Yeah, the Industry has changed during this pandemic - and it’s not going back to how things were. Your career momentum may feel far away right now, and it can seem like the Industry is shut down. But around here, we’re having intense, juicy conversations with Industry professionals - who tell us that now more than ever, the Industry is pulsing with life, waiting for YOU to show up and deliver what they rely on actors to bring to the work.

And as the Industry is already planning the move out of isolation, Industry folks are gonna rely on you to show up and offer all of these elements:

1. Your raw, emotional truth.

Yup. As counterintuitive as it might sound, that’s what the Industry is craving right now (always, actually). The real human beings who run this business are aching and terrified and on the verge of losing it right now – just like the rest of us. They need to see your most human, vulnerable, unique expression, because that is what moves them and that’s what got them into this business in the first place.

Whether that’s in your self-tape, the content you’re creating at home, virtual auditions or any auditions you’ll go on when things start back up… if you want to reach Hollywood right now, you need to be speaking from your heart and with a strong, personal voice.

2. Mastery of Virtual Space + Other Technology.

We know, we hear it all the time – “I’m not a technology person!” But the truth of it is, this technology is here to stay. Some CDs will do pre-reads exclusively on Zoom, so as a professional, it is your job to get super-duper comfortable with the medium. And we are seeing such beautiful work in the virtual space in all of our classes right now, work that can (and does) move anyone with a pulse in the business.

Self-Tapes? Your new best friend. The thrilling opportunity here is to get so practiced, excited, and honest (yes, your kid just ran on-camera during your Zoom audition!) in this new technology, that your talent reaches through the computer screen and affects your audience in a way they cannot deny. For more self-tape mastery, explore our brand new 8-Week classes.

3. Radical Self-Care.

We’re not talking about manicures and yoga (although that can be part of it). We’re talking about a radically kind, honest, supportive practice that is YOURS and yours alone that fuels you for the long-run. You cannot expect to achieve and maintain the career of your dreams with an empty tank.

The Industry responds to those who show up full and from a place of generosity – and the only way to do that is to take care of yourself.

NOW, more than ever, it is your responsibility to yourself, your family, and your artistry, to secure a healthy foundation for yourself, so you can be an artistic leader today, from your living room on Zoom, and wherever you find yourself in the future.

4. Your One-of-a-Kind Content.

We say this all the time and it is truer now more than it ever was: the Industry needs you to create. Even if you’re not the next Shonda (but maybe you are!) you can still show up in the work full and confident in your skills as a storyteller, so your work is that of a collaborator and leader.

What does that look like? It could be as simple as a two-page scene you write and shoot with a friend (via Zoom!) and cut together as a short film. It could look like writing and recording a monologue and posting to one of the many monologue challenges online Risa and every CD roaming Instagram are finding new talent via all those Challenges and Open calls, and the work they’re loving comes from and by actors who have shared something meaningful to them.

And we’ve created classes to help you find our voice, express it, create from that place, and share that content with the world. It’s your time to do whatever you want – there are no rules, just a hunger for art and entertainment!

You can do this! The Industry is counting on it.

5. Your Generous Spirit.

With the Industry at a seeming standstill, and so many CDs, Agents + Managers more accessible than ever on social media, it might seem like a great time to start DM-ing every CD you can think of, inviting them to check out your website, or better yet, ask those burning questions about your resume that have been keeping you up at night.

Think again.

CDs and Reps do not need another actor asking for a favor, or attention, or validation. Chances are, it will shut them down. However, the actor who can connect with Industry professionals on these platforms from a place of generosity and collaboration- with no investment in the outcome- and offering something rather than asking (for love, validation, and a job or representation) affords herself the opportunity to foster relationships that will last over time, create professional respect, show artistic authority and humanity, and in time, these relationships will lead to more auditions and work.

You offer your talent and heart, and authentically acknowledge them as human beings, and they feel like they’re getting a gift, not burdened by your need. More than ever, we are in this work together. There is no hierarchy, only partnership.

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Here’s an exercise for you. Go back and read these 5 things the Industry needs from you right now and write (journal) for 3-5 minutes on each of them:

What can you practically do to shift from where you are now to where you can be in order to show leadership, authority, collaboration, and human connection, and change how you perceive the Industry and how the Industry (human beings who are also home-schooling and binge watching and yearning for a hug) will perceive you?

You ARE the INDUSTRY.

Own that.

Your VOICE and your ART matter!

Join us in class today to stay in championship-level shape. For your art + your career.

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