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[0:00] Jeffrey Dreisbach: So, everything we undertake has its own set of issues. We know this. Everything worth doing contains the what ifs. What if it doesn't work out? What if I can't find the time? What if it doesn't happen? Actors are well versed in taking on alternative points of view when it comes to their acting or their acting career. It is built into the DNA of being an actor. It can really affect our sensibilities for better or for worse. Right now we are paralyzed with the actors and writers strike. It prevents us from even thinking about the what ifs. Well, to that, I can only say, let's get back into it! Let's find ways to keep ourselves ready. So when external issues finally resolve, and they will, we will be ready. Back into it is today's subject on this episode of Casting Actors Cast.

[1:28] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Here is your host, Jeffrey Dreisbach.

[1:41] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Well, hello, and welcome to today's episode of Casting Actors Cast. I'm Jeffrey Dreisbach. I'm a casting partner with McCorkle Casting in New York. How are you? Hey, I'm back. I've been away for a little while, and it's really great to be back into the Casting Actors Cast seat. And today's episode, I think, is going to be a lot of fun and kind of interesting, I think, because it really is about that feeling of swimming in jello where like nothing is going on. Um, and so I feel like talking about getting back into it is exactly the right theme for me as well, because I'm now getting back into the episodes of Casting Actors Cast. So thank you for hanging in there with me during this little brief time. And we're back to regularly scheduled episodes every Thursday around one o'clock. I will be releasing current episodes and we will continue on until I can't take it anymore. So I am back into it.

[2:44] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Uh listen, this is that moment of the podcast where I get to say thank you for tuning in to Casting Actors Cast. It's been really fun putting these podcasts together over the past gosh, you know what? It's almost like four years now. I kind of can't believe it, but yet here we are. And I just wanted to thank you. It's been a real pleasure. If you want to check out some more information about the podcast, please go to castingactorscast.com, castingactorscast.com. And there you're gonna find some additional information about the podcast. You're gonna find show notes in the form of just one page PDFs called Jeff's Jots. I love alliteration. And those are actual show notes from each of the corresponding episodes, so that you can have some notes if you will.

So if you find a podcast is particularly interesting or valuable for you, and gosh, I hope some of this information has been useful and valuable, you may want to have something tangible, something in your hand or on your device that you can refer back to. And that's why I put the Jeff's Jots together.

[3:47] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Additionally, there's a free book I'm giving out on doing voiceover work. When you fill out the form that says dive into the talent pool, all you need to do is just fill that form out. It gives me your name and your email address. By the way, I don't do anything with that. Uh I will say that on occasion I'll send out an invitation or I'll send out an announcement about classes or even an upcoming episode of the podcast. But I do my best to not spam you and not send you kind of stuff. You know what I mean? I don't want to make I don't want to be that guy. So you can find that on the website as well, is that free book when you fill out the form. It's called Conversation Pieces: Out of the Studio, the VoiceOver Workshop for Professional Actors.

It's a 100-page PDF that I invite you to check out. Uh a lot of people have found it really, really helpful. And um, I'm really grateful for those of you who have downloaded the book and given me some feedback. By the way, you can ask me any kind of questions when you fill out that form. If you have some information that you would like to share, I'm happy to put that on the air as well. Or maybe there's a lingering question that you've had. I love getting those kinds of questions and I love being able to respond. And most likely I will tackle whatever that question is on the air in some version or some form. So that's something that I think you'll find useful.

[5:08] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Um, finally, my shout out to my good friends at Actors Connection, actorsconnection.com/NewYork. Um, really all kinds of amazing programming going on, uh, classes, workshops, seminars. Some of them are free. Uh, you can join the Facebook group. There's really a whole community of like-minded folks at actorsconnection.com/NewYork. All right, let's get into the subject today. I um didn't hesitate, frankly, on doing this episode after being away for a little bit while of course during that time we have the actor strike, which is like affecting so many people. Um, but you know what? I just thought my normal pattern, personally speaking, if I can have a moment of personal privilege here. My pattern has been to just say, okay, you know what?

The universe is telling me to just chill out and sit back and just sometimes doing nothing is doing something. Well, you know what? When I knew I was going to be relaunching the podcast, this was the opportunity to not only not sit back, not wait for something else to happen, but to be front-footed with getting back into the swing of things.

[6:29] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Now, I know it even feels more daunting because we're in this actors and writers' strike currently at the time of recording this podcast. And so let's take a look at how we can change our pattern of behavior in order to help ourselves have a different, more positive perspective on not only today, but the future as well. So I think there's a mindset sometimes that actors might want to embrace, and that is a relaunch. Um, a relaunching of your career. And I'm not talking about any dramatic, you know, changes in anything other than changing the mindset, which is having a career strategy. And one way that you can relaunch your career and your career strategy is by simply writing down new goals. Now I know you've heard this, but if you're like me or you're like a lot of people, is that you write down the new goals, you circle it, you underline it, you put a triangle on it, whatever it is you do to ritualize that statement, that goal that you're trying to set.

And then guess what? It ends up in a drawer, it ends up under the chair, it ends up something that you don't make reference to, and it just feels like somehow you've lost that focus, um, that strategy for career. And so I'm asking you to revisit some of those new goals by writing them down, um, and really making it a point to put it in a very, very specific place that you can go back to and refer to as you need to.

