The Stench

I’ve smelled it on myself before.

Desperation.

One day, you’re on fire. You’re auditioning, getting callbacks, booking left and right, upside down, round and round. If you’re not auditioning, you’re booking.  If you’re not booking, you’re already on set. Feels so good. Checks are in the mail.

Then one day, the bottom drops out. A harsh winter hits. Famine.

Why aren’t they calling? How come I’m not being sent out?

FUD sets in. Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.

Don’t let it. It will mess you up at your next audition. The decision makers will smell it on you. See it on you. The camera picks up everything. They rarely book the desperate ones.

But you want to work. You need to work.

Deep breath.

Stop asking for permission to work. Stop asking for a handout of an audition. Stop being needy. Stop depending on their validation.

Get to acting class. Form a group of like-minded actors. Start writing your own scripts. Get a team together and film your own projects. Look around, the walls are crumbling down. Cameras are cheaper. YouTube and Vimeo are free. Non-actors with absolutely no training are making large sums of money with ad partnerships by putting their silly but addictive videos online for their millions of channel subscribers and followers.  Just imagine what you, a trained actor (you’re trained aren’t you?) can do.

When the work slows down, don’t you slow down. Keep moving forward. Traditional paths to Hollywood are more blurry than ever. In fact, you don’t need to go to Hollywood. Make it come to you. Build it and they will come. And if they don’t, who cares?

At least you’ll get that stench off you.