Bitterness is antithetical to art. Play is the cure. A practice of play keeps you engaged in the work for its own sake, keeps you focused on the creativity, and keeps you in the practice of being positively reinforced for engaging in the work.
The practice of play makes you dive into the audition material with passion, exploring all the options with joy. It makes you excited about the prospect of working the scene with the reader. It makes you invest. And only when you invest can a casting director invest in you.
But how do you play? What does that even mean?
Here are five tips to let loose and play!
1. Write. Take 10 minutes right now and write about your ultimate creative fantasy. Do it. What gets you excited creatively? What are you not doing because you think it wouldn’t make you money to pay your rent. Shakespeare? Alexander technique? Writing and shooting your web series? Write it all down.
2. Commit. After you’ve spent 10 minutes figuring out what excites you, do it. Commit to at least 30 minutes of creative play every day for 10 days. Seriously do it. Right now.
3. Create work. Don’t make it complicated. It can’t require months of preparation and a myriad of obstacles; nothing can get in the way of making it happen. Get your iPhone, a scene or character or sketch you want to play with, and shoot. Do it for 30 minutes. You’re a creative person, so create! Do it today.
4. Get in a class that gets you excited. Not just any class. Not a class that you think your agent wants you to take because it looks good on a résumé or a class that you think will give you the secret to booking an audition (considering that doesn’t exist). Take a class you think will set your soul on fire. Go ahead!
5. Lighten up. Remember, it’s not life and death. It’s just acting. And acting should be fun. Challenging and gut-wrenching and exhausting, too—but that’s part of the fun!
Practice that and you’ll start to let go of anxiety, bitterness, and paralysis. You’ll start to approach your auditions and your life with an open heart, with excitement. You’ll become more present. The work will become easier and much more fun. Your career will thank you for it!
Here are the classes we've put together to help make your summer a time of kick-ass play. A time of absolute joy. You deserve it.
Right here is your BGB summer of fun + celebration.
Inspired by this post? Check out our audition listings!
The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them,
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
