3 Strategies for Staying Punctual and Professional - by Robert Curtiss

We live in a world where schedules conflict, where some auditions and appointments are tightly scheduled back to back, and though you may have plenty of time in your own schedule, the people who you are meeting, interviewing, or auditioning for may have little wiggle room to fit you in. Occasional lateness is undesirable but understandable—we all have been late some time in our lives, perhaps because of some last-minute snafu or bad traffic—and it is usually easily forgiven and forgotten by all involved. Chronic lateness, however, undermines your professionalism.

Here are a few strategies for being on time:

1. Leave 30 minutes early for every appointment, or add 15–30 minutes to your expected travel time. This means that if you ordinarily would leave home 15 minutes before your appointment, leave 30–45 minutes early. This will most likely get you there early; you can use the time to prepare yourself. If you run into delays on your route, hopefully the extra travel time will be sufficient to keep you on time.

2. Organize your life so you are not scrambling for misplaced items moments before leaving for the day. Keep a datebook calendar handy, and write down your daily schedule (of course, you have to actually look at it for this to be useful). There are smartphone apps for this.

3. It may be helpful to have an “audition survival bag” that you keep packed and ready to go. This could be a knapsack, purse, or briefcase. Here is a list of suggested items to keep in your bag: headshots and résumés, business cards, sheet music, a MetroCard, paper and a pen, makeup, a hairbrush, bottled water, breath mints, and an energy bar, and hide $10 or $20 inside just in case. This way you only have to remember your keys, cell phone, audition material, and any other audition/business needs, grab your audition bag, and out the door you go.

I hope these strategies help keep you on time and prepared for your appointments. If you still end up being late, by all means, acknowledge it and apologize for keeping them waiting. Break a leg!

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Take Action & Don't Worry About the Outcome - by John Essay

“Take action” should be a guiding rule in all of our lives. We all have good ideas now and then, and we all have second-guessed them when it comes time for us to actually do something about them. The only people who can actually win the lottery are the ones who actually take action and buy a ticket! If we are to succeed at running our businesses, we must always take action regardless of the outcome. (Be reasonable, folks. I’m talking about running your business not robbing a bank!) Not every action may lead to the result you had planned, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take it. Try to resist the urge to procrastinate, or the common urge to “rationalize” why you shouldn’t take action on your idea. Here are some examples of excuses actors use.

“I’m not going to that open call because I’m too tired, and I probably won’t get the part anyway.” The important thing here is to go! Take the action regardless of the outcome! You may or may not get the part at that open call, but you might meet someone who may be instrumental in your advancement, or you might become aware of an audition for a different project, or hear about something that could lead to life improvement just by being observant.

Perhaps you find out that someone you knew or worked with in the past is now working at a theater or is in some position that could help you. Contact that person. What if they don’t respond? What if they don’t remember you? What if, what if … you get the picture. Send that email. Make that call. Go to that audition. Take the action regardless of the outcome. Without the "action," there will NEVER be an outcome.

Say you were thinking of making a video of some clever sketch idea to put up on YouTube, but get cold feet because “someone’s already done this before” or “maybe it’s just not good enough” or “it’s not perfect” or “no one will look at it” or “I don’t have any video equipment.” Take the action regardless of the outcome. No equipment? Your friends may have an iPhone or a video camera, and you can record on your computer with simple FREE software. Just do it!

If it doesn't work as you imagined it in your mind, so what? By seeing it for yourself, you have accomplished more than you could imagine.

1. You actually created something yourself. It doesn't matter if it is good or not. The fact is you did it AND it will most likely lead to something else that is creative and perhaps more appropriate or funnier.

2. Trial and error usually reveals things that you never intended to discover.

3. As soon as you can find a way to tape this project, you will then know how to do many others without much thought.

Take the action regardless of the outcome. You will be glad you did.

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