Sunday, April 15, 2012

Outlines: For College Papers Only—Not for real life use.

Today’s Quote:
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”—Woody Allen

The Dream:
After a long talk with mi padre, I think it seems fitting to make my dream of the week a bit simple compared to previous dreams.  This week, I dreamed about doing something … and being insanely happy while doing it.  

What did I “DO” to move forward?
I did my taxes, played with my dog, signed up for Denver Center Season Auditions, and got a smartphone.  Not a bad week.

Any of you who have been waiting on the edge of your seat, waiting for my weekly blog installment to drop every Sunday night, have probably noticed the lack of consistency on my part.  I’ve been a bad blogger.

I guess the problem with writing a blog that is focused on inspiration and go-get-em-ness is that if the writer is feeling down, he might slack off. 

This spring I’ve had the incredibly difficult problem of an abundance of life choices.  Every day, I get pumped up with a combination of life choices that are never the same between two days.  Apples one day.  Oranges the next. 

As I said earlier, I was talking with my dad recently and he at one point asked me if I had taken any time to simply calm down and just ‘listen’.  I hadn’t.  I hadn’t done that probably since before graduating college.

I’m so grateful for the fact that I have parents that remind me to do things like, “Calm down and listen.”  I just closed the show that I had been performing in for the past three months and I have over a month till I start my summer job.  That’s a good chunk of time to calm down and listen.  I’m not expecting to have any particular answer over the course of that month, but I expect that I’m going to be a lot happier than I am now. 

Running around, making contacts, making friends, doing auditions, and practicing the craft will do wonders for an artist to advance in his career.  Making ample opportunities to calm down and listen for what he really needs to hear will do wonders for an artist to increase his happiness.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Patience


Today’s Quote:
“If the other actor isn’t giving you what you want, act as though he were.”—Michael Caine

The dreams:
This week is a nice marker for me.  Until this week, I was honestly dreading one part of moving to a new city:  Having to make a whole new list of friends and contacts after spending a year making friends and contacts here in Denver.  It was hard to not view some of my growth here in Denver as a waste because I would have to start from basically zero wherever I go next.  I’m not worried about that now.  I’ve been dreaming about all the new friends and new ‘business partners’ I’m going to be making when I move.  It’s a good dream; I love people … especially ones I’m just meeting!

What did I “DO” to move forward?
I started working more on my music writing and performing.  I used to be a pretty good dance music DJ and while I’ve still got the technical skills, I’m re-learning some of the art to it.  I’m also still working on building some auditions and contacts in Seattle.

Patience … Not a subject for a single article. 
Over the past few weeks, I’ve found a lot of uses for patience in my life.  I’ve been very grateful for seeing these moments as they’ve come along and I think it’s going to help me in a huge way, as I get closer to ramping my professional efforts up even more.

The first place I have been taking on some patience from is my booking schedule.  I’m currently not in a show until September and that is unusual for me.  (Hah, I’m sure some of you are cursing, “Oh, Poor Erik doesn’t know what it’s like to not constantly be in a show.” Get over it!)  Non-the-less, I’ve had the temptation to think this lack of shows is signifying a harder road than I wanted to deal with. 

It is harder than I thought it would be—and I thought it would be really freaking hard.  But I am reminded: every day I work at it and every time I watch my friends who are also rocking out in this world it shows that it is still very possible.

Another lesson about patience I’ve been learning is specifically for the actors out there.  We all know it is annoying as hell to have to act across from someone who is a blank wall or someone who has his or her own thing going on and is not responding to you at all.  It sucks!!! 

Those of us who have even the slightest bit of humility in themselves will remember that we also (at one time or another) have been the actor who gives nothing and receives nothing; the actor who is as fun to act with as a chair.  So, lets not get pissed off every time we have to work with someone who needs more acting classes.  We should love them for being there and trying.  After all, we all could use some more acting classes every once in a while … always.