Written for Casting Networks News by Terry Berland @berlandcasting.
I declare this month Law Of Attraction month for you!
As an actor you want to attract the opportunities and the jobs. It’s a feat to become part of the “system”, stay in it and snag the “gold ring”, the bookings. To do this, the most important thing is to attract activity to you, and the rest will come. Fair warning, most results will be indirect and unexpected.
#1. Create and gain momentum. Stay in Motion. Newton’s law that a body in motion stays in motion, applies to your acting life. While you are in motion you can gently steer and change in a particular direction you choose when you feel it is the right time.
#2. Long-Sighted goals. Be realistic. Take one step at a time toward your long-sighted goals. Take your time to build up to the end results you have in site for yourself. This might affect jobs you take, agents that represent you and acting classes you spend time and money on. I am certainly not advocating leaving an agent that believes in you and is working to build up your career. If an agent is doing a good job for you, stay with that agent. But for example, if your long-term goal is to be represented by CAA, build up to that long-term goal in a realistic way. Another example is you declare “I want to be really great at advanced long-form improv.“ Well, you would have to take beginner and intermediate to build up to being able to handle advanced long-form.
#3. Keep acting every way you can. Create your own projects, act in acting class every week, do theatre, commercials, voice-over, video games, audio books, industrials, print work and even do an extra on a TV show to get on set to see how that venue works; and do every other form of acting that you can find that interests you.
#4 Work begets work. Certainly don’t sell yourself short, but stay busy with any kind of acting work you can get. Without selling out, take work for a fee that is not your long-term goal.
#5 Keep building your resume. Start with the very important basic foundational strong acting technique training and then develop your resume according to the type of acting work you want to do. If you know you are funny start taking classes that reflects being able to act with humor. Also take improv that challenges the muscle in your brain that blocks and filters your creative thought process. I once was interviewing an actor and after I read over her resume I asked where she thought her acting strength lies. She said comedy. I pointed out that there was not one play or acting class listed that reflected humor. I told her the obvious, “you have a strong foundational resume, now start shaping it towards what your strength is and what you really want to do.”
# 6 Surround yourself with supportive people. This is extremely important. Walk away from negativity. Leave it behind you and say “bye- bye”.
# 7 Surround yourself with positive people. Positivity creates an energy around you that will attract positive situations.
# 8 Live by integrity. Have integrity in everything you do. Treat yourself with respect and treat others with respect. That includes other actors, casting directors, agents and assistants.
#9 Believe in yourself : You have to believe in yourself at every turn you make. It starts when you walk in the room and continues when you walk out of the room and continues on your way home through that night to the next day.
# 10 Do everything with passion. Show up at auditions interested, read all the directions given to you, analyze your scripts and sides, listen to direction given to you and make solid, committed choices. Walk out of the room with joy that you just finished a satisfying audition.
#11 Be grateful. Take time out to acknowledge all that you have.
Most of the time doing all these things magnetize indirect results and will bring unexpected situations your way. I would love to hear about any of these things that you have done that have reaped you benefits. Please share your thoughts with me in the comments below.
If you want to sharpen up on your commercial acting technique, follow this link to Terry Berland’s Commercial Acting workshop.
