“A man that chases two rabbits, catches neither.” - Confucious
At the time of this writing, we are almost through the first week of November. That means the season of giving is officially upon us.
In that spirit, I want to give you something that goes beyond what we usually cover. This special report contains the A to Z recipe for how to get from where you are now to building a career that exceeds your wildest dreams, and getting that big break you’re after.
There are truly only 3 things to focus on (yes really only 3 things) if you want to make it in the industry.
Most of us spread ourselves way too thin and exhaust ourselves working on a thousand things that seem important but end up being a mere distraction that feels like progress.
Fair warning: today’s special report is not for the faint of heart. It has a little bit of tough love, and because it contains the real strategies for succeeding as an actor, it will take away all excuses for someone who may not be making the career progress they want to make.
Consider this a rallying cry and an open invitation to finally claim the success you deserve.
If you want to know how to become the go to actor, the first person that CDs, producers, and directors think of anytime they are in casting mode, here’s where to start…
It’s as simple as uttering 5 words, but the trick is to do so genuinely.
Here’s what I mean…
Most actors go into an audition completely blind. They don’t know anything, or at best next to nothing, about who they are reading for.
Not knowing anything about the director and the production staff is bad enough, but not knowing the Casting Director is even worse, when you consider that they are the on the front lines of making the casting decision.
You should know everything about them and their careers, before you ever step foot in the audition room.
When you make it a habit of getting to know them, you will be surprised at how many rooms you end up being invited into. Words spreads quickly in this industry and you will build goodwill very fast if you learn how to say the 5 magic words.
“I admire your work NAME.”
Here’s what makes those 5 words the magic phrase. When you can genuinely say to someone that you admire their work and then reference something specific about it, they will never forget you. To say it genuinely means that you have put in some effort to research their work.
For example, if you were to walk into an audition and say to the CD “I admire your work Mary. The cast you built on The Path of Grace was incredible and played so well off each other, the project turned out fantastic!”
Remember that to be memorable and interesting to someone, you first have to be interested [in the other person]. So, rather than approaching this from a selfish position of trying to get something out of it, do it out of genuine interest in learning more about the other person.
After all, your future is largely in their hands sometimes.
When I tell actors this they usually come up with tons of excuses for why they can’t research the Casting Directors. Most of the time they don’t even know who it is.
It can sometimes be tough but if you stick with it and get a little creative, you will always pull through. A fellow member of our Boost My Star tribe didn’t know who she was reading for so she picked up the phone and called the production office.
She asked who the CD was on the project. Not only did she get the name, reception also put the call through to the CD, without her even asking. She was able to introduce herself to the CD prior to the audition, researched the CD’s career, and ultimately landed a much, much more prominent role in the production than she originally read for.
To be fair, this worked for her because she was relentless in her pursuit of getting the information she needed to conduct the research on every audition she went on. It also helped that she had credibility when anyone asked to know more, before divulging the information.
Remember, even though it all starts with 5 simple words. What truly makes them magical, is the intent and emotion behind them.
While doing this helps you build valuable relationships with everyone from CDs, to directors, and even your costars, the growth curve requires that there be a starting point: meaning it takes at least 1 audition or 1 production to get the ball rolling.
But, what if what you need more of are those 2 things? What if you don’t have enough quality auditions or aren’t being cast enough to get things started?
If that’s the case, you have focus on getting more of those.
You can either sit around watching Netflix, waiting for your agent to call with your next audition (that’s slow and highly unpredictable way) or you can do it the fast way that puts things completely under your control.
Here’s how you do that…
I call it the Actors Career Trajectory hack and everyone who employs this powerful strategy has had amazing results.
See, if you want another audition and more acting work, but all you have going on is waiting on a call there’s nothing you can do.
However, if employ the following strategy, and want more work and more auditions you simply do more of it.
I’m talking about building a platform and distributing targeted content to grow that platform.
If you have been around the Boost My Star community for any length of time, you already know that I’m a big proponent of leveraging YouTube. The reason is that media distribution is changing.
You don’t have to wait to have a show picked up to get attention to your content anymore.
