Hello, all! I’m opening this post up this month to the public because I have a little brainstorming I’d love to do — and we’ll get that sorted first.
I set a goal this month to gain ONE patron at the $30+ tier to help offset some losses over the last year or two. I’d love some help brainstorming ways to bring folks in — and hopefully it’ll keep everyone here excited too. You can reach out to me in the comments here or on our Discord and help gather some ideas.
I’ve done some brainstorming myself and here are some things I’ve come up with. These aren’t locked, so please give me your feedback! Love things? hate things? Let me know.
Okay… on to the update!
Ambush at St. Mary’s will be playing at the San Diego Film Festival on Friday October 18th at 3:00pm in the San Diego Scene block. I’m not 100% sure I’ll be able to make the trip down, but if you’re around you should check it out! The director and DP should both be in attendance.
This month… I think I mentioned either in my September Vlog or in my blog post last month that I was trying something new. If you missed it, a quick recap:
I realized that I was spending more time on my day job than on acting; in years prior, that hadn’t really been an issue because I would get auditions multiple times a week (a DAY!) but with self tapes becoming king and running around town dwindling, plus the general silence of the industry, things were feeling stagnant. Acting class gives me a few hours a week, but I wanted to make sure things were a bit more even, so I came up with an idea: one hour a day, every week day, I was going to do something for the industry. Read a script, write, network, body work, and scene work. Obviously if an audition popped up, that would be scene work + networking that week, but it gave me a good base.
I really like this idea. I pre-plan what scripts I’m going to read each week & all I have to do is click a link, then read. Last week, I read Parasite — won the Oscar a few years ago. I really, really loved the script. You get something different out of reading vs seeing and some scripts can really paint a picture; there’s such value in seeing what other, more experienced, writers do – so that’s what the “reading” block is for me!
Writing has been harder. I haven’t felt like I have a strong story I want to tell and last month I wound up staring at the page more than actually writing, so I retinkered this month. Instead of trying to write a SCRIPT or edit a movie, I’m giving myself some exercises to complete over the next few weeks: one week I’ll use a writing prompt, another week it’s just 15 minutes of free writing, another’s an edit session to see if any of the ideas from this month are worth diving further into. I figure this way… it’s free, which is what I really liked about the reading hour.
Networking is, and always has been, my nemesis. Last month I did a lot of self-submissions + Patron engagement. This month, I set a goal for myself to try to go out to coffee at least once. We’ll see. I feel like this arena is always …weird. If I can’t get the coffee done, I’ll be focused on virtual efforts. Instagram, I think, has become my replacement Twitter? Maybe? I mean, there’s nothing else. But that means I need to come up with content and actually engage with people there — we shall see.
For last month’s bodywork, I tried some exercises on my own… and pretty quickly felt like this area of training was underdeveloped for me. Experiment failed. Kind of. Once I recognized that, I knew I wanted some outside help… Soooo! I am taking Alexander Technique with a teacher in Burbank once a week. Which means that October is ALSO going to be about bodywork & breath work & using that part of my instrument effectively.
(What is Alexander Technique? The Alexander Technique is a method that helps actors improve their posture, movement, and breathing by becoming more aware of habitual physical tension. By promoting better alignment and ease of motion, it enhances an actor’s ability to express emotions and perform with greater freedom and presence. I think it’s going to jive REALLY nicely with the work I’m doing in therapy — which I won’t talk a ton about here, for personal reasons, but I’m excited to see where I go).
And finally… scene work! On weeks I have class, it’s dedicated to finding & learning a scene. On weeks I have auditions, it’s time carved out for those. Obviously this is probably the easiest one to tick off because I know EXACTLY how it all slots in and I have systems in place to handle it. But it’s felt VERY freeing to know that I do have the time I need if I get auditions or meaty scenes.
This got so long! I’ve got a few more things to share, but I’ll save them for the October vlog — bye, fam!
Link Roundup