Bret Shuford started out as an actor in the original Broadway casts of “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid.” Now, he’s been coined as “The Broadway Life Coach,” working to help other actors reach their goals as he continues to work as an actor himself on Broadway and in film and television.
In a recent YouTube Live with Backstage, Shuford sat down as part of our video programming The Slate to chat about how actors can structure their days during this time of quarantine and industry shutdown.
READ: COVID-19 Resources for Actors, Creators + Performing Artists
In April, he started The Secure Actor Project in which he hosts weekly interviews and Monday morning mindset talks to teach actors how to restructure their time if they’re feeling overwhelmed as a creative. “You have to have your own spiritual process,” Shuford says. “What I think is going to get you out of this is action—things you can do to help be actionable.
“The first thing we have to do is accept our circumstance. We have to practice acceptance,” Shuford continues. “Instead of getting afraid of what it’s going to result in, let’s stay in the moment.”
With so many online classes and seminars being offered at this time, Shuford says it can get overwhelming to narrow down what to focus on. He suggests picking the thing that’s going to bring joy and help you to become the person you want to be once the pandemic is over.
With his project, he says he encourages actors to focus on three categories you want to spend time on every day: centering yourself, crafting your career, and creating community. The key, he says, is to balance these categories instead of immersing yourself too much into one and ignoring the other.
A Therapist Reveals How Actors Can Care for Their Mental Health During Quarantine “If you’re feeling afraid, fear is really false evidence appearing real,” Shuford says. “When you’re engaging in your fear, you’re never going to be able to step away and see that it’s false evidence. To see that the fear you have that [Broadway is] all over is not real. Because there is so much happening, and you can be a part of the community.”
As long as you’re engaging and connecting with people, you’re supporting this community, Shuford says. His first suggestion is to reevaluate your morning routine: “Are you sleeping in? Are you not setting an alarm? Waiting for the sun to do it for you? Just getting your coffee and trolling TikTok? Waiting for some motivation?”
After having a hard time getting motivated to go on a walk a few weeks ago, he says he and a friend started texting every single morning to make sure the other takes a morning walk. “Accountability is a huge part of setting up routines,” he says.
To hear the other tips Shuford recommends for building a better and more rewarding routine during quarantine, watch the full segment below, and stay up to date with future digital series like this one on the Slate right here.
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