Why You Need to Keep Growing as an Actor - by Robert Curtiss

“I'm too old to start now.” “It's too late for me.” “I'm too old to change.” How many times have you heard someone say these things? Have you ever said them yourself?

It’s sad how often we repeat these beliefs as if they are the unquestioned truth. The more we say something, the more we come to believe it is true. These beliefs limit us. When you say these things—when you really believe these things—it means you've stopped adapting to the world around you. It means you're stuck in the past and not adapting in the here-and-now. It is not a healthy mindset. I am often struck by how many people talk about dealing with their problems, yet they don't actually deal with them at all. They shun the idea of therapy by saying, “I can handle my own problems” or “I'm too old to change,” but they don't truly deal with their problems by talking about them. They don’t try to change their problematic behaviors and instead keep repeating the behaviors that cause the problems!

Older people also use the phrase “In my day” as a way to make the present inferior to the way “it used to be.” However, they use it as a way to excuse their non-participation in the present. Think about it—is today not your day?? Are you too old to learn something?? Of course not!

Sometimes we get complacent, and trying something different feels scary. However, remember that a flower in a small pot can only grow so far. An actor in Wichita, for example, who stays in Wichita, will only go as far as is possible in Wichita. That is fine for some people—being the big fish in the little pond can be satisfying. However, if you want to achieve greater things, you need to grow, to push your limits.

We all must keep growing until we die. It is the nature of all living things. It is never too late to start something that can enhance your life—be it piano lessons, or therapy, or quitting smoking.

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What Do You Do When You Have a Bad Reader at an Audition?

Well, here you are, you've just arrived at your audition – and early, to boot! Now you have time to relax, go over your lines again, and freshen up! You look great, you feel great…bring it on!

The monitor calls your name, and you confidently enter the audition room. You exchange pleasantries as well as brief introductions. You notice there are two chairs facing the "casting table," and a reader is already seated. You are asked to begin your scene.

You begin your scene with your reader, and as you progress into the scene you realize, this reader is awful! You can barely hear him/her, you get no eye contact, and worse of all, there is no emotional connection between the two of you.

Stay calm! You have worked on this scene, and you know where the emotional connections are.

Whatever you do, don’t shrink to the level of this bad reader. If you try too hard to connect to this reader, you risk being sucked into his/her low-energy, lack-of-connection vortex, and then you would be doing yourself a great disservice. The "casting people" will see your acting with those limitations, and they will assume that that is the best you can do.

You must trudge on – imagining that you are getting everything you need from this reader. In fact, you can use his/her lack of engagement to increase your determination to convince/connect with him/her.

Remember, this kind of communication happens all the time in real life. You are upset about something your significant other did, and when you passionately try to explain it to him/her, he/she shuts down. But you still go on, trying to make them understand!

It is the same in an audition with a bad reader. You just have to go on and be passionately engaged in what you are doing – becoming even more determined to get them to hear you, react to you, while still being authentic and "in the moment."

You should prepare in advance for the possibility of an inadequate reader. Rehearse your material as if your partner is awful, or if you are rehearsing with a partner, ask him/her to read a few times with little or no emotion so you are able to “adjust” your performance accordingly. Use it as an opportunity to exercise your acting skills!

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3 Steps to Getting Out of Your Own Way

“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.”  

This is one of my favorite slogans, and it really is true. There is a famous saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Think about it. Human beings are creatures of habit, and even though we may be unhappy in our particular circumstances and say we want something different, we are usually more comfortable with our familiar habits in our familiar surroundings, however miserable they may be, than we are about changing any of those same habits and surroundings!

It takes strength and determination, and insight into our own behavior, to actually change what is holding us back. Here is a helpful series of steps to guide you.

Step 1: Identify what it is you want that you are not getting. This is the easiest part!

Step 2: Recognize which patterns of your behavior may be impeding you from attaining your goal. Ask yourself: What do I do that sabotages myself from achieving what I want? As a simple example, let’s say it is consistently sleeping late, or procrastinating.

Step 3: Modify the problematic behavior. Sometimes the issue just needs a simple modification that you can do on your own (for the above examples, you could go to bed earlier and buy an alarm clock, or you could make a schedule to complete tasks and avoid procrastination), and sometimes the issue is more deeply ingrained in your psyche so that you may require additional assistance from family and friends, and perhaps from a psychotherapist, who is trained to help you with these kinds of challenges.

You have the power to get out of your own way and change your life! Good luck on your journey!

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