250 Push-Ups a Day
Three weeks ago upon my return to NYC, I doodled "Try Harder" on a post-it, and put it on my wall where I'd see it every morning. It's my new personal mantra.
At a recent agent seminar at Reproductions (all NYC actors should check these out! They are free and chock full of great industry information), Nancy Curtis from Harden-Curtis Associates left us with a golden-nugget of advice. All actors are doing the equivalent of 100 push-ups a day; we audition, we go to the gym, we go to work, we send out resumes. The person that is successful is the one who is doing 250 push-ups a day, going above and beyond what is expected of them. That is the person that her agency wants to work with.
So in the spirit of 250 push-ups, I attended three epas, one ecc, one Disney open call, and two appointments last week. I can say that I've pushed myself to my limits. I successfully tried as hard as I possibly could to put myself out there and be seen as much as possible.
It was like an emotional roller coaster; a good day followed by a bad day, only to have something positive pick me back up again. What I learned, however, is that doing as much auditioning as possible does not necessarily produce results. A more productive focus is to execute quality auditions over the quantity of auditions.
I gave my best auditions on Wednesday. I felt rested and focused, and in a good mood. As a result, I was centered and confident, and felt good about the work I presented. Come Thursday, I was pretty exhausted and very, very unfocused. I gave such a lackluster audition that I was actually embarrassed of myself in the room. It was the first time I wanted to stop singing, apologize, and pick up my book and leave. I finished my song with a completely flushed face, and at least the casting team was kind enough to console me with a "Good Job!" I was so tired, and so in my head - which are two huge detriments to actually showing off what I do best!
The pro to attending so many auditions in one week, is that now I'm reminded of how the system works. Exactly how early everyone who is serious about auditioning shows up, what time of day I am most focused and amped to audition, what time of day I feel myself crashing after waiting in line since 7am. I found which songs in my book really connect to me, and which ones need more work. This is all part of the battle, I suppose. Maybe that's the 125 push-up point.
The con to so many auditions in one week is that I found myself physically and emotionally exhausted by the end of the week. Not only that, but on Sunday night I found myself with a case of the sniffles/itchy throat. Plans to hit up five more auditions by Wednesday were quickly dissolved when a cold knocked me off of my feet and put me in bed. Its like my body knew that I needed to completely crash from such a tiring week.
Today my voice is hoarse and the better part of my brain knows that I need rest. The over-achieving actor side of my brain keeps staring at the auditions marked in red on my calendar, and feels bad about not being able to go! I have to keep telling myself that the best thing for me is to take it easy and get well. Seven more auditions don't exactly cure the common cold.
(image courtesy of TheOatmeal.com)
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