When it gets tough, please know miracles happen. As we head into the end of the year some actors can feel deflated and discouraged. This is the time that I will push mine harder, urging them to remember that pilot season is coming and that while everyone else is winding down we need to work on getting ready. Actors don’t get days off; we are on call 24/7 and roughly 355 days a year.
Over these last few weeks of the year I want to share what has happened in the past month with several of my actors. To give you some ideas of what you can do to be proactive and make things happen in this career you have chosen. What I have seen and been a part of has been, for lack of any other words, kind of miraculous. I hope that this story reminds you that if you stay persistent, and patient, you will persevere.
Becka has been with me for close to six years now. I have more admiration for this girl than I can possibly explain. She would call to book me for an audition first thing in the morning on her way into a bartending job that started at 5 p.m. When she got off that job she would go to her next which was at a nightclub until 3 a.m. She would always show up to coach ready to go. Not one time did I hear her say that she was tired. Last week she came to coach on an audition and in the middle of the session she was putting so much pressure on herself to get it perfect that she literally burst into tears. Being a middle class actor, there hadn’t been as many auditions as she was used to in previous years (before the infiltration of movie stars on TV) and she was feeling rusty.
“Maybe I should just quit, Sara. Maybe all this hard work is for nothing and I am not going to get this role anyway because it will go to a bigger name. Maybe it’s time I focus on getting my nursing degree,” she said.
I did not give her my Rocky speech. I simply said if that is what you really want to do and it will make you truly happy, do it. Walk away now. You know I will love and support whatever it is that you want to do. Through a tear-stained face she looked at me and I knew she wasn’t ready to walk away.
The next day she called and this is what came pouring out “Oh my God, Sara. Oh my God. OK…so…no. No, I did not get the job from what we just worked on but, just so you know, I did kill the audition. But, whatever! Remember that guest star I did on “Mike & Molly”? Well, they just called my agents and they are bringing me back for another episode! I have no idea why. I mean maybe it’s because I gave candles to everyone or was just really easy to work with. Anyway, we both know where I was at yesterday.”
I told her that my personal opinion is that I think she got it because she is one of the hardest working, most talented actors I know and she deserves it. Big time.
I want this for my students as much as they do. That is the truth. I confess that I am constantly praying/manifesting/begging on behalf of an actor to whatever or whoever is out there listening. Sometimes the injustice of the casting process or lack of attention from representation or the fact that hearing one more no gets to you and it feels like you are going to break. When my actors get discouraged or want to quit, it’s usually me who sees their tears and gives the Rocky speech to get them back in the ring. When an actor stops wanting it due to any reason then I cannot want it more than they do. When actors are reminded why they want it and then release all fear, hurt, or doubt…miracles happen.
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