A certified coach with almost two decades of experience in the entertainment industry. I demystify the process of how to become a working professional in the entertainment industry with tools, strategies and processes to help performers feel empowered as they build their career, hone their craft and cultivate more confidence.
Actors – you will make mistakes as you pursue this career – and I must preface this post by reminding you that everything is figueroutable.
I work with tons of actors on a weekly basis and I’ve been seeing the same trends come up recently why some actors are frustrated, discouraged, or unmotivated…
I hate to call anything a “mistake” because taking some action is always better than not taking any…
HOWEVER –
I don’t want you to waste your time, money, or energy….
I don’t want you to be unnecessarily frustrated…
I don’t want you to become discouraged as you chase your dreams…
I don’t want you to think you’re the problem…
So here are some of the main mistakes I see actors making that have the most impact on hurting their careers, craft, and confidence…
Why this is a problem: Getting great representation is a factor in building a strong career… but it’s not the end all be all. And once you get a great rep…. do you know what to do to build a strong relationship with them? Do you have your marketing materials in a great place so they SHINE? Are you training and growing your craft? Getting your own audition opportunities? How are you building relationships with casting directors?
ALL of this – is your responsibility outside of having representation. And I know it sounds like A LOT… but I promise you, it’s not that challenging to maintain once you build a roadmap that works for YOU.
Why it’s important: At the end of the day, this is your career. Yes, your rep is your co-pilot or teammate, but you’re the CEO, baby. How are you building a sturdy career for YOU? Also – this is something you can be doing without rep, or before you get signed. Your career and level of success you can achieve is not beholden to anybody… so a strong foundation is a must, whether or not you have rep.
Why this is a problem: Your marketing materials are your main sales tools. Introducing yourself to rep or casting without a strong package in place doesn’t showcase how desirable you are. Making it easier for them to say “pass”.
Why this is important: Your marketing materials are what determine if you get certain career opportunities or not. Your marketing materials directly affect the auditions you get. They impact how well your rep can work for you. They represent you when you’re not in the room. If you were on shark tank – your casting profile would be a HUGE part of your pitch. Does it act as evidence of your talent? Does it help you shine?
Why this is a problem: When you’re in the first phases of building your career, no one knows who you are yet… but you’re being submitted on the same jobs that working industry professionals are… does your profile showcase your strengths? Does it have reel material and headshots that showcase who you are as a storyteller and highlight the shows/projects you could be cast on TODAY?
Why this is important: As stated above – your marketing materials are wildly important and defining your castablilty allows you to create stellar marketing materials. You create your castability (branding) and infuse your branding onto your marketing materials to showcase your strengths and help you stand out in a sea of talent.
Why this is a problem: Just like any other industry, this is a numbers game… the more you submit yourself on auditions… the more auditions you’ll receive… which means more opportunities to get better at auditioning, be exposed to new teams of creatives… make more fans… book more work.
Why it’s important: Opportunities are gold in this industry. It’s not just about who you know, but who you know that likes you…. how many people know you and like you? How many fans do you have? How much experience are you getting to grow?
Why this is a problem: Auditioning is its own beast in this industry. Not knowing how to break down project information, do a proper self-tape, create interesting characters and serve the story… comes across as “green” – making it harder for casting directors to fight for you.
Why it’s important: Having a preparation process that you can jump right into every time that audition email hits your inbox is vital. It empowers you as a professional and builds your confidence. It makes you instantly more competitive.
Why it’s a problem: This literally can zap the creativity right out of a performer’s bones. Trying to guess what a casting director wants and craft a performance around that is frustrating and usually ends up being a pretty bland performance. From the script… who do YOU think the character is? How do you serve that up? Don’t try to meet a certain expectation of what you think they want… that stifles all experimentation & exploration of the character.
Why it’s important: The casting director doesn’t know what they want. That’s why they’re calling in a variety of different actors. You’re being invited to show them YOUR unique interpretation of the character/story.
Why it’s a problem: It isn’t about you… and making it about yourself usually makes performers more nervous because they’re focused on what it means for them to do a good job rather than what it means to honor the character and story. Actors can get too focused on what their face is doing, voice is sounding like, and if their performance is “right”.
Why it’s important: You’re being invited to play characters that are a part of stories that are bigger than you. Have fun creating your own idea of who a character is. No one has ever met this character yet – show them who you think they are. Also – it takes the pressure off of you, because it’s not about you.
Why it’s a problem: Building this career takes TIME. And when actors focus sooooo hard on where they want to get in their careers and what they want to achieve…. it makes them highly impatient and they always feel “behind”…. rather than seeing the importance of all the small steps they’re taking and how impactful they are.
Why it’s important: Focusing on where you want to go is important… but don’t lose where you are, don’t forget to give yourself grace, and don’t forget that the PROCESS you take to work towards your goal is actually what’s most important. Your favorite actor started somewhere too.
Why it’s a problem: Information is nothing without taking action. Think about reading a book on how to swim but never getting in a pool? You can read every online article and book but until you start taking ACTION you’ll never learn what works for YOU in this industry.
Why it’s important: Always be more afraid of staying where you are than where you’re going. Action is the only thing that gets you there.
Why it’s a problem: “Getting great new representation” is an awesome goal…. but it’s out of your control if you’re actually going to reach it. You can’t make someone say “yes” to you. What’s in your control is the PROCESS that you can engage in to get you there. The small, baby organized steps that most people overlook is what makes them get super defeated and deflated because it feels like they’ll NEVER reach their goal…
Why it’s important: Understanding how to set smart goals and take attainable steps to get them is vital to stay sane in this industry and continue growing as a person and professional. Knowing how to curate steps that lead you to tangible transformation is an insanely useful skill that leads you towards making your dreams a reality.
My entire mission has and always will be to demystify the process of what it takes to go from emerging performer to working professionally in the entertainment industry.
I’ve created all of my programs to provide you with the tools, processes, and strategies to do exactly that.
This industry and art form are very important to me and any performer or parent who is brave enough to follow their passion (or allow their child to follow their passion) and pursue it has a fan in me.
I’ll always fight to help every performer and parent feel empowered as they follow their dreams.
If you want a co-pilot on your journey as you’re building your career – check out my coaching programs – designed to help empower you as your career grows.
A certified coach with almost two decades of experience in the entertainment industry. I demystify the process of how to become a working professional in the entertainment industry with tools, strategies and processes to help performers feel empowered as they build their career, hone their craft and cultivate more confidence.
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