, I cannot be the one telling you, "Don't be afraid; it's okay." Now, obviously, as a coach, it is. But if I'm in a job situation, I cannot be the one nurturing you. That's not my job. My job is to cast the actor who knows they are doing a great job and who has assured me that they are in great hands. That's what I need. I don't need to be validating your existence on this planet. I have way too many other things on my plate. I need you to know you're good. And I need you to assure me. I'm in good hands. This power that I've been talking about in the podcast before and in this one gives you the ability to get yourself to do what you want to do. It gets you out of your own way. It is empowering and ultimately, it creates a tremendous sense of serenity. But guess what? It always. It always. is, it's always magnetizing. It's like when in sports, when you see the person who breaks away and runs with the ball and crosses the finish line, or gets the goal gets the goal, or scores the touchdown. That is so exciting. And it's also exciting when a casting director sees an actor be great at their work. It just makes me want to cast them over and over again. You do not have to be incapacitated by your fears. You do not. /episode/index/show/actingbusinessbootcamp/id/28282502

Acting Business Boot Camp

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