Thriving in the Spotlight: How Actors Maximize Downtime for Success
During this period of slowness and in solidarity with WGA writers, actors can engage in several activities to enhance their skills, expand their network, and stay creatively active.
Here are some things actors can do during downtime:
TRAIN. Continue to hone your craft (yes, it’s a lifelong practice). Classes can help you develop new techniques, improve your confidence, and refine specific skills. Is there a creative muscle you’ve thought of developing? Take advantage of this time to delve into vocal lessons, a new dialect, or push your reset button on mindset with me and Lauren next week.
SELF-STUDY. Actors can use this time to zoom in on others’ work and interpretations…read plays, scripts, and acting methodology books, watch movies to analyze performances. Each of these self-study activities help to deepen your understanding of the craft while also exercising your skill of observation. A fantastic resource for scripts is https://thescriptlab.com/browse/.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. Building connections and maintaining relationships are crucial in the entertainment industry. It may feel easier to make new connections when working on a project, but there are other ways to build and maintain your community outside of your acting gigs. Attend industry events, festivals, private screenings and theatre. Your participation as an audience member supports your artistic community and helps you rub elbows with fellow industry pros. Showing up fosters relationships, and your being part of a thriving community can lead to future opportunities or collaborations. I’m an avid theatre goer and one never knows, we might cross paths at one of these events!
PERSONAL PROJECTS. Take the initiative to create your own work during downtime. Produce mini-projects, or even start a web series. This allows you to express your artistry, and gain experience as a content creator. Understanding different aspects of the filmmaking process gives you the advantage of having several points-of-view when you get back to a busy audition schedule.
AUDITION REFINEMENT. When fewer acting jobs are available, and the industry is slow, you can focus on improving audition skills. Select monologues or scenes from plays or films, practice cold readings, and experiment with framing. IOW, explore and expand your audition technique. Challenge yourself…this is what @audreyhelpsactors Self-Tape May (on IG) is all about!
SIDE HUSTLE. Many actors take on temporary jobs during periods of slow work to sustain themselves financially. Explore opportunities related to the entertainment industry or consider work outside of the industry that interests you as a human. The variety of your side hustles influence your work as a creative, and a worldly viewpoint and diversity of experience is what makes you uniquely you. Our aws teaching artist videos share many life-long side hustles…enjoy them all (mine is at the bottom)!
Remember, downtime for you, an actor, is an opportunity for rest, reflection, and rejuvenation. Taking care of your mental and emotional well-being is a crucial part of artistry too, and engaging in activities you enjoy outside of acting is essential. We’re all in this together.