Did I mention in the last post that I submitted to the ABFF's monologue competition? Well I did, had fun doing it; now I just wait until April...if I don't hear that I'm one of the finalists by then I know I didn't make.
I've had a few auditions over the past two weeks, one was even for a Sling TV commercial...it filmed in Richmond, VA but I would have made the drive in a heartbeat if I was booked. I think I got pretty close to making a callback but I was supposed to hear back from casting, LAST night if the Client wanted me for the callback...so yea, issa no for that gig.
Did I mention I've been reading "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**!" I started it right after New Years Day then got obsessed with reading "The Underground Railroad" and preparing for an audition that I may never get (reference last post for that process lol). Anyhow I read a chapter last night before I went to bed and two topics stuck out: "pain is part of the process" and "action leads to inspiration and motivation" or something like that. I won't harp on the pain part cause that's obvious but the action part is interesting...
Essentially, the point of that topic was that we often wait for inspiration and motivation to act on something. In some cases, inspiration can really just come to you randomly; you know those ideas that come to you in the shower or on the toilet. Most of the time however, inspiration and motivation come from just acting first. Think Nike, "just do it." I started this morning, once again, a little defeated. I haven't booked any gigs, I'm still very much unemployed, and once again my friends are going on a trip this weekend and I can't afford to join. I knew I wanted to write a post today but I didn't feel inspired or motivated to do so. If you read those first two paragraphs they are kinda bleak and that's because I had no idea what the message of this post was going to be yet. In just writing those ideas out, I became inspired to talk, ironically, about the passage I read in the book last night and now I have an idea of where this post should go.
"American Soul" premiered on Tuesday. I enjoyed seeing the finished product for the first time and I reminded a lot of my family to watch it. I already know what's going to happen in each episode so at first I really focused on the sets and how it all looked. In most cases, the sets are the background and not the point of the scene so obviously they are out of focus. Midway or so through the first episode I finally snapped out of my daze and stopped focusing on what was literally out of focus. I realized that I had missed the first half of the show in many ways...I overlooked the entire picture because I was focused on perhaps the wrong thing. I settled in and was able to watch the rest of the two episode premiere and appreciate what was created and the role I played in creating it. Hey Look! I know those names that are popping up in the opening sequences and the ones flashing at the end of the episode! I worked with them! That was pretty neat...it was my first time being able to do that.
My point is it wasn't until I changed my focus that I really got the chance to appreciate everything. So tying that into my current situation I came to somewhat of a progression point. This time around, I'm no stranger to unemployment, wishing desperately to book a gig, figuring out how to not be broke, wanting with every fiber of my soul to be a working actor, and still trying to live a life. Really the only thing I should be focused on is living a life, that's the big picture, that's the "American Soul" premiere. Focusing on just "how to not be broke" is gonna stress me out. Focusing on missing THIS trip THIS weekend is going to bum me out. Focusing on any one thing, too much, is going to cause you to miss the whole production. Focusing on living a life however is going to cause me to act and that acting (pun partially intended lol) will inspire me and motivate me on the rest of it, and if I can keep my main focus there I think I'll be ok. That's the soul focus, get it? Cause American SOUL...I laughed.
Now, back to stalking actors access for auditions and harassing people with my resume and portfolio for some design gigs!
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