September is back to school time, so let’s go get our school supplies and take a look at how we are learning and growing as people and performers.
The cool thing about the School of Life is that when we fail a test we get to take it again until we pass. Hopefully this article will help you place out of a few general studies courses.
What better month to think about the work we do as performers? The thing that we often forget as creative people…our work is as close as opening a script or score.
Yes, I know no one is paying you to do that, but the more we do the work that no one sees, the greater the chances to do the work we get paid for.
I’m sure many of you are familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and his discussion of the 10,000 hour rule:

“The emerging picture…is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert-in anything.” 

That means about twenty hours of quality practice per week for ten years.

I’ve definitely not reached that, and I’ve been at this for way more than ten years.

The good news is that most of us are not trying to be world-class…the Tiger Woods/Bill Gates/Serena Williams of musical theatre performance.

Most of us want to work consistently, doing good work with good people in good theatres.

Well, great news. That doesn’t require 10,000 hours. But it does require hours.
But before you get busy getting your pop/rock selection up to speed in your audition book, step back.
Is being a performer what you really want to invest your time in? Seriously. It might be something else like writing, teaching first grade, or real estate. It might be performing AND real estate. AND freelancing as a social media expert. AND a homemaker.
The possibilities are endless. I just want to shake us all out of a mindset many of us get: I won’t be successful as a performer until I achieve “x”.
Might be a Broadway show. Might be a certain award. Might be an amount of earnings.
Now think about someone you know who has done a Broadway show or won an award. Do you see them able to hang on to that accomplishment as the foundation for their well-being? If they are, you might want to re-calibrate you friend-picker.
Okay, so here is the practical piece of this you can use. And you can thank my friend Kim Shively for this. BTW, if you ever need some great acting coaching, Kim is your girl. Just email me, and I will get you her info.
Grab a notebook, a writing utensil, and a supportive, unconditionally loving friend.
  • Write at the top of the page, “Long Term Priorities.”
  • Write one third down the page, “Fires to Put Out.”
  • Write two thirds down the page, “Daily Tasks.”
Now I will share a little of what my page says so you get an idea of how this works.
One of my long term goals is to build my classical repertoire and strengthen my classical chops. So a piece of my page looks like this:
  • Long Term Priorities:
    • Building Opera Rep/Shoring up classical chops, eventually moving into singing classical music and opera professionally.
  • Fires to Put Out:
    • Nothing here has anything to do with my classical singing, thank goodness. If you don’t have fires to put out, then hallelujah :).
  • Daily Tasks:
    • Daily Focused Practice (6 days a week):
      • vocalises
      • studying and learning repertoire
      • keeping a regular schedule with my coach so that I’m accountable

The A-word is key here. Accountability. Most of us performers are such people pleasers that this actually works in our favor.

If we set up a structure where we have to check in with a friend who is also working on their goals or a really good teacher, we are going to move forward.

Then once we’ve knocked out that long term goal by following small daily tasks, we’re ready to make a map for the next one.

I can even say that I PROMISE you…if you will take the few hours to sit down and chart this for yourself, post it where you will see it regularly, be intentional about it, and surround yourself with people who will kick your ass if you don’t deliver, you WILL see results.

Your skill will solidify. You will grow as a person. And then the You you are bringing into the audition room is someone a director is going to want to work with.

Happy September everyone!