What Works for You
Q&A: ‘Mike, sometimes I pick up a script and feel overwhelmed with the 1000’s of things I’ve learnt I COULD do with it… I want to keep growing my toolkit and explore new things, but how can I find which specific ‘tools’ are strongest for my process, to use as my foundation?’ - C
Hey C
Love this
Thank you for clicking “send”
Something I have noticed
In working with both graduates and non-graduates
Is a sense of
“I’m not doing enough”
I see this manifesting in unsustainable behaviour
Trying to do twenty things
But not actually being able to do any of them at a desired level
Which keeps them in a plateau-like state
Never actually improving
Again
Amateurs do lots. Professionals do less, and do it better.
As someone who finished NIDA with an actual process list of approximately 200 things I believed I had to do in order to give work that I believed was acceptable
(Which of course, was unsustainable, and led to me constantly feeling like I was never doing enough = burnout)
My approach now tends to be the opposite
Do less & do it better
Go look in the mirror (figuratively or literally)
And think about a few things
What kind of career do you really want to have?
What do you actually want to contribute to this industry?
No good, bad, right, wrong
Just see what pops up
Now ask yourself the question
Is what I’m currently doing actually getting me the results I want?
Back in 2016
I sat down and explored when acting was actually meaningful to me
When did it feel like I was at my most generous?
When did It feel like I was actually contributing something meaningful?
When was it worth doing for me?
For me, at that time
It boiled down to the concept of having “honest conversations”
Which led to a very sobering moment
I had to ask myself the question
Why am a trying to become some fancy character actor
When I can’t even be honest on screen yet?
I realised the most beneficial thing I could do
Was give up
Start again
But this time
Play the long game
Slow down in order to progress further
Build a strong, simple base
A base that would carry me for the years and decades to come
So
Step one
What are the best experiences you’ve had acting?
The most energising, meaningful, fun, alive experiences
When did you feel most at home?
Step Two
What are the patterns behind those experiences?
What did you do that influenced those experiences?
Keep it simple
Were you honest?
Did you focus on what you could control?
Did you get help from a coach or great rehearsal buddy?
Did you take your time?
Did you listen to music?
Did you have a great sleep the night before?
Did you exercise the morning of?
Did you drink lots of water?
Did you warm up?
Did you have a clear objective?
Did you learn your lines?
Did you focus on your breath?
Did you build your character’s relationships?
Did you build your character’s environment?
Did you have a clear moment before?
Did you have a little ritual?
Did you understand the purpose of the scene?
Did you understand your characters purpose within the script?
Did you have a Chekovian Psychologiuc Gesture?
Bla bla bla
Etc, etc
Find the patterns
Step Three
Take those patterns, principles, rituals
And distill them
Which ones actually work best for you?
And build off them
Focus on practicing those few things
And focus on practicing them well
If you notice that you’ve had wonderful experiences when you were honest, knew your lines, and had a clear objective
Then practice doing those 3 things well
Do them so well it becomes second nature
Once they are in the body (unconscious competence)
Then think about what simple skill would advance your growth next
One skill at a time
Build that base baby!
Something I love about non-graduates
Or even non-actors moving into acting
Is that they don’t necessarily know what they should be doing
So their mind isn’t overwhelmed with options
(like graduates can sometimes be after 3 years of learning hundreds of techniques)
I have watched professional athletes, Victoria’s Secret models, ARIA award winning musicians
Advance faster in acting because we focussed on only doing a few things well
We focussed on what actually worked for them
(Quality over quantity)
Everyone has patterns and principles behind meaningful & energising moments in their life
The key is to allocate the time and space to discovering and distilling them
Building a foundation which will help you perform well, and your way
No matter the arena!
A strong foundation acts like a tree trunk
It supports all the wonderfully detailed branches and leaves to come
But the priority
Was giving a tiny seed of intention
All the room to grow well slowly
Some people might think a tree trunk is boring
I think it is the most wonderful, sexy thing in the world
I think it is what influences one’s longevity and quality of work.
Wanting to stay curious, grow and explore is bloody honourable
But if everything you learn stays at a shallow level
What value has this actually brought to your process?
If you were to spend an entire year practicing what actually works best for you
I guarantee
You would progress further than someone who wants to try get good at twenty techniques in 12 months
C
I see myself at 26
Having all the passionate intentions in the world
Having all the willingness to work hard
But feeling all the frustrations of not actually advancing
Which brings up the question
What is the most generous thing you could do?
Slow down, get better, give more?
Or keep trying to cram 20 shallow techniques in at a time?
My point…
Do what actually works best for you
Sending hugs
x