Suggested RESOLUTIONS FOR ACTORS

Sears & Switzer

RESOLUTIONS FOR ACTORS:

DO MORE OF WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO! [OK here's the required hint, hint, hint: Yes we still have room in most of our workshops but they are filling up and the deadline is creeping your way. Reserve ASAP!
PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS! You can't learn to act by yourself alone in your room. Acting classes aren't just about what you learn from the coaches. It's also about learning how to work with diverse talents, how to network and share with your peers. Our class sizes are designed to encourage maximum individual learning and group interaction. New partners, new scenes every night... and an average actor:director ratio of 8 actors per instructor.
WORK HARDER ON THE CRAFT! Becoming a better performer is a life-long learning adventure. Sure some actors "make it" by luck, looks or connections but the vast majority of working actors make it because they just plain BETTER at their craft than the others. Best place to improve? THE PLAY'S THE THING [scene study workshop] beginning Jan. 20th, reserve it now.
MAKE SOME MONEY DOING WHAT YOU LOVE! Yes, you can make money as an actor. Sure it's tough but it happens every day and not just for those guys who make a million bucks a film. Working actors can make a living if they build their skills and focus on what the engagers need form performers... hint, hint: try our TV Commercial Weekend Jan. 30-31, or the VOICE-OVER OVERVIEW Weekend Feb. 27-28 or the AUDITION SKILLS Weekend March 27-28.
MAKE STRONGER CHOICES! With shorter rehearsal times and tougher budgets actors have to hit the set ready to make stronger choices faster. Do you have a method that allows you to respond quickly when they ask "do you have something else?" Have you some good tools to bring to the party at rehearsals? Are you interested in directing yourself? Best choice to do this development work is our Scene Study workshop beginning Jan. 20th, ONLY A FEW PLACES LEFT so reserve it now.
UPDATE YOUR RESUME, PHOTOGRAPH, VIDEO DEMO, ON-LINE PROFILE and AGENT SITUATION! Marketing will not create your career but NOT having the proper marketing tools can kill it. Want a professional assessment of your photo or resume? Send it to us or drop by on our open studio nights for a free, frank and unbiased opinion. Ask us about agents! Check out our BIG LIST of the top headshot shooters here on our website. Read our article MARKETING FOR THE ACTOR. Join Canadian Actors Online for more tips. If you need some hot scenes to add to your demo/DVD try our FOCUS ON FILM workshop. Get on the Casting Workbook. And of course build your resume with an acting class with us or with one of our colleagues in the Toronto Association of Acting Studios.
COMMIT TO THE COMMUNITY! Yes there is an acting community and YOU need to play your part in it. Why? Because it will help your networking and your knowledge base. Like almost every profession the best jobs are not advertised. Directors, producers, casting directors and collective creators work with people they know. Every show you're in, every acting class you do, every day on set you meet someone who might hire you or know about a gig you are perfect for... the role you play in the performing community is the best way to a better job. Join some of the on-line Facebook groups, Theatre Ontario and Canadian Actors OnLine. Go to theatre events, fringe shows and showcases regularly. Volunteer for performer union activities. STAY IN TOUCH with the people you've met in a show, class or on set. [hint, hint: Acting classes are a great way to get to know some other like-minded souls. Still room in SOME of our Jan/Feb classes. DEADLINE IS TUESDAY so reserve now!]
HARNESS YOUR HUNGER TO PERFORM! Remember how much you loved to perform when you were starting out? Recovering that joy, that zest, and harnessing that hunger will revitalize your career... and your life. Get together with a friend and read some scenes just for fun, not get ready for an audition. Put a sketch/improv comedy group together. Go and see an inspiring show; there are a lot of wonderful shows this month in Toronto theatres. Buy a book at theatrebooks that revs you up again. [See our list of suggested reading on our website.] Recover your love affair with the art form in our SCENE STUDY class... only a few spots left. Feel like you're spinning your wheels? Put your career into OVERDRIVE by adding the discipline of our rigorous immersion weekend classes. [Still room in SOME Jan/Feb/March workshops. Reserve now and put some DISCIPLINE into your drive for a better career.]
PREPARE TO BE "LUCKY"! Acting sometimes seems to be all about "luck". It's also true that the harder you work and the better you prepare the luckier you'll be. Just this week an agent who called to check a reference said to us, "it was lucky she'd done your TV commercial class before applying to our agency." Another former student sent us a note from NYC about being "lucky" that her one-woman show has been picked up for bigger things. And another student told us she won her lead on a current CBC series because she was lucky enough to speak a foreign language. [Lots of people speak other languages; not all of them act as well as she does!] This emphasis on luck actually devalues you and your place as an artist. All other professions have a luck component too. Respect yourself, honour your craft and prepare NOW to be luckier this year. check out our article "A quick guide to growing as an actor." [hint, hint: Reserve now so that you're "lucky" enough to get into a workshop at our studio in the next few months!]
BE GRATEFUL! There's the old actor's joke "How many actors does it take to screw in a light bulb? One but nobody will give me a break in this EFFn' town!!!" It's easy to get bitter, depressed and resentful. And that will kill your career as fast as anything we know. So take a moment to be grateful... Be grateful that you are an artist, that you have found way to express yourself and to tell stories that matter to the world. Be grateful for the more than 12,000 live performances we had in Toronto last year, entertaining more than 2.5 million people. [and that's just in the professional theatre!] Be thankful for the support you have in your journey... thank the volunteers at the Fringes and the theatres, thank the great crews in our film, theatre & TV industry and say "thank you" to them. Thank Equity, ACTRA, UdA and SAG [even if you are non-union they are there fighting for the right rates and the chance to earn a living doing your art]. Thank the Actors Fund, the Performing arts lodges and ACTRA Fraternal because when you really need them they will be there. Be grateful that you live in a city like Toronto with almost 40 different actor training workshops coaching dozens of classes every day of the week. Thank the people who built our theatre tradition... only 2 generations ago there was barely a handful of professional theatres in Canada, now there are more than 150 professional companies in the City of Toronto alone. Be grateful for our classical theatre tradition... even if you never work at Stratford, Shaw or Soulpepper they tell the world that Canadian actors are as good as any group of talents on the planet. Be grateful that almost every agent, manager and casting director in this city respects you and your work and isn't trying to rip you off or feed you to the wolves. Remember to say "thank you" to them more often. Be grateful for the great Canadian comedy tradition... stars have been born there. Be grateful for the large community of artists who share your passion. And take some time today to write down some more of the things YOU should be thankful for... [Thank you for reading our resolutions and for your feedback to Theresa and David. See you in class, on stage or on a screen!]

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