The acting industry can be a roller-coaster. The ups are so exhilarating and the downs can be super hard to deal with, heartbreaking even. AND as actors we’re super sensitive creatures. We have to be thick-skinned and wear our hearts on our sleeves at the same time. How on earth do we do that? Well, we have to learn to deal with “No”. And not let it stop us in our tracks, or worse derail us. Here are some practical tips to do just that.
1. Let Go of Your Auditions. This is a SUPER helpful tip. Once you have hit send on that audition tape or left the casting office FORGET ABOUT THAT AUDITION. You of course can jot down what you wore, what it was for, who was casting, etc. and keep notes about it for your records, but in your mind LET IT GO. Don’t think about it, don’t obsess about it, don’t second guess yourself. All of that stuff is the quickest way to despair for an actor. If you book it, great, but until you are told so, just forget about it.
2. Always Have Your Next Project. The next audition to prep, scene work for your class, the script you are writing, reel clip you’re working on. You are an actor, you NEED to act. So don’t let yourself sit in a vacuum. Even if you have nothing on the horizon, create something, finds sides on the internet and prep them as if they were your next real audition. Keep a “forward focus.” The Universe responds to that stuff and will start to send you more opportunities.
3. Work On Your Craft. Closely related to the one above, but this puts the focus on your actual acting process. Working on your craft means doing voice work, movement exercises, acting drills—verb work, repetition, emotional preparation exercises, personalization work, practice of script analysis, etc. Acting is a craft, a skill, something you can work on directly just like practicing scales on the piano or practicing soccer footwork drills. If you don’t know any acting exercises join a class and learn.
4. Nurture Your Desire to Act. You are acting because you have an overwhelming desire to act, am I right? It gnaws at you, it pesters you, it begs you to pay attention to it. So start doing just that. I recommend spending at least five minutes a day sitting with your desire to act and nurturing it. That can be anything from meditating on how it feels, visualizing your success with it, working through blocks that have kept you from pursuing it, saying affirmations, holding a space for yourself in it, etc. Whatever you need to do to show yourself that YOU support your choice to act. Again, the Universe will respond to your efforts to nurture yourself in this way and open pathways you never dreamed of.
5. Make Sure You Have Fun in Your Life. Have fun things that you do. Not acting related. And do them. Find out what you like outside of acting. Even if it’s simple—walking in nature, having a pet, skateboarding, playing an instrument, volunteering for things, whatever. Sometimes as actors we get so focused on our career that we forget to live life which will put a cramp on our acting . . . Find the joy. Be a person first.
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