What Drama School Never Gave Me
Once upon a time
I was listening to a wizard
John Danaher
He was talking about the moment he realised why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was dominating the mixed martial arts scene in the early nineties
What’s this got to do with acting?
Trust me.
For thousands of years
People argued over which martial art was most effective
Boxing
Wrestling
Judo
Sumo
Muay Thai
Kung Fu
Karate
Thai Chi
Etc etc
“I could beat you with my judo throw bro”
“Nah, I spent years meditating in a cave in the Himalayas and have a secret touch of death”
The argument ensued
Eventually
They began placing two people from different martial arts backgrounds in a ring for the ultimate reality check
And very quickly
They found the answer to the age old question
Which martial art was most effective?
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
“The Gentle Art”
But why?
Back to the wizard
One night
He was scribbling with his pad and pen
Why is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu dominating?
Many martial arts have take downs
Other martial arts have submissions
So what makes Jiu Jitsu so special?
Then It clicked
Whilst other martial arts had technical moves
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu had a SYSTEM
Simple steps
One, two, three, four
And you’ve achieved your goal
And at any point
If things aren’t going your way
You can disengage
And start again
A clear and simple system
Not necessarily easy
But simple
And simple means sustainably doable
When I heard this
I got so fucking jealous
Three years of drama school
Ten years of experience in the industry
Hundreds of classes
Thousands of dollars working privately with coaches
Yes - they gave me techniques
But those techniques were for the same areas
Over and over again
How to warm up my voice and body
How to analyse a script
How to break down a scene
All obviously important
But when I looked at everything I did as an actor
Holistically
On the daily
Every day
Over the course of an entire year
Every year
I realised I was only taking care of a very small part of being an actor
And neglecting the rest
So to clarify
Whats the most important problem here?
No one ever gave me a system for having an acting career
Mmmmmm
So I pulled my socks up
Made some changes
Created a system for having an acting career
And I went from sleeping on a wet mattress
To being nominated alongside my heroes
So I thought I would give it over to you guys
On a shitty bit of paper
I hope it helps
Now, all these stages of the system have their own subset of systems
I’ll break it down a bit…
To begin with
Lets look at the core
Our foundation upon which everything else is built
Why
Why do I act?
Whats my purpose?
In order to feel what?
Doesn’t need to be something heady - could be a feeling or a memory?
The body knows
How
How do I go about delivering my purpose?
If the why is clear, the how will take care of itself
And now for the actual stages…
1) Practice: Actually Get Better
Am I going to practice (class or private sessions) in order to get better?
Or am I going because I simply want approval from a group or a teacher?
Which is absolutely fine
I’m a human being
Our species has survived because of connection
So it’s built into my system
But I at least want to be aware of my intention before I spend money and walk into that room
Here are some things which drastically influenced the way I practice
One - Learning about the human brain, the way it protects itself & developing a growth mindset
Two - Learning about the training practices of my favourite athletes and artists
Some Areas of Focus:
What are the most important problems I have?
Whats my system for responding to pressure (fear) and how can I practice it?
Class - Why that class? Why that teacher?
Working privately with coaches / teachers - why them?
How do I replace a fixed thinking with a growth mindset?
2) Opportunity: Give what I actually want to give
Am I walking out of opportunities feeling like I actually gave the work I truly wanted to give?
Or am I walking out wanting to find the nearest inanimate object to kick and punch because I held back, succumbed to fear, and compromised my work?
Some Areas of Focus:
Whats my system for an audition?
Whats my system for a self tape?
What about call backs? or test deals?
Whats my system for a meeting?
3) Game Plan: Prep to play
Got the job?
Awesome!
Now what?
Ugh
The amount of times I got a gig
And rather than celebrating
I felt a gross gulp in the back of my throat
Complete overwhelm
Dear god now what!?
One of my favourite questions to help bring clarity and honest action…
What do I need to do, in order to get where I need to get, so I can give what I need to give ?
Some Areas of Focus:
Character - How do I build a character my way?
Logistics - What do I have to do in between now and the first day on set so that everything falls into place as smoothly as possible?
Support Team - If I’m the head of the department for my character, who’s my support team? (agents, managers, coaches, voice coach, assistants, family, etc etc)
MIPs - What are the most important problems that could arise and how will I deal with them?
To Do list - whats my priority?
4) Game Day: Play on the Day
My first few jobs out of drama school
I would exhaust myself in those first 72 hours on set
Because I was so afraid of being terrible
Not very sustainable
And the work would inevitably suffer
So how do I give my work
With joy
And with ease
All day
Every day
For weeks or months on end?
Some Areas of Focus:
Rest - “You want to play good? Sleep good” (Thank you, Cristiano Ronaldo)
Warm up - How to do this sustainably and effectively when you’re filming 14 hours every day?
Energy management - How can I give my best, on cue, all day, every day?
Rituals - How do I shift into gear when I need to? (And when I’ve been waiting 7 hours on set and I’m tired and cranky)
MIPs - Most important problems that may arise, and how will I deal with them? (Mmm how many times have a shied away from that difficult conversation on set and its made things 7 times harder in the long run)
5) Sharing: Giving the work to the world
I have spent most of my career in denial on this point
So the last few years have been a wake up call for me
Simply put…
The more people who are watching the work I’m in
The more opportunities i’ll get to actually keep working
I’m in the business of acting
Regardless of how much I might want to “just be an artist maaaaaaan”
I would like to be an artist, sustainably
For a long time
Reality check…
Daniel Day Lewis doesn’t get the Oscar
Unless he goes on Oprah and shares his story of how he found Lincoln’s voice
Then theres a story to sell
And more people go watch the work
And he gets to go work again when he wants
(or retire, whatever)
Buts whats most important here?
He shares the work his way
He does him
Which to me, is the real trick
So
How can I share my work my way?
How can I do media my way?
I’ll keep pondering that question
Some Areas of Focus:
On set media
Photo shoots
Short form interviews (ew)
Long form interviews
Red Carpet
6) Living: How to float
An important person in my life used to be a surf life saver
She told me how to avoid drowning in a rip
Most people think there are only two options when they’re feeling overwhelmed and out of control
Sink, or Swim
But they explained a third option
Floating
Sometimes the most helpful thing can be to just lay back and focus on the breath
But this requires some responsibility
The ability to respond
Not react
To whats going on around me
This got me thinking
If I want to have a long career
I’m guaranteed to be waiting
For weeks, months or even years
So how do I float?
How do I “wait well”?
How do I live my life
Fully
Regardless of no acting work coming in…
Regardless of whats currently hot or not in the industry…
Regardless of that director taking months to make that decision which seals my fate…
Regardless of those investors pulling out, causing the film to be put on hold… again.
How do I wait my way?
Some Areas of Focus:
Following curiosity
Taking care of those “golf ball” areas of life (Wealth, Health, Connection, Environment, Contribution, etc)
Dealing with failure
Alrighty
I’m out
My fingers are tired
If you have any thoughts or questions
Hit me back
Sending hugs
m