There’s a kid with nearly 17 million subscribers on just one of his channels, that gets more views to his videos than prime time TV. If you walk into a Walmart, you will see his name plastered all over the toy section, clothing, and of course they carry his entire line of products.
He has half a dozen competing offers and projects in development from Nickelodeon, Disney, Universal, and both Amazon Studios, and Netflix are joining the bidding war in hopes to add to their children’s programming.
That’s the power of building a platform of loyal and supportive fans. It is the number 1 thing that Casting Directors are looking for.
It always helps to have a little bit of momentum to get the ball rolling while you build your platform. Here’s how I can help with that.
The mistake that most actors make is that they try to fake things and that comes off as ingenuine. Don’t try to impress, there’s way too much of that online already. Instead, chronicle the struggle. People will respect you for that way more! You will endear your fans to you and your content will spread incredibly fast.
So now, you know how to hack your way to acting success using the Actor’s Career Trajectory and how to become the go to actor, using the 5 word magic phrase.
All that’s left to do is ensure that you can deliver a world class performance every time that lives up to your reputation.
Here’s how to do that…
Stop acting. Become a vessel for your character to occupy and let things flow naturally. There are 2 ways to do this effectively.
The first way goes against what we always learned to do, as actors. Don’t memorize your lines fully.
When you have a complete grasp on the lines, it becomes routine and you chip away at your level of believability with each take. Aim for a 70% to 80% mastery of your lines and the entire scene.
This will keep you from “playing in anticipation” [of the next line]. It will keep you on your toes and your actions will come from a more genuine place.
Every world class director has said that the most talented actors they work with are the ones that never do a take the same way twice. This is one way to make that easy on you.
The other way requires a bit of time to quiet your mind and enter alpha, as I call it. See the Alpha level of brain activity is where creativity resides. Sure, we could go esoteric but for now let’s keep things on the practical side.
When you quiet your mind and enter the alpha brain state, you thought patterns flow slower and more clearly than they normally do. This allows you to tap into your creativity on a much higher level, because you are not comparing your thoughts against anything else. They just are.
See in your normal state you might think things like “what if play the scene this way, would doing it like be good enough, etc.”
When you enter alpha, you think one thought at a time. There is no comparison. Your mind simply calls forth the most effective way to play the scene, that is in your capacity (which at the alpha level is limitless).
To go the alpha level of brain activity. Go to a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for at least 15 minutes.
Sit up straight or lie down on your back comfortably, whichever you prefer. Close your eyes gently push away your thoughts and begin by counting backwards from 50. Picture yourself descending down a ladder, taking another step down with each number.
When you reach the bottom of the ladder, you will find yourself in a brightly lit all white room. With your eye lids still closed, tilt your eyes slightly upward (about 45 degrees). Call forward the character you are playing.
When they appear. Ask them any questions you have. Ask about the emotions behind the lines, what happened “behind the scenes” that doesn’t play out on screen but still drives the story and motivates the character to behave in a certain way.
After all your questions have been answered, walk over to the character stand behind them, pause for a moment and then step into their body.
Now, rehearse the scenes you are working on, acting from the character’s perspective. They are now you and you are now them. Don’t force anything, just let the scene happen. At the alpha level of brain activity, your first inclination is what you should always go with.
When you are satisfied with your performance, turn around and you will see the ladder that brought you down here. Count forward to 10, taking a step up the ladder with each number. Once you reach 10, mentally acknowledge that you are now back in the room you are sitting or laying down in, audibly say “awake” and open your eyes.
You have brought everything from the alpha level back with you, so don’t run lines, don’t rehearse the scene in any way. Simply let it flow on set. You will play the scenes just as you did at alpha, without trying to.
Just let your actions flow and no two takes will be alike, and directors will adore you for it! When a director calls you to jokingly scolding you because they can’t choose what take to print, they will also let the entire town know about it!
This is how you deliver a world class performance and make your career a huge success.
That’s it grasshopper: the trifecta. The 3 things contained in this special report will get you past any obstacle you face in building your career.
So where will you start? Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. I’m always happy to help in any way I can and I have put together something to ensure that your industry reputation matches your goals and your potential. Get the details on that here.
I’ve done this because my goal is to…
See you at the top,
Scott