4 Reasons Young Actors Must Embrace Rejection

Like most skills, dealing with rejection takes practice, and show business is the best place to train for it! There are many things that make this a tough industry, but the steep competition is one of the biggest. No one likes being passed over, left out, or told they are not “right.” Still, competition is a fact of life and the better we are at handling rejection, the easier it will be to stay competitive as we grow up. Here are some tips to help guide your young performer as he faces his fears and hears no after giving it his best.

1. Perspective. Auditions are big unknowns. You walk into the room with basic information and sometimes little context. All you can be is your unique self. Your job is to go for it! Do your best, don’t worry about what you don’t know, and then go home happy. One way to do that is to understand that some things are out of your control. This is a creative business that has little to do with concrete rules. Casting directors have a number of criteria for each part they are casting, such as age, height, weight, sex, ethnicity, or type. Sometimes, young actors even need to resemble on-set family members who were already cast! It is not personal. The truth is, no matter how talented and amazing a performer might be, the choice is often based on arbitrary traits. Let your child know that the important thing is to do his personal best and enjoy the process. 

2. Statistics. There may be hundreds of actors answering the call for an audition, yet only one will be cast. The odds are not great. Every actor faces the same daunting odds, and the likelihood of rejection. That means you have to go on hundreds of auditions for every one you land. Each no gets you that much closer to the time when you hear yes. The important thing to remember is that success comes from those who keep going, don’t give up, and continue with confidence. 

3. Resilience. Every time we try something, we risk failure. No matter what it is, the next step is the same. Try again! Resilience is a life lesson that actors learn to accept and embrace because it is so critical to their way of life. Praise your child’s efforts, hard work, and the courage they show every time they perform. If they get caught up in second-guessing themselves, acknowledge their concerns and let them know you can relate. Share some things that you learned from your own past “failures.” Teach them that reviewing the past can be helpful as long as it is framed in a positive way. There are lots of clichés about resilience that may be helpful at times of rejection, such as, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” and “What defines us is how quickly we get up after falling.” Keep in mind that failures are full of insights! Make it a game to hunt for one or two nuggets of wisdom that will give your child greater confidence in the future. Celebrate the day’s achievements with a fun treat like pizza, ice cream, or a movie!

4. Perseverance. Ask a group of people to define success, and you will get many answers, but every list will include hard work. Hard work is more effective than smarts, looks, money, and talent all put together, because you and only you can make it happen. If you think about only the end goal, it might seem impossible to reach from here. The trick is to start small and persevere. With one small step after another, we make progress. Over time, the results from your efforts will grow. By participating in show business, young performers learn that their dreams may not come easily. They see firsthand that they need to work long and hard in order to succeed. Because they are doing something they love, they are motivated to study the music, memorize their lines, book the auditions, and do it again until they find the right role for them.

The very fact that show business is tough means that kids who pursue their passion for performance will gain valuable life skills. They will take chances by auditioning and face the rejections that come. Given the random nature of this creative field and the odds against landing each role, kids learn to keep things in perspective and not take “failure” personally. With hard work, kids will grow and improve, which empowers them to tackle challenges in all areas of life. Learn to embrace rejection and you will ultimately grow stronger, more confident, and more successful as a result.

6 Skills That Separate Novice Actors From Pros

In many fields and careers, there are different levels of credentials, like associate, professional, master, etc. In acting, we talk about novices, actors who are just beginning, and professionals, actors who have training and experience working in the industry.

I teach my students how to act and audition like a professional, even if they’re still at the novice level of experience. Use these audition tips, no matter what level of experience you have, and you’ll garner more attention and have a better chance of being hired. Even if you don’t get the part, you’ll have at least made a positive impression.

1. Make choices.
More often than not, you won’t have the entire script while auditioning, nor will you know exactlywhat the CD and director want from you. Not the easiest scenario, but one that means you will need to make choices about how you play the character. What is she thinking? What is he feeling? Don’t worry about being right or wrong—just make a choice in each moment, trust yourself, and go with it.

2. Keep the scene active.
Acting is doing, not talking. When choosing monologues and picking songs, find pieces that are active, not passive. Narratives usually don’t have much action, so scenes where a character is doing something—like breaking up with a girlfriend or convincing their friend to skip school—are far more exciting than telling a story about it.

3. Acting is reacting.  
I see many novice actors who believe acting only happens when speaking dialogue. What about when someone doesn’t say anything? Does that mean they aren’t feeling something? No, of course they are. When someone is speaking to you, there must be a reaction. Otherwise, you aren’t listening. Be sure to focus on both your speaking and reactions to the other lines in the script.

4. Make the decision before doing.  
I recall working on a dramatic scene with some young actresses who were auditioning for the lead role in a television show. There was a key moment in the scene when the character lies to her mother. A novice would just tell the lie when the line comes up. A professional actor knows to take a moment before speaking where she decides to lie.

5. Find the moment before and moment after.  
The scene begins before your first line and ends after the last line. Find your moment before and be ready well before the first line of dialogue. Know your character’s emotional state and tap into it before speaking. This concept holds true at the end of the scene as well. The scene doesn’t stop on the last line. It ends with your reaction after the last line is spoken, whether it’s your line or another character’s.

6. Develop quiet confidence. 
As I say to my students all the time, only confident actors get hired. However, there is a difference between quiet and cocky confidence. Know your talent and strengths and own the room, but do it with humility. No one likes a know-it-all. When you leave the audition room, you want the creative team to say, “Stop that actor and bring him back. He’s the one I want.”

In acting, there’s no substitute for experience. It takes practice and training to become a professional, as well as time and maturity. But by acting like a pro every time you audition, you will have made a mark and hopefully earn a callback, or even the role.

How To Help Your Child Actor Have a Fun and Productive Summer

I like to think of time in four ways – my time, your time, together time, and down time. My child needs empowering, fun, and enriching activities to help her grow and learn independence. I need “me” time whether I am working or relaxing. Together time as a family, including vacations and activities at home, is equally important – especially since our kids are grown and out of the house before we know it. We all lead busy lives so building in downtime is crucial to prevent burn out.

Most school-aged children have eight to ten weeks of summer break. This can either be a blessing or a curse depending on your child’s individual needs and personality. I know my own children benefit from structure. However, as much as I would like them to keep busy, they remind me they need downtime too. For example, seven weeks of sleep-away camp is too much time away from home for my teenage daughter, so we found a program where she goes for four weeks and gets to come home on the weekends. This arrangement works beautifully for our family. I had never heard of this kind of camp schedule before, but I am grateful I found it. The point is that there are lots of options, so you should be able to find something that is just right for your family.

Your Child’s Time
Does your child love to act and want to train? During the school year, he might get really bogged down with auditions and homework. During the summer, maybe he would enjoy something like my upcoming four-day acting boot-camp. Something like this can be a great way for these young performers to get back to basics with improvisation, learning a new monologue, and perfecting their audition technique for TV and film. Or perhaps your child has a musical bent. I am also collaborating with my colleagues in voice and casting offering one-day musical theater workshops culminating with a performance in a landmark cabaret club. I personally love shorter workshops such as these because they give both my students and me the flexibility to fit in many other life enhancing activities that help create balance.

Your Time
While planning out your summer schedule, don’t forget about you – the parent. Our tendency is to put so much emphasis on the many wonderful opportunities available for our children that we sometimes forget our own needs. While your child is either away from home or in a daily program, you may want to consider learning a new skill yourself. How about some yoga and meditation? I recently spent a weekend at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and came back rejuvenated and inspired! Maybe learning to paint or dance is more your thing. Just do something to take care of yourself so you can be the best you can be for your child and your family.

Together Time
Planning a vacation or “staycation?” Summer is a great time to check out theater and concerts in your local parks for the entire family to enjoy. There are also plenty of online sites that offer discount vacation packages last minute. Whatever you decide, the most important thing is doing things together.

Down Time
Burned out on too much theater? Perhaps a week of something physical like tennis or soccer camp is what your child needs to get away from it all and stretch a few new muscles. What about doing nothing? This is a concept very foreign to me, but I am trying to find time to do more and more of it. My child needs it. I need it. And together we all need it to lead calmer, more serene and peaceful lives.

There are many kinds of summer camp programs available for your children – typically ranging from one day to several weeks in length. Taking into account these different segments of time and your family’s specific needs will help you plan your summer wisely, have fun, and stay sane all at the same time.

1 Exercise Child Actors Can Use to Get Into Character

Acting is “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances,” as one of the great contemporary acting teachers, Sanford Meisner, would say. Most people understand that acting involves pretending to be someone you are not, but it is a lot easier if you are personally connected to the character’s situation, with an understanding of the reality being portrayed. So, how does a child (who has had fewer years to collect experiences) gain the perspective and insight needed to truthfully act out situations he or she has never faced?

When I work with young actors who need help relating to something their character is experiencing that is unfamiliar to them, I use the “as if” exercise also known as the “magic if” technique taught by famed actor, director, and teacher Konstantin Stanislavsky. This exercise is employed to help students understand the reality of a character’s life and circumstances. 

When preparing to play a scene that is about something they never confronted before and which may seem foreign to them, I ask my students to answer the following two questions:

1. How would you feel if this were happening to you?

2. When the character faces this situation, what similar situation could you have faced in the past or imagine to be true that would feel as if you were going through the same thing?

First, thinking about the scene as if it is happening to you helps you imagine standing in the character’s shoes. The other day, for example, I had a student who was faced with a character whose parents are getting divorced, but she didn’t have any examples of divorce in her life. I asked her, “How would you feel if your parents were divorcing?” This requires imagination to answer and sometimes confidence to try. It can be hard for children to identify with some challenging situations if they find it is too scary to consider going through themselves. This exercise helps them relate without over-relating because they are consciously working through it. 

Another young actor’s character had to annoy her older brother in an audition scene for a film. In real life she has no siblings so I had her act  as if her annoying little cousin, whom she told me about, was bothering her. 

When young actors cannot put themselves in the character’s shoes directly, the “as if” exercise helps them find parallel situations in their own lives to aid them in relating via another perspective. I have the kids ask, “ ‘Situation A’ to the character is as if ‘what’ to me?” They usually find common ground in memories of the same emotions affecting them—pride, fear, anger, love, grief, hilarity, hurt, embarrassment. 

For example, if the character is mourning his father’s death, young actors can search their minds for times of loss and grief in their own lives. Maybe flushing their dead goldfish down the toilet was sad, but not sad enough to elicit the pain and sorrow a character would feel at the loss of his father. What about when Fido died after a car accident and the young actor had to say goodbye to his lifelong companion? That could do the trick. Being able to recall the appropriate feelings from your own life is essential for relating to your character’s inner truth during the scene. Having the ability to re-experience those feelings on cue is what lends authenticity to your performance. Perhaps a young actor has no prior experience with an emotion (which is true for many kids). This is where imagining something to be true will resonate. You may be pretending to be someone else, but you can’t fake the feelings.

Young performers are often asked to portray characters in situations that they just have not faced yet in their lives. By using the “as if” exercise described above, kids have a great tool to help them relate and, ultimately, act as if they know the truth of any moment.

3 Essential Traits Child Actors Need to Succeed

Show business is glamorous to the outside observer. It is exciting, exhilarating, and draws people who dream of living in that world into the footlights or studio from all walks. Insiders, however, know it is a lot of hard work and not everyone is cut out for it. How do you know if your child has what it takes to succeed? Here are three necessary traits that all successful performers in the industry have in common.

Passion. There is no doubt when young performers get bit by the acting, singing, and dancing bug that they are excited about it! It’s fun! Everyone will see their talent. Their friends will be jealous. The rewards will be fabulous! The question is whether this thrill will last. Is it rooted in a true passion for the craft? Look for the evidence. A child who is truly passionate about performing will be driven to exist in that world above all else. Sports? No thanks, I want to train with my voice coach. Spend Saturday at the mall? No way! I have acting class! Take a cruise during Spring Break? Isn’t there a performing arts program where I can try out for a musical during that vacation? It is this love affair with performing that is the whole reason for getting into the business. There is no substitute.

Dedication. Show business does not notice people with a passing interest in performing. A child needs to be committed to learning, practicing, and developing her talent above all other interests. There is a lot of competition and many talented people vying for attention, so each child will need to work hard and drive his own progress forward. This commitment means a child looks for opportunities to pursue her craft, getting involved in school productions, and community theater. He may be asking for a manager or agent, not waiting for someone else to suggest it. Your child will be memorizing her lines during her free time rather than playing Xbox or surfing the web. The mere thought of being late to acting class keeps her motivated to do her chores and homework on time. It would not be a struggle to get him to focus and do the work needed to memorize his monologue or nail his dance routine because he loves it. The work gets done.

Resilience. Everyone faces rejection in show business. While it may take some time to adjust to it, the experience of being told “no” is valuable. A performer can’t quit when things become challenging. He has to go out the next day and try another audition. And another. No one is right for all roles, and there are infinite reasons why one does or does not get cast. It is not personal. Understanding this is necessary to learning persistence. Courage, confidence, and resilience are needed every step of the way.

Pursuing a career in the performing arts is a tough road! Talent and skill are important, but they are not enough. It takes hard work over a long period of time to break through, so you have to be industrious. There are many disappointments before every triumph, so you have to have faith that the work will pay off. You keep pushing forward because you believe that success is right through the next door you open. All of these things together create the engine for success, and passion is the fuel that propels you forward.

6 Tips For Auditioning With a Dialect

“The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain,” Eliza Doolittle famously says in "My Fair Lady." By the way, she wasn’t the only one who struggled with her accent! Dialects don’t come easy to everyone. Auditioning with an unfamiliar dialect can really get in your way of landing the role. When learning a new dialect, here are some tips to keep in mind to help you have a successful audition.

1. Play the action, not the accent. 
Don’t let the dialect own the scene. Pay attention to the character’s social class, age, upbringing, objective, and obstacle. I have worked with actors who are so focused on the accent that they are not even listening to the reader. If you are not that skilled, perhaps a hint of the dialect is the way to go. Keep it simple and do what you are trained to do. Let your skill as an actor help you land the job, not a contrived accent.

2. Don’t watch “Harry Potter.” 
Just as you wouldn’t expect a southern belle to sound like a Texas Ranger, you can’t expect Mary Poppins to sound like Bert. The dialects in most countries are as diverse as they are in America. For example, the three largest recognizable dialects in England are Southern English, Midland English, and Northern English. Within those are Cockney, Geordie—as spoken in Billy Elliot, among many, many others. Do your research. Find out what type of accent is needed before settling on a generic one.

3. Listen to the casting director’s instructions. 
If you are adept with the dialect, by all means, go for it. However, there are times when the casting director does not want you to use a dialect at all in the audition. Can you imagine listening to botched accents all day long? Always check with your agent or manager. When all else fails, don’t be afraid to ask the casting director before you begin.

READ: Are You Having Trouble Landing an Accent?

4. Work with a coach. 
Whether you work with an acting coach or speech and dialect coach, getting help from someone trained in this area can make all the difference in your audition. Dialects are not only about pronunciation but also about cadence, phrasing, inflection, and pitch. Sometimes in comedy, the words are not funny until the dialect is in place. Be careful of over-coaching, however. When in doubt re-read tip number one!

5. Don’t wing it. 
Dialects are part of the basic training of every good actor. Just like your monologues and songs, have your dialects in your repertoire ready to go at any moment. Take the time well before opportunity knocks to learn a few of the more popular dialects such as Standard British, Cockney, Irish, Australian, Southern, and Brooklyn. Practice on trains, planes, and automobiles. Just think how much fun you can have while working on your craft.

6. Other good resources. 
There are many books and CDs available to help you learn dialects on your own. Some authors to research are Edda Sharpe, Jan Haydn Rowles, Robert Blumenfeld, Paul Meier, and Jerry Blunt. Other great resources are VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association) and IDEA Dialects (International Dialects of English Archive) where you can find a real person speaking with the dialect or accent you are looking for.

For some added inspiration, check out Meryl Streep’s many accomplished accents: British in “The French Lieutenant’s Woman," Polish in “Sophie’s Choice," Danish in “Out of Africa," Irish-American in “Ironweed," Australian in “A Cry in the Dark," Italian “The Bridges of Madison County," Irish in “Dancing at Lughnasa," Upper-Midwest in “A Prairie Home Companion," Bronx in “Doubt," Julia Child in “Julie & Julia," and English in “The Iron Lady.” Have fun as you simply watch, listen, and learn!

Finding the Love in Your Scene

When I ask my younger students how many of them hate their siblings, most of their hands go up. I then ask how they would feel if something bad happened to their sister or brother. The general consensus is they would feel sad. “So you really love your sibling even though you say you hate him?” Both can be true. We can hate and love at the same time.

One of the biggest criticisms I have, especially with teenage actors, is that they are missing the love in their scene. It is easy to be nasty and bitchy, but if they can’t find even an ounce of love, they are unlikeable. Many teenage female characters written for television are sarcastic and acerbic. The challenge is to find the character’s likable qualities as well, avoiding obvious, trite, and stereotypical choices. If you think the character has no redeeming qualities, that is a choice you are making and it is not a very interesting one.

To quote Michael Shurtleff in his book, “Audition”: “To find the deepest emotional content in a scene, you must ask, ‘Where is the love?’ It’s not important if you’re right or wrong: What is important is your commitment to whatever feeling you choose.” You may hate your dad at this moment because he won’t give you the car but you can also love him, can’t you?

Find what is true and know the opposite is also true. I recently worked on an audition scene with a few young actors. In the film, the father had deceived the entire family by faking his own death. Once the girl discovers this, she is obviously angry and in the scene tries to get revenge by hurting him emotionally. All of the actors played the anger beautifully but forgot one very important thing – they loved their dad and were truly grateful he was, in fact, alive. By not discovering the love, their performances were callous, calculating, and frankly uninteresting.

What about the villains who upend expectations? It is fascinating to find the genuine vulnerability in the conniving, back-stabbing cheerleader or the murderous, trashy mother who is often unexpectedly smart and caring.

I always tell my students, “Say what you mean but don’t always say it mean.” Your audition scene is about your boyfriend cheating on you with your best friend. Stop yelling. I understand that you are mad. How many times can you confront him by playing mean? Are you sad and hurt? Do you still love him even though he did something so egregious? Again, I love what Mr. Shurtleff has to say, “The actress has to know more than the character knows.”

Remember that love is more than sexuality and libidinal energy. It is the life instinct driving all humanity. Find it, play it and see what new levels you can find in your acting!

9 Lessons ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Can Teach Everyone

Last month, I took a group of my students and their parents to a performance of “Dear Evan Hansen.” When the curtain came down, every single one of us was flooded with emotions—there wasn’t a dry eye amongst us.

Without giving anything away, “Dear Evan Hansen” is a musical about a teen who feels invisible, but through a tragedy and a misunderstanding, finally starts to know what it’s like to fit in, to belong. The themes are universal and all too close to home for many. As one mother in our group stated, “We’ve all felt left out, lost, and alone at some point in our lives.”

After the moving theatrical experience we all had, I wanted to share what my students and parents took away from those hours in the theater. Regardless of whether you are an actor, parent, or civilian, no matter your age, gender, or religion, there are great life lessons to be learned from “Dear Evan Hansen.”

As an actor….

1. Be the character.
The show was believable because it was so real. These were real people having real experiences, not fabricated performances. The characters weren’t just being portrayed, they were living within the skin of the actor onstage.

2. Find the humor.
How can something as intense as a show about suicide be funny? Part of it is obviously the writing, but much of it relies on the actors. Throughout the show, Will Roland (in the role of Jared) and Kristolyn Lloyd (as Alana) used adept comic timing to make a serious subject real and tolerable. Just like life, we use humor to deal with pain.

3. Be vulnerable.
As actors, we’re taught to be vulnerable, a hard concept for many actors in training. But Ben Platt’s performance is a beautiful example of the power of being vulnerable. He offers himself totally and completely to the character of Evan Hansen. As the audience, we saw his insides, his raw emotion, and we’ll never forget it.

4. Allow silence.
When it comes to acting, it’s often the silence that has a greater impact than words. There is a moment in the show when the character of Evan is silent for what seems like an eternity, both to him and the audience. It’s uncomfortable, but we feel his anxiety and pain beyond what words could ever convey.

5. Make it original.
After countless stereotypical high school musicals with cheery dance numbers and sappy love songs, “Dear Evan Hansen” offers something wholly original and refreshing. We’re not watching a revival or a clone of something we’ve already seen. This is something new, something we’ve never seen before, and the energy and excitement is palpable.

READ: How Rachel Bay Jones Gives Her All to ‘Dear Evan Hansen’

As a human ….

6. Stay authentic.
Tell the truth. Don’t hide behind what you think others want you to be. “In a world of growing social media presence—which ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ portrays beautifully—we are constantly attempting to portray who we want everyone to think we are,” said 24-year-old Kevin Johnson, a member of our group that day.

“In reality, and even as a social media strategist, I find that authenticity gives the most positive and engaged feedback…. Students and adults alike need to know that being themselves is how we survive as people and that we do so by being honest with the most important person in our lives: ourselves.”

7. Stay aware.
Think about how social media affects us both negatively and positively. We often think we’re connecting with others virtually—more followers equals more friends, right? But in reality, spending all day with our heads in a computer or phone can mean that we’re actually disconnecting from the people around us. Make an effort to stay present.

8. Be relatable.
In the song “Waving Through A Window,” the lyrics begin, “On the outside always looking in, will I be more than I’ve always been?” This is the first introduction to Evan as someone who feels like he’s standing outside of something, never part of something.

“The words were such a powerful trigger, immediately triggering a thought that I was watching myself as a struggling teen in my darkest days,” said a 17-year-old student. The feeling was mutual for parents in the group: “As a mom, it also made me feel that same powerlessness of the two mothers on stage as they tried to deal with their sons’ pain and loneliness. There is nothing worse than being in the dark, unable to help.”

9. Embrace the imperfect.
Real life rarely ends with a big Hollywood flourish where everyone is happy and everything works out. Life is hard as lessons get learned and experience grows. This is reflected beautifully in “Dear Evan Hansen.” The show ends the way something so real, raw, and reflective should.

While the show is currently the darling of Broadway with its powerhouse cast, brilliant score, lyrics, and moving book, Dear Evan Hansen is profound on a personal and professional level. Run, don’t walk! This is a must-see for every theatre goer.

“It’s important to remind ourselves, young and old, that we must be our true, authentic selves. ‘You are you’ rings throughout [the show],” as Johnson reminds us. “I not only thought, ‘it is so vital for students to hear this,’ but also, ‘I needed this myself.”

3 Ways for Young Actors to Train

As an acting coach and teacher, my passion lies in inspiring young actors to be the best performers they can be as they reach their full potential. Hard work, combined with talent and drive, enable actors to master their craft and find success in their acting endeavors. However, talent and passion will wear thin without proper training. As a teacher and coach I introduce my students to a myriad of exercises, games and simple techniques while empowering, encouraging, and challenging them to reach beyond their current grasp. Proper instruction and guidance from a professional is an important piece for growth. Here are several ways to train all with different benefits.

Weekly group classes. It is the consistency and repetition of ongoing work that will allow an actor to grow. Weekly classes help build a foundation that is essential for young actors as they work with others. Besides providing a fun space to make friends, group classes reinforce acting basics like listening and reacting, as well as tackling difficult material. Any time parents ask me for advice, I always advise them to start with an ongoing, age appropriate class. I like to keep my classes small to ensure personalized attention. Ask to audit a class to make sure it is the right fit for your child. Continuous classes are an investment in your child’s artistic future that will have rewarding effects in all aspects of their life. 

Workshops. Whether your child attends audition workshops, musical theater bootcamps, or one-day on-camera classes, workshops provide performers with an intensive experience devoted to improving a certain area of performance. What I find most valuable about workshops is the environment pushes a performer to bring their A-game to a group of strangers. Workshops hone a specific skill usually taught by an expert in a certain field. It is a great refresher for certain areas, and an opportunity to learn about a new one. Workshops are not a substitute for ongoing training. Like spicing up your exercise routine, workshops are a good way for your child to flex certain performance muscles, but ongoing training is what will develop skill and nurture passion. 

Private coaching. I spend many hours of my week coaching young actors privately. The main benefit is they have my undivided attention. One-on-one coaching offers a personalized environment in which a young performer can feel safe and free to express themselves while being propelled to reach personal heights. A private coach will be familiar with your performer and will understand their strengths and know how to improve their weaknesses. Regular individual coaching is a form of ongoing training essential to developing specific skills that might be lost in weekly group classes. I highly recommend private coaching for professional children and children who frequent auditions. It is a crucial piece for a child’s professional growth. 

Training is a way to turn you child’s acting interest into a thriving passion. While each form of training has specific benefits, I find that a combination of all three is best for a young performer. The mix of different acting environments will ensure your child is a well-rounded performer with diverse skills. Talent and passion are essential elements in an actor’s life. Training is the glue that holds it all together. 

19 Lessons For Self-Reflection on a Snow Day

As I work from home today, watching the snow floating down, I am in awe of nature’s beauty. The phone is not ringing since all personal and work appointments are cancelled, and my dog is fast asleep at my feet. Sometimes it’s nice to have a quiet moment to reflect on things that have inspired me.

I am a student and always will be. I have taken classes in acting, voice, dance, meditation, guitar, yoga, kick-boxing, knitting, quilting, and cooking to name a few. In my own work teaching clients, as both an acting and life coach, I find myself quoting words of wisdom from some of my favorite inspirational teachers that I have worked with over the years. In this time of quiet reflection, I thought it would be nice to share some of them with you...

“It’s haaaaard. Acting is very hard.”

“If you say you’re going to go, GO!”

“You must be willing to make a mess to have your dreams.“

“In order to explode, you must have the stuff to explode with.”

“The voices in our head will sabotage us.“

“Take the effort, struggle, and examining of it out of acting.”

“Theater is life distilled.”

“We must forget the language and go with the humanity.”

“Make it specific. You won’t react from generalizations.“

“Acting is the most important moment of your life.”

“The title is very important to what is happening in the scene.”

“You understand a play better when you understand what is going on in the world at that time. “

“There are only two emotions in life - love and fear.”

“Let things surprise you. The reward about acting is you discover all the different me’s.”

“Don’t take it personally. It’s never about us. “

“Stay curious.”

“Anyone can make the moment real, but what you do with it is where the talent lies.”

“With good writing your first obligation is to the playwright.”

“Pay attention!”

I encourage you to find a quiet moment in your own busy day so you can reflect on what inspires you to do what you do. This can bring a smile to your face, give you a deeper sense of certainty and satisfaction with your life, and can even trigger fresh ideas and get the creative juices flowing. Stay safe and warm and enjoy the snow.