Do Nothing

Once upon a time

I was rethinking auditions

I had four coming up in the following two weeks

And I really wanted the generous wealth associated with those jobs

But

I also deeply wanted to stay in bed and watch my favourite show 

I was enthralled with it

It was taking me on an imaginative journey I simply loved

I felt so alive watching it (ironically)

So I had a little think

What if I

Just for the next two weeks

Ran a little experiment

What if I did nothing?

I mean

What if I did as little as possible to get the job?

Now

This needed some clear planning

Because in order for me to do nothing

I had to be clear and honest about what nothing actually looked like for me

So I began combing through all the shoulds

What are the stories I have been telling myself?

What are all the things I think I should do in order to get the job? 

Let’s start small

Do I need to learn lines?

I remember the time during a call back when a director said to me

“Mike, no-one ever got the role because they knew the lines”

But I grew up on Shakespeare

I went to NIDA during the years of the great Kevin Jackson shouting passionately

“THE WRITER IS GOD”

So to let go of the lines feels really scary for me

I feel naked without them

Solutions?

I could maybe just hold the script and make up some dialogue in the room?

I mean

As long as it’s honest and connected 

I’ll be fine

And if worse comes to worse

I can write out my dialogue on a big piece of paper and kindly ask the reader to hold it in front of their head

It’s only for two weeks

Okay

Next

Do I need to get dressed?

Brush my hair?

Mmm 

Why?

Has anyone ever got the job because of the costume they wore in the audition room?

Maybe

But for the kinds of jobs that I actually want?

I mean

What do I actually think is important?

What do I actually think is worth working towards?

What actually means something to me?

What are the performances that light me on fire?

Do they have pretty clothes or gorgeously kept hair?

Nope

For me

It’s all about honest eyes

Someone pulling their heart out of their chest

Holding it vulnerably out to the world

Allowing us to see into their wounds through the glassy windows of the soul

That’s what I love seeing more than anything

That to me is worth working towards

That to me is worth staying up late for

Missing meals for

Forgetting to go to the bathroom for

God I forget how much I love this craft sometimes

Okay 

Keep going

It’s just a two week experiment 

But I feel strange about not looking clean and perfect

I grew up in South Africa

I went to a very “old school” school

They only got rid of the cane when I was six years old

And walking down the school halls at the age of seven

If I didn’t say “good morning, Sir” and take my hat off 

One particular teacher would pull my ear and lift me onto my tippy toes

“Are you forgetting to do something, Mr Sheasby?”

His voice would boom

Must be perfect

Must be polite

Must show respect to elders 

Again

It’s just a two week experiment

Lean in

Ugh this is uncomfortable

Take a breath

Keep going buddy

What do I actually need to do?

I don’t really need to learn lines

I don’t really need to make myself look perfect

What else don’t I need to do?

Let’s keep stripping it back

What is acting?

Start again

As always

Let’s boil it down to the essential component of living

Death

That’s a downer

But it provides meaning

The meaning of life for the majority of Homo Sapiens’ experience has been survival 

Because it was so incredibly difficult

For the last two hundred thousand years

A small scratch could mean bye bye

Side note - how amazing was the introduction of penicillin?

And that wasn’t even a hundred years a go!?

Wow

Michael

Concentrate 

Next

What was an essential component that allowed humans to survive?

Connection

Connection meant working together, safety and security 

Connection between humans allowed us to go from the bottom of the food chain, to the top

Connection = Survival

Next

What has been an essential component in helping humans connect?

Stories

Meaningful stories

Sharing meaningful stories

Stories helped us connect, which helped us survive 

Meaningful stories = Connection = Survival

How do we share meaningful stories?

Stick to basics 

Write, Sing, Dance, Paint, Act

This is where acting comes in

Acting can be a tool, a vessel  to help share meaningful stories

Acting = Stories = Connection = Survival

So what is essentially required from acting in order to be effective?

Well

I think it has to ignite the mirror neurones in order for it to effectively be meaningful

To help the tribe actually be moved, feel something, laugh and cry, learn

But, how does one ignite the tribes’ mirror neurones? 

Ahhh

By igniting mine!

It has to ignite something internally for me 

Make it human

Human

I don’t mean the species

I mean make it vulnerable, alive, present, real, dangerous, loving, messy

Human

What else?

Every scene starts and then ends

It’s a moment in time

That’s it

A Moment

How about we just go with that for now

Human

Moment

Acting is about giving a human moment

Give a human moment = share a meaningful story = help the tribe connect = help humans survive

Boom

My version of nothing

I need one tiny thing to help make my work human

And I need one tiny thing to help make my work have a clear moment

(I’ll save sharing those two little things for another time)

Fear is coming up again

What about all the other technical work I should be doing? 

The things I learned from decades of training?

Slow down

It’s just a two week experiment 

But what if I ruin my reputation in those two weeks?

Do something to get black listed from casting rooms?

I was late for Kevin Jackson’s class once

ONCE

One time after three years of practice

He turned to me quietly and said

“It only took one ice-berg to sink the Titanic”

Haha!

I miss drama school

I miss the family I had there

The trust that was built by being vulnerable and looking silly in front of my class mates

Over and over again

Every day

For three years straight

With that same group of artists

How fortunate

Take that lesson buddy

Keep being willing to look silly

Besides

It’s just for two weeks

And if it’s done with love

With an honest pursuit of craft and curiosity 

You will be held by the tribe 

Be willing to do nothing

Be willing to step off that ledge

And follow your curiosity 

… 

So off I went

I’de watch my show with a big smile

Until the wee hours of the morning

Fall asleep when my body told me it was time to rest

Wake up half an hour before my audition

Jump out of bed in my white long-johns

Put my Ugg boots on

Hop on my motorcycle

Ride to wherever the audition was

Grab the sides on my way into the room

(On one occasion I did quickly write the dialogue on a big piece of paper for the reader to hold) 

And I’de try my best to give a human moment

Then I’de say thank you and scurry out

Jump back on my motorbike 

And go clamber back into bed

To continue watching my show

The results?

Out of the four auditions I had during those two weeks

I got two

And was the director’s choice for the third

The fourth one I never heard back from

Curious 

What are my thoughts looking back on this experiment years later? 

I’m glad I did it

Because it really reframed things for me

Made me see things in a different light

All the shoulds

All the work I felt I had a duty to do in order to simply give my work

Let’s get to the point

As I write this I’m giggling

The irony is

I put a hell of a lot of work into doing nothing

There was a lot of thought, planning and execution 

But more so

There was a lot of energy required to lean into the fear of doing things differently

Doing them in a way which made my body feel like It might get kicked out of the tribe

I guess that’s where the self care & kindness comes in

The listening to the body

The following of curiosity 

The asking of meaningful questions

What is actually important to me? 

Where is beauty in my life?

What makes my body feel energised and alive?

Where is wonder for me?

What makes me feel enchantment?

What is worth doing?

What is worth doing less?

What is my version of doing nothing?

What gives me meaning for my short little time on this soil?

Curious 

Hope this helps

x

PS - I do not condone riding a motorcycle in the city wearing pyjamas and Ugg boots. Please be safe.