[8:17] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Moving on from there, uh another very, very valuable, I think, tool that a lot of us, including myself, I'm including myself in all of these today, is to just really uh embrace and understand what I have control over versus what I don't. I personally don't have any control over the negotiations taking place in the writer's strike. I do know that the several feature films that our office is working on right now are completely on hold. We're not even to, we're not even allowed to talk to agents and managers about even, you know, casting ideas that can't happen, nothing is happening. And so there's this, you know, what do we do now sort of attitude and this frustration about that? But on the other hand, that's simply something that is out of my control.

And so why am I wasting a lot of energy? And I would submit the same question to you. Why are you wasting any energy being concerned over what's happening in the writer's strike? Now I think it's cool that if you're protesting, I support the actors and the writers. I support that very, very much. But on the other hand, I also need to have a perspective on what I have control over. Perhaps it's a good idea to trust the powers that be that this is going to get resolved. I think it is inevitable. Although I can't say that for 100% certainty, I can say that my fingers are crossed and the industry is just too important and just too big to sort of let fizzle out. So I'm hopeful, I'm remaining optimistic, and I am optimistic because I am, I think, in a good place in understanding what I have control over.

[10:12] Jeffrey Dreisbach: And what I have control over is the next suggestion. And that is to take advantage of those other people in your circles downtime to make new connections. Here's a suggestion. I've done many podcasts, some kind of recently, about getting an agent, getting a manager.

[10:33] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Well, guess what? Agents and managers are like on this virtual hold. But you know what? That might be an opportunity for you to reach out. Maybe this is the time where they would be more accessible if you were to try to make contact with them, either email or phone call or using whatever connections that you can. So a lot of people are in this sort of suspended situation, this suspended animation, so to speak. Maybe this would be a great time to take advantage of making those new connections. Either with agents or managers, maybe this is a good time to reach out to casting directors and let them know what's going on with you. What classes are you taking? Are you, uh, are is there anything on the air currently running right now that you want to draw attention to?

This is the time to think about new connections that you could be making and not just kind of sit back and not be front-footed, especially when it comes to networking, especially when it comes to perhaps having an opportunity to meet some people in your industry, in your circle, in your however you want to call it, in your tribe. This is the time to make those kinds of connections.

[11:53] Jeffrey Dreisbach: This is not the time to do what bears do when winter is approaching, right? They get ready, they've got, they've filled themselves up, and then they go and they take this big ass nap. That is not what I'm suggesting. In fact, I'm suggesting just the opposite. It's time to go out and forge new territory and new connections. Um, just moving on with a different thought process, and that is to be leery of a few things. One is to be leery of deciding that you're going to take some time off. And not that you don't deserve it. I know that physically and emotionally, we've all been through so much over the past handful of years, for goodness sake, it's been crazy. But be careful about a rationalization of rationalizing, okay, this has happened, and so that means I'm gonna kick back and do nothing. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do that. That's not my suggestion. My suggestion is to be leery. Do not overindulge that voice in your head that is giving you permission to chill.

[13:06] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Um, again, there's nothing wrong with chilling, but there is something wrong with indulging that to the point of inaction. That's what I have to tell myself, especially in these long hot days that we're all dealing with. The climate has been ridiculous. Um, we're on strike, we've just tried to recover from COVID. Theaters are closing down. I mean, there's just so much happening. But I know that this is probably not a good time to become unfocused with the current state of affairs. Now, taking that another step, here's another thought that I have that I think um is worthy of consideration, and that is to try something new. Maybe this is the time to think about a class, even though you're saying, well, I have the strike, and I maybe even don't financially can't really do it. Um, you know what? There are ways. There are free opportunities if you just suss them out. Ooh, good word, suss them out.

[14:13] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Um, there are perhaps some new hobbies, or maybe there's some new skill. Maybe you've got a friend that is a fight coordinator, and maybe they could teach you some fight moves, or maybe you have and always wanted to learn how to quilt. That's cool. In other words, just simply thinking about what is new out there. Maybe this is the time to take on that hobby that you've always wanted to take on or find out more about. There are people in similar circumstances that are also not doing much who would benefit from you asking them to help. So it's, it may seem like it's self-serving, but believe me, in my experience, you're doing a world of good for other people in asking them to utilize their skills, their hobbies, their knowledge, to perhaps instill something interesting and new for you.

[15:16] Jeffrey Dreisbach: All right, moving on from there. You know what? Don't, don't be careful not to just judge me too harshly when I say this. There you go again. But here's the thing. But you know what? There are people out there who have knowledge and information that might be so supportive of what you're trying to do. By the same token, you've had a whole kind of beautiful range of life experience that might be really helpful to somebody younger than you or somebody who's maybe just starting. There's something so rewarding and kind of humbling, if you ask me, when you are a mentor to somebody, but it's also so rewarding if you can find and get additional support from somebody who you call a mentor.

[16:38] Jeffrey Dreisbach: All right, let's move on from there. Guess what? It's time to start reading some new scripts. You know, you can find tons of new material out there. You can literally Google television and film scripts, and you can find material of scripts that have been done recently, maybe material that hasn't even been done yet. There are all kinds of resources that are available to you if you just look. Structure a new read of a new script as part of your week, as part of your checklist of things to do. And you're going to find that to be really, really helpful. It keeps you fresh, but also it gives you an in an insight, I think, into the style of writing that's taