Dear Graduates

Once upon a time

I was riding a camel

(I still don’t know why)

I was 16 at the time

And the guide up ahead asked me how I was feeling about entering my last few years of high school

I mumbled some kind of sulky teenage response

He turned around and said

“Mate, just put your head down for a couple of years,

It will be over before you know it,

and then you might not have to guide camel rides for the rest of your life”

Mmm

I would actually love to experiment with being a camel ride guide

But I got his point

Regardless if I work my arse off

Or I’m a complete lazy bones

Time will pass

And I will reap whatever I have sown.

Right now

The average 3rd year acting student at drama school

Has half a year left in their studies

The heads are starting to rise

And the finish line is in sight

Some might be desperately trying to escape the confines

Others might be trepidatiously looking over the edge of the nest

Wondering if they will fly

Or fall to a fiery death (bit dramatic)

But the end is near

You have been crammed full of tools and techniques

And had more bizarre experiences than any non-drama-school uni student could possibly imagine (or understand)

But

The majority of the experience has been had

And these last 6 months will be over before you know it

You are doing something you will never have the opportunity to do again

Sure, you can keep going to acting classes in the decades to come

But when else in your life

Will you dedicate 3 full years of your time & energy

To doing things like voice, movement, history of theatre, Alexander technique, improvisation, music, accents, mime, clowning, dance, stunts, etc etc

Consistently

Every day

With incredible facilities

And incredible facilitators?

I’m currently in a library leaning back in my chair

Thinking about those years for me

God

11 years after graduating from NIDA

I would give anything

To just once more

Wake up early

Dress in tight fitting black lycra

And lie down on those cold wooden floors again

(Whilst fighting for a position closest to the gas heater)

If I close my eyes

And take a second to actually place myself in that moment…

I feel tired

I feel over it

I feel ready to leave

Let this be over already…

But when I think about rolling over onto my side

And look at who is around me

What a bloody motley crew of human beings

I see Bri-Bri fighting the balance between complete dedication & getting the giggles

Matty is right there next to her in the trenches

Andrew is playing his guitar

I can hear Kurt thinking “Oh, you know what…”

Dave’s hair is perfect

Katie and Guyman are singing & moving with swag

Morgie smells of delicious banana bread

Gabe is having a complex conversation with Gideon about superheroes

Benedict isn’t here yet - he’s outside smoking with Nadim

Meyne is sketching in his notebook

Rob is drinking coffee (whilst Alan is trying to play some kind of prank on him)

Jenny is doing some kind of interpretive dance that I don’t quite understand

Sam is asking “where’s Branden?”

Harry is busting out notes like a pro

Batch is running a stand up routine

Silvina is figuring out if mercury retrograde is to blame

Michelle is finding someone to hug tightly

On and on

It’s like a weird experimental group of new Sesame Street characters

And it took me far...

Far too long

To realise

That this motley crew...

This is my family

Regardless of where I am in the world

There they are

Shared suffering sure as heck does something to bring a group of humans together

We went through experiences that I will never have the opportunity to do again

No more rockstar exercise

No more animal workshop

No more same time, same place, every, single, day.

I never would’ve thought that once I was out in the industry…

I would be working alongside them on set

Walking in the city protesting with them

Acting in things they had written

Holding sound gear for them in things they were producing

Running lines for their self tapes a decade later

Supporting their petition they started

Being by their side on their wedding day

Having late night phone calls once their new baby was finally asleep

Whispering in that director’s ear to hire them (just so we can hang out in the trailer)

Of course, we were not all the best of friends

We still aren’t

Some speak every day

Others havant spoken in years

But I’m not talking about liking each other

I’m talking about love

The doing part

To celebrate the extraordinary highs

To give flowers at an opening

To give standing ovations, even when the work sucks

To just be quiet and hug when no more words can help.

I was once waiting at a traffic light in my car

I looked to my right

And standing there was someone who I graduated

We hadn’t spoken in years

We looked at each other

In silence

And smiled

For a long moment

Until the light turned green

And we nodded as I drove away

Yep

Those 3 years

We did it

And we did it together

And for that

We will always have a bond

Always.

To the grads…

Look around you

Like it or not

This is your family

This is the group you get to go influence the industry with

So

Take care of each other as you slowly step into this new professional world

Oh… the places you’ll go

x

Peaks & Valleys

Ups and downs, smiles and frowns

I parked my car this morning before heading in to teach the 3rd year actors at NIDA

I gave my phone a little glance before I exited the vehicle

Message received

08:45 - “…forwarding your agent this email I got from xxxx.

They want you for the lead role in their feature film, shooting in xxxxxx, USA”

Oh, cool!

What a way to start the week

Onwards.

I stepped into class and we started again

Focussing on the things we could control

Building unique systems and process to help us technically give the work we want to, when we want to

I noticed myself pacing the room

Slightly angsty

Mmm

We took 5 for a bathroom break

I gave in to my curiosity

I pulled out my phone

Downloaded the email app (I usually don’t have emails accessible on my phone)

And discovered a thread of emails going back and forth

My face at this point was about 4 inches from the screen

09:05 - “interested in Michael for the lead role “XXXX”,  we are shooting in Late July 2022…”

My heart is pounding

09:08 - “Is he available at this time and able to work in the US?”

My breath is shortening

09:10 - “Casting is quite urgent and I'll have to push this to the directors if he's keen.”

Back and forth

Producer to casting to agent, back to casting, back to producer

The details

The glorious details

Lead role. USA. July

Cast

YES

Script

YES

Concept lookbook

OH YES PLEASE YES

And then…

09:13 - “Unfortunately it'd be too tight on this one…”

I stop

My eyelids give up and I let them close

Just like that

It’s gone

Done and dusted

My Monday morning roller coaster lasted approximately 28 minutes

I exit the bathroom

My back hurts

My neck feels heavy

My throat is tight

I step back into the classroom

And we start again

We get back to the important work

The simple, doable things

The setting up of little habits that compound over time

A bunch of things happened outside of my control this morning

A glorious example of the peaks and valleys of this industry all within an hour of time

Those ups will happen

And following them will be the downs

The balance

The reestablishing of order

This too shall pass

I might not be flying to the USA in July…

But I can still focus on giving my all to an audition I have tonight

Or take half an hour to sit on the headland in the rain with binoculars and watch the whales begin their long journey North

Or… simply take an hour to lie on the couch and give myself permission to feel what I’m feeling

To feel the disappointment

The frustration

The hurt

Then take a breath

And get back to it

Onwards

x

How to Serve

Once upon a time

I was on set

With a very well known actor

We were rehearsing a scene

This scene happened to include the inciting incident

The moment which catapults our protagonist onto their journey

The story needs this scenes

Without this scene there is no story

Now

As we were rehearsing

This actor turned to the director and said

“I don’t think I’d actually be that upset in this moment

More just a bit disappointed

Maybe I can rest my hand on his shoulder gently?”

Silence…

The director turned to me with a look of sheer terror on his face

Why?

Because in making that suggestion

The actor revealed something

They revealed they didn’t understand the Point of the Scene (POS)

Let alone the Point of their Character (POC) within the story

Sheep and goats

Amateurs and Professionals

Amateurs do what works for them

Professionals do what works for the story

Amateurs fight for what they want

Professionals fight for what the story needs

So

Know the POS

Know your purpose

Know why your character is in this script

Know why we are all standing around on this set spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in the next few hours

Trying to film this one scene

There is a reason

A point to it

And if you know what the point of the scene is

You can steer your work toward that

And therefore

You will serve

Serve the scene

Serve the story

Serve your tribe

Allowing directors to take a big, deep, calm breath

And thank god that they hired an actor who is here to give generously

Here to give what actually helps this scene and story

That’s some damn fine generosity right there amigo

But how does one find the POS?

Simple

Generally speaking

Look at the last beat of the scene

The last few lines or last little description

It will be there

Somewhere

It might be obvious

It might be slightly hidden

But it will be there

Whispering to you

“Serve me”

“Be more generous”

To clarify…

How to serve?

Know your place

Know your Point of the Scene (POS)

Know your character’s function in the story

Then go get em Tiger

You generous actor, you!

x

Self Taping

What’s your process today for Self Taping?

Everything between receiving the audition in your inbox till sending it off?

Well

Firstly

Let me define my end state 

I would like self tapes to feel

Easy, Meaningful, and Generous

Now

Let’s build toward that

Prep:

One - Clear yes, no or maybe

Two - Book necessary External Accountability (reader, coach, etc)

Three - Human Moment Prep (6-8 technical questions)

Day Of:

Four - Clear Focus (Set the timer for 45 minutes & write down how I would like to feel at the end of that designated time slot)

Five - Ritual (Breathing exercise and 90 seconds of honesty in front of the lens)

Six - PLAY

Seven - Share the work (Edit & Send)

And if it’s all too much to handle?

I ask the reader to hold an iPad up and I read it for the first time in the take 

My point? Build what works for you

How would you like to feel at the end? 

Then start backwards 

Keep growing

It’s a living process

This will all probably be different tomorrow ;)

x

No One Way

There is an actor that I really love

Ever since I watched him as a kid

I thought we was a technical genius 

A master of his craft.

Last night

I was at a film festival promoting something we shot back in 2020

It was lovely to see my old family again

The group of people who came together during a lockdown to make a movie 

Now…

One of my cast mates in this film

Actually happens to know this actor that I love quite well

So…

I pulled him aside

Picked his brains

And asked for all the goss

I wanted to know the secrets

His decisions on set

His rituals and routines

The subtle things he does before takes so as to  help him release his magic

What did I find out?

“Well… 

He hardly ever knows his lines

In fact

A lot of the time 

He gets a permanent marker 

Writes his difficult lines on some gaffer tape

And sticks it on his mark

So when he forgets his lines during a take

He can just look down

Take a second

Re-group

Say “ah, yes”

And then get back to it…

He says “ah, yes” a lot”.

I laughed

Of course

A lovely reminder

There is no one way to do this gig

Permission to build it your way

Permission to do what works for you

And if writing lines on tape helps you give Oscar winning work?

You do you boo boo!

Hope this helps

Sending hugs

x

Tumbleweed

As always

I have no idea what I’m doing

(I’ve never met anyone who actually does)

I know there’s lots of times I like to pretend I do

Giving me a sense of control

But it doesn’t take much for life to pull that comfortable rug right out from underneath me

And for me to faceplate on the floor of reality

Here’s my reality right now

(As I see it)

Last October & November 

For various reasons 

I declined eight offers for professional acting work

Films, Theatre, Short films, continuing season’s of TV shows

And now

Tumbleweed 

Nada

Silence

Mmm

The peaks and valleys

The ups and downs

The waves of this industry

I’ve been feeling frustrated about this in the passed week

Then I realised 

I love it

I feel like the more my fears are urging me to sprint

The more this world is telling me to think about the marathon

To think about sustainability of my contribution 

I heard a really lovely quote yesterday

“Any time you feel the urge to speed up… slow down” 

To me 

I read this as…

Breathe

Go back to process

What do I love about this craft?

How do I audition my way?

A way which allows me to put my head on the pillow feeling fulfilled & grateful?

What’s actually most important to me? 

Who do I love doing this with?

What’s the easy & honest next step?

I can feel an itch

I want to play 

I want to contribute

I want to use the skill set I’ve been working on 

To give human moments 

To help share meaningful stories 

Mmm

Curious 

A wonderful actor I’m working with just messaged me 

He was feeling the pressure

Then his cat jumped on the table

The presence

The play

The curiosity 

And the pressure “melted away”

This

More of this

More presence 

More play

More curioisty 

:)

Sending hugs

x

Dreamed a Dream

I was in my kitchen

Standing on the ground

I had a horse named Zeus

He was sitting up on the highest shelf 

And no matter how much I tried to coax him

He wouldn’t come down 

Then I woke up

Curious 

For the following questions… 

I will be answering as a chosen symbol from my dream

Which in this case

Will be the horse

I will choose to interpret this any way I want

I get to decide what this means for me

Here we go…

Question One: Who are you?

I am the horse named Zeus 

Question Two: Describe yourself?

I am golden

I am regal

I am stubborn 

Question Three: What is your purpose?

I am here to transport people from one side to another

To transition people through change

Question Four: How are you here to help Michael?

Michael

Look at me 

Up here 

Sitting proudly

I’m above all others

And guess what

I’m sitting on a shelf in a kitchen

Not getting anything done

Not contributing anything worthwhile to this world

Not collaborating with others

No matter what you say

No matter how much people to to coax me to come play

I’m stuck here up in my own world thinking how great I am

This is pride

This is hubris

And what have you learned about hubris?

It comes before the fall

Michael

Be on the ground

Put your feet in the soil

Stand on the earth

Look around you

At the wonderful people around you to connect with 

Go play

Be open

Be grounded 

Be humble

Live

Rather then sitting proudly on a kitchen shelf and slowly turning stale 

Curious

Sending hugs

x

Convert Curiosity

When I was a kid growing up in Africa 

I dreamed about going on adventures.

After school

I would remove my shirt and shoes 

Run outside in my khaki shorts

BB gun and pocket knife by my side

I would make a fire

And proceed to walk through the jungle (my backyard) in search of whatever adventure arose 

I would stalk Vervet monkeys

Munch of mulberries

Maybe even wade into the pond and try catch fish 

(I don’t know how many times those poor goldfish had to deal with me chasing them around) 

This…

This is how I wanted to life to be

This is how I expected it to be

Michael, The Explorer

The next adventure

The next person to learn from

The next track to follow 

No idea where it was going to lead me

But being brave enough to follow my curiosity

Despite the fear and danger of booby traps and lions 

(The booby traps were set by me, and the nearest lions were at least 45 minutes away from where I lived)

But when I woke up as an adult

There was a difference between my expectations and the reality I was living

I still had those dreams, desires of adventure, and urges to follow my curiosity

But I wasn’t acting on them

The gap between those two worlds felt vast

One world of adventure, exhilaration, terror, growth, learning, love, joy, courage

One world of predictability, staleness, boredom 

Don’t get me wrong - I love times of predictability, routine and plateaus

But I wanted the balance

The dichotomy

The plateau juxtaposed with growth

The stillness juxtaposed with action

The concrete juxtaposed with mud 

The order juxtaposed with chaos 

And I was at the point where plateaus felt lonely without the balance of the other side

I munched on this

Sat down with a guide I really trusted

And spoke about the vast gap between those two places

And what I found…

Was that the gap wasn’t as large as I initially though

In fact

It was tiny

A single stepping stone in a small puddle

Or a little jump across a small stream

One little stepping stone

One little thing

One, simple action

Was all I needed to bridge those two worlds

Examples?

Send that message

Write that email

Book those dates in the calendar 

Ask that question

Say that thing out loud

Cross the street

Follow that sign

Let my body lead 

Walk out the door 

What’s my point? 

Convert curiosity into action 

Sending hugs

x

Less Than

I sat down this morning at a cafe

Underneath one of those big trees that produce those itchy-balls in autumn

In my childhood, we use to collect as many as we could

Start playground wars 

And have “itchy-ball fights”

Then go back into the classroom after recess had ended

And proceed to spend the rest of the day scratching ourselves senseless

Agh…

I had a big article planned for today

Was really excited about it too

I was ready to start my Monday with a bang

Wake up early and be super productive

Then I got 2 hours of sleep…

So

Out of respect to the principles of productivity 

I’m going to do less than I think I can handle

Scratch my to-do list from five things down to two

Rest well

And start again tomorrow

I’m pretty proud of this

Six years ago I never would have even considered the idea of doing less

In this kind of moment

I would have wanted to push through

Called myself weak

And tell myself to toughen up

Just get it done

That mindset did actually get me some results

But It just wasn’t sustainable 

And what’s more

When I looked at my heros and mentors

The people who were getting the results I really wanted to work towards

They all seemed to go slower in order to go faster

And do less in order to do more 

So here’s to sustainable performance 

Here’s to doing less than I think I can handle

Sending hugs

x

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

Trust the Sprouts

There is a great actor I’m working with at the moment

And something else he’s very good at

Is growing plants

So here is a process for growing flowers

(Go with me on this)

Rich, Nutritious soil

Accomodating environment 

Plant Seeds

Feed every day (water & fertiliser)

Monitor & Maintain

Appreciate result 

Start again

mmm

Curious 

Did you see it?

There is a moment here I’m interested in 

Actually there are a bunch

But let’s just focus on one

Feed every day

Why?

If the seeds are under the soil

And are not flowers yet

And all I can see is dirt

Then why feed them every day?

Process + Time

There is trust in a process of growth

And there is time

These two things combined

Equals sprouts

Now

Sprouts are not flowers

So one could just throw out the pot and say “it doesn’t work”

But any caring gardener knows

Sprouts are evidence

Evidence that you are on track

Keep going

Mmm

Curious 

Let’s do the obvious and apply this to acting

Do you have a process of growth you trust enough to be patient with?

And what sprouts do you have which provide evidence that you are on track?

Hope this helps

x

Hermit Crabs

I’ve been staring at pictures of hermit crabs this past week

I forgot some really basic info about them that was common knowledge when I was a curious kid

When the hermit crab out grows it’s shell

It moves to a larger one

Damn nature 

Awesome

However 

This is an incredibly vulnerable time for the crab

Because in order to move into a bigger shell

It first has to remove it’s protective home

It’s shield against danger 

And wander into the open

Leaving it susceptible to all the glorious chaos Mother Nature can posses

One would think it would be easier for the crab to just chill

Take it easy 

Stay the same size

So it could just remain in it’s current home

And not have to go through all the treachery of exposing itself to the world

Why put itself through the naked process of growth?

Even looking at a hermit crab without a shell

I actually laughed out loud

It looks so feeble and awkward

A sense of

“Oh? THAT’S what you really are!?”

But the thing is

If the crab can follow it’s calling

Make it through this vulnerable time

And find a new home to spend the next cycle of it’s life in

Well…

I guess that’s when the grab gets to look back at me and quietly smile

With a sense of 

“Yeah, Sheasby, that was scary, and I did look silly, but damn, this new shell is beautiful, I’m really grateful for it, and I’m really proud of myself that I was willing to be brave enough to venture into the chaos to find it. How’s your new shell? Oh wait… you’re still in your same old one”

Mmm

Alright Mr Hermit Crab

Let’s boil this down to a question

Where am I intentionally keeping myself safe and small

So I don’t have to feel the discomfort of growth?

Curious 

Sending hugs

x

Balancing Chaos & Order

08:00ish: Start Again

Wake up

Write down dream/s & dream symbol exercise

Brainstorm on MIQ (Most Important Question I wrote down the night before. This mornings’ was “what makes me feel most free?”)

Rockpool swim (Cold shower if tide is too crazy - Mother Nature occasionally says “please respect me & give me space today, Michael”)

Coffee

Breathing - 1x round of Wim Hoff to help shift my physiology & focus on what’s actually important to me

Journal - Clarify Purpose, 3x thankful for, 3x opportunities for, 3x most important tasks for the day

09:30ish: Conscious Content

Walk out the door & travel to work

I use this time to listen to an audiobook or podcast that helps me progress in a desired direction 

10:30ish: Deep Work #1

Practice, Writing, Coaching or Meeting

This might be at the library, outside on the headland, a cafe, a colleagues’ studio, or a friend’s office space

13:00ish: Nutrition & Rest

Eat good food

Maybe 15min siesta 

14:30ish: Deep Work #2

Practice, Writing, Coaching or Meeting

16:30ish: Admin

Emails, calls, tick boxes, errands, etc etc

Turn my computer off as I say out loud “And now, I walk away”

17:30ish: Sweat

Exercise until I at least sweat

Jiu Jitsu, Strength, Pads, Sprints or Cardio 

19:00ish: Nutrition & Connection

Eat good food

Connect with people I love 

Maybe watch an episode of Futurama or Youtube clip on something random

Right now I love watching documentaries on Koi fish farms in Japan 

20:30ish: Deep Work #3

Practice, Writing, Coaching or Meeting

22:00ish: Progressive Thought

Three questions

One - Best thing about my day?

Two - What am I ready for tomorrow?

Three - What is my MIQ? My most important question to start tomorrow pondering

Phone left charging in the cupboard as I say out loud “And now, I walk away” 

23:00ish: Sleep

Free health care

…

Weekends 

Connection - Hang out with people I love and feel energised by

Adventures - Yesterday was standing literally behind a gigantic waterfall in the Blue Mountains with a dear friend. Then we went yabbie hunting. I’m 32 years old & I painted my face with mud. 

…

The point of a schedule is not to build a prison or to feel trapped

Aim to find your own healthy, meaningful and energising balance between chaos and order 

Enough structure to help yourself progress toward meaningful goals

Enough freedom to help yourself be agile with life

If I’m feeling overwhelmed, I scratch things out, and do less than I think I can handle 

And then I start again the next day 

Curious 

Hope this helps

x

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.

Do Less, Better

When I graduated from drama school

I tried to distill everything I had learned into one single word document

As simple and clear as I could make it

I had a list of approximately 200 “important” points

Two hundred

Which meant anytime I had an audition or job

I felt my duty was to tick every single one of those 200 boxes 

In order to build a good character

So I could feel like a good actor

And get my gold star for the fridge

Now

When I actually got an audition or job

I would block out every day I had available in order to prepare

Buy a case of red bull (I was 21)

Lock myself away in the garage

And apart from bathroom or sleep

Refuse to come out until I felt like I had done everything I needed to do

Can you guess what kept happening?

No surprises here

I would get to the 3rd or 4th day

My adrenaline dump from getting the role would have worn off

And my lack of sleep, rest, nutrition would have caught up to me

Dreams would meet reality

And I would fall over

“Body says no”

But

I would’ve only done about 5 - 10 of my 200 “important” tasks!

What followed was the valley of despair

I would spend the rest of my prep time feeling like a failure

I should be working harder

I should be all out obsessive

I should be doing everything to make this work extraordinary 

I would eventually rock up to set feeling tired and scared

And spend the majority of time thinking about the other 190 things I didn’t do

Thinking about how I should be more prepared than I actually was

Thus 

I stayed in the zone of “not good enough”

Now

When I look back at this time

I see a beautiful intention

I really wanted to give great work

And feel validated in an industry I loved

Pretty normal desires for a hungry young amateur one would think

I just needed a bit of guidance with my approach

An adjustment of the “how”

I had a little think

Got some really great external accountability

And commenced an experiment

I started watching actors

And what I noticed from watching them

Frustrated the living heck out of me

It seemed the better the actor

The less work they did

The actors who wanted to rehearse over and over

Who wanted to ask a hundred questions on set

Who had clearly spent the last week killing themselves with preparation 

Seemed to be a bit poo

And by that I mean they carried an underlying insecurity into their work 

Which came through on the screen

And the actors who rocked up with an Oscar or huge resume of work behind them

Did less

Way less

They had a kind of ease

Or grace

They knew their lines enough

They hit their mark

And they asked a question if it was actually necessary and helpful for the scene to work

And if they made a mistake

They shrugged and did another take without getting flustered or beating themselves up

I thought this wasn’t fair

It looked too easy

I scoffed

“But look at all the work I’m doing”

Hard work equals success right?

Oh? 

No!?

I think I might have been telling myself a story based off my belief systems I acquired growing up

Belief Systems

B.S.

Time for another experiment

What if a did less?

I don’t mean from 200 down to 20

I mean 200 down to 2

Two things

What if I experimented with only allowing myself to do two things in order to prep for an audition or job?

Okay

Obviously I need to learn my lines

Hang on

What about that time I apologised to the director in that call-back for not knowing my lines perfectly

And he replied with 

“Mate, shut up, no-one ever got the role because they knew the bloody lines”

Maybe that’s just my B.S. too!?

Ugh

Alright

Start agin

Clean slate

I know nothing

Now

From this place…

What do I actually need to do?

In order to get where I actually need to get?

So I can give what I actually need to give?

Do. Get. Give.

Since graduating from drama school

The jobs I am proudest of

I have done the least amount of work on

I still read that sentence and think “how does that make sense?”

I’m guessing a huge part of it

Is based around the idea that the key to not caring

Is being very clear and honest about what you do truly care about

So… the key to doing less work

Is being very clear and honest about the work that is actually worth doing

Which allows for work to become far more sustainable

I feel safe and strong in knowing that what I actually need to do is taken care of

Which opens me up to play 

Something else I have noticed…

Giving up on trying to do everything 

And only doing one single thing really well

Builds a muscle

Your body gets to feel what it’s like to experience good work

Even if its just one tiny, minuscule moment

But that experience compounds

And if you can learn to do one tiny thing very well

You can learn to replicate the formula

It will bleed into other areas of your performance

And life 

So

Lets play “would you rather”…

Looking at your acting process

Would you rather do 10 things averagely?

Or do 2 things bloody well?

Quantity vs quality

Amateurs do lots

Pros do less

But the few things they actually do

They. Do. Well.

My point?

Do less

And do it better

Hope this helps

x

The Magic of Quadrant Two

Once upon a time

I was house sitting

Not just any house

This was an off-grid cabin

Positioned on the side of a steep green mountain 

Which overlooked the ocean in the far distance

I had a Great Dane puppy to care for

As well as four peacocks

Two alpacas

And a bunch of chickens & guinea fowl 

It was my version of heaven

But at the time

I was pretty miserable

It had been a rough year

I felt like I was wasting my time on this earth

My intentions to work hard were met with the reality of me feeling exhausted and unmotivated

And anytime I wanted to just rest & relax

I spent it feeling like I didn’t deserve to

Then I turned a page in a book (literally) and found something 

The Eisenhower Matrix 

It’s a very simple way of categorising the things you do

Four Quadrants

#1 - Important & Urgent

#2 - Important & Not Urgent 

#3 - Not Important & Urgent

#4 - Not Important & Not Urgent 

If you need a visual example: https://www.bishophouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Effective-Personal-Management-with-Covey-The-4-Quads.pdf 

Okay

Why would this be important?

Well

If I can measure things

I can build awareness

And if I have better awareness

Then I can make better choices

Bingo

Think about the things you do

Social media, watching the news, practicing, being in nature, managing finances, playing playstation, exercising, meditating, complaining, journaling, charity, gossiping, Yoga, class, studying, washing the car, eating good nutrition, holidays, eating junk food, family time, date nights, travelling, fishing, sleeping, checking Bitcoin, reading, working, rehearsing, building side hustles, emailing, cleaning, swiping, laundry, groceries, going out with great friends, going out with de-energising people, idol time, scrolling, thinking about things which are out of your control, sitting on the loo, etc etc etc

Put them in the box you think is most appropriate 

Be as uncomfortably honest with yourself as you can

Now

Here’s an interesting question

Which quadrant do you think top performers prioritise?

When I first did this exercise, my instinctual response was Quadrant #1

Things which are most important and need to be done immediately, right?

Nope

This quadrant equals stress, burnout, fatigue and feeling unmotivated 

So where do top performers aim to spend most of their time?

Quadrant #2

Important & Not Urgent

Things which you value most

And can be seen as an investment of your time rather than something you need to scramble to get done

Some possible examples of Quadrant #2 activities…

Meditating

Journaling

Meal prep

Quality training/practice

Getting quality guidance 

Spending time with people who you feel energised around

Calling people you love

Having difficult conversations

Helping others

Date night

Sitting in nature 

Dancing like you did when you were 5

Exercise

Afternoon nap/rest

Etc etc

What do you value most & doesn’t actually need to get done by the end of the day or week?

What do you know will steer you toward the future you would like to build for yourself?

What will help you put your head on the pillow at night feeling proud/grateful?

You get the picture

This is for you to decide 

Have fun experimenting with this

Maybe that 30 minutes of Simpsons is very important to you?

You do you boo boo!

Now, what to do about the activities in each of these categories? 

#1 - Important & Urgent = Learn to manage them well

#2 - Important & Not Urgent =Learn to prioritise them well

#3 - Not Important & Urgent =  Learn to delegate them well

#4 - Not Important & Not Urgent = Learn to delete them.

I got a shock when I put pen to paper on this one

I realised there was a pretty big difference between who I thought I was and where most of my actions were actually spent

I’ll leave you with a question I love exploring…

What is actually worth rushing for?

Hope this helps

x

Advice on Auditioning Confidently

“Hey Michael. So I have a pressing question you might be able to help me with. I’m being flown out to xxxxx for a final casting of a feature film. This will be the first for me A) coming this far for a film, B) being in the room with a casting director (because of covid, all other auditions have been self tapes/zoom). Any advice on navigating the room and just making a fun, open impression on the casting directors and the film director? Irrelevant if I get the part.” - S

Hey mate!

Thank you for clicking send 

Lets do this

Celebrate

Firstly

Fucking pat yourself on the back

I don’t mean the idea

I mean physically celebrate 

We work too damn hard and make too many damn sacrifices to not let ourselves enjoy these little wins 

Give yourself permission to celebrate 

Do a gangsta boogie in your room

Go ride a bicycle with a boom box 

Call someone ya love

Buy that damn ice cream!

Done?

Great

Moving on

Build Confidence

I want to just flag something you have mentioned

“Irrelevant if I get the part”

Beautiful work mate

I hear you loud and clear

Let go of any results here and get focussed on process

Why?

There’s a very important point to be made here…

Obviously, focussing on the results will decrease our ability to play and feel free  to follow impulses in the moment

Thus decreasing our presence 

Thus decreasing our performance 

Bla bla bla

Sure sure sure

But there is something else…

I can train someone and teach them technique until the cows come home

But at some point

The artist has to go out there onto the stage 

And pull the trigger when the time is right 

What’s going to give them the ability to go from the skills they’ve learned

To execution under pressure

Is confidence 

Building that confidence is key to elite performance 

And the single best way to build confidence 

Is to take away the innate fear that we all have of bad outcomes that makes us naturally risk averse

So how do we take away the innate fear of bad outcomes?

Lean into it

Quick story

I was working with the great Carl Ford (Susan Batson’s son)

He had just finished a session with the actor who plays Joey in the sitcom Friends (I forget his name)

I said, “damn, I would’ve thought that guy knows how to break down a scene”

Carl replied

“Mike, no one pays me to break down a scene

They pay me because they are afraid of failing

They simply want me to give them permission to go give everything when it counts most”

(PS, as he was saying this, Naomi Campbell was sticking her head through the door, annoyed that Carl was going overtime with me, as she wanted her session of “permission”)

My point?

Acknowledge & accept your fears, and let them go

How?

Options…

Book a great coach

Get curious - write down what you’re most afraid of and why

Go step out of your comfort zone 

Do wholesome shit that scares you 

Dance freely in public

Walk up to a stranger and start a conversation

Have that difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding

Write your eulogy

Accept death

Remember…

No matter how shit or amazing the audition goes… eventually you will die and no one will ever remember you even existed on this earth :) 

Seriously

I don’t even know my great grandparents’ names

That was only 100 years ago

This too shall pass

So fuck it

Do it your way

Do it with love

Desired Experience 

When most people come to me for help with an audition

And I ask them how they want it to go

They usually tell me exactly how they don’t want it to go

This is normal and great

Brain and body trying to keep us safe and avoid discomfort :)

What I want you to do is get a pen and paper

And write out how you would like the entire experience to go

Write in first person & present tense (I am, I feel, etc etc)

Remember to keep focussed on things you CAN control

Write out how you feel when you wake up 

Before you walk in to the room

How you want to feel when playing and rehearsing the scenes with your colleagues (director and CD)

What things are important to you in that room (listening, being honest, focussing on the other person, etc etc)

Keep it simple, honest and clear

Focus on whats actually important to you

Write out how you will handle any fear that pops up during the process

Just use your imagination and walk yourself through the entire experience you dream of having

How do you want the day to go????

Process

Do what you gotta do, to get where you gotta get, so you can give what you gotta give

Now…

You’ve celebrated

You’re building your confidence

You’ve walked through your dream audition experience

Now?

Do the fucking work

Build a very simple process to practice over the next week

Do LESS than you think you can handle, and do it well

Better actors do less, which allows them to do those few things better

How do you build a process?

Start at the end

Write out how you would like to feel when you put your head on the pillow at night after your audition that day

Then work backwards

What do you need to do in order for that to happen?

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

(To help you create a dynamite process, please read https://www.michaelsheasby.com/sam-aug-9)

Example

• 3 most important technical questions to answer to make the scene work (Objective, Why, Environment, bla bla bla, whatever works for you)

• Book 1 hour with a great coach

• Do a 30 min warmup on the morning of the audition

• Run lines with someone you trust for 20 minutes an hour before

• Play music in headphones

• Etc etc

Whatever man

Just build a short and sweet process that you can go experiment with

Then afterwards, you can review it, see what worked well, and think about what you’re ready for on the next one. 

Rather than leaving it as a wishy washy “i’ll just go feel it duuuude”

Trust me

Even Shia is anal about organisation, prep, coaches

The image of artists just going with the flow is cute

But reality is different

Great artists have great processes

One last thing

It’s up to YOU to take care of yourself this week

That’s your responsibility

Great actors are fucking kind to themselves 

(There is nothing weak about kindness)

Being more generous toward yourself allows you to give more generous work to society

So rest, eat, hydrate, exercise, connect, laugh, play, get groceries, do laundry, call someone you love 

Take care of you

& let me know how ya go ;)

Sheasby

x

(If you have a question you’d like me to answer, just email me at info@actorsblueprint.com)

What would your mentor say?

I was on the couch last night dreaming about asking someone I greatly admire for guidance 

I would love to spend a full week with them

For them to hear my background

Observe my habits and routines

Be a fly on the wall for my process 

Call out my blind spots

Answer my questions

And quell my concerns

But this person I’m thinking about

Is, right at this very moment, most likely in a basement in Austin, Texas, USA

With a bunch of sweaty people

Coaching them to be the best in the world in the art of unarmed combat 

So, realistically, it might be a pretty big ask to have them follow me a round for a week :)

But is it necassry?

This morning

I woke up and opened my A5 notebook

And asked myself one question…

What guidance would x give me? 

If they were to look me in the eye, over a cup of tea 

And give me clear, honest, and actionable advice?

I was quite surprised by what they said…

Hope this helps

x

Acting, Cows & Fear

I spent New Years Eve in a barn

A two-day-old orphaned calf wasn’t taking to the bottle

I was 90% sure we would lose him by sunrise 

So my mate and I spent the night taking turns sitting in the straw trying to coax the little guy to feed 

It was a quiet time to reflect on the past year

What were the best things about it, what I was ready for in 2022, etc etc.

Surprisingly 

During the night

Rufus began to suckle

And by the time morning arrived

He was guzzling down a litre at a time

It was pretty special to see the life come back into the small creature 

To watch him rise up on his gangly little legs and begin to bellow 

However

(And I won’t go into too much bovine husbandry detail here)

Due to Rufus’ lack of mommas milk within his first 6 hours of life

His body doesn’t have the greatest defence

Which means it could be a tough 6 months ahead 

There is a high probability he will get sick 

So he’s going to need a little extra care in kicking this year off

A little TLC when it comes to maintaining his health and building a stronger immune system

It’s just the way it is

Sure…

It feels a little frustrating

It feels a little unfair 

And there is a part of me which even feels a little afraid 

(plenty of “what if” thoughts popping up)

But facts are facts

So…

Time to grow

Fact: I don’t know how to raise an orphaned calf well

Here is a skillset which I would like to get better at

So I think it’s an important time for me to ask myself two questions

Firstly

Do I believe I can get better at this skill?

Secondly

How do I overcome the fear required for me to get better at this skill?

I love this second question…

Because it brings up a non-negotiable

In trying to improve myself at something

I will be stepping out of my comfort zone

And that means fear is guaranteed to raise its head 

(thank you brain & body for trying to keep me alive) 

There will be moments

Where despite my intentions, focus, tenacity, willingness 

I will feel afraid

And I will most likely have some thoughts, feelings and physiological reactions which make it uncomfortable for me to keep going

Making it easier for me to seek comfort and distract myself with pleasure rather than doing what will make me fall asleep with pride & gratitude

So the question then becomes…

If I want to be good at something which I believe is important,

How will I manage myself and my fears moving forward?

Curious

Here’s to 2022

& thank you for the reminder, Rufus

Past Year Review

An exercise I love doing around his time of year…

An adaptation of Tim Ferris’ Past Year Review

1. Five minutes - write down the most energising moments of 2021. (What experiences, moments, work, things, people, etc etc, gave you the most joy, excitement, fulfilment, love, etc etc)

2. One minute - circle the top 20%. (Example; if you had 20 things, what were the 4 that gave you the most energy?)

3. Five minutes - write down the most de-energising moments of 2021. (What experiences, moments, work, things, people , etc etc, were the most draining?)

4. One minute - circle the top 20%. (Example; if you had 20 options, what were the 4 that you found drained you the most?)

5. Now, taking these noticings into 2022, attempt to replace the de-energising with the energising (book it now, schedule it now, pay for it now)

Voila!

Hope this helps

x

Keep Process-ing

I’m currently working on a show

And in this show

There is an actor

One of the most generous actors I know

Every time this actor gets up on stage 

The level of commitment they have in conveying the text in a truthful manor is simply astonishing

Regardless of the writing, audience, cast, director, weather, private life dramas, exhaustion, or time of day

This actor gives everything

Over, and over, and over again.

Last week

I was feeling tired

I decided to go sit out in the theatre and watch the dress run

This actor walks out onto the stage 

Honest

Listens 

On cues

Drives the scene

Commits to stakes

Simply steals the show

Then

Walks off

And 30 seconds later

To my surprise

I get a text

“How was that first scene? What do I need to work on?”

For one of the most generous actors in the world

It never stops

Process process process

Keep process-ing 

Hope this helps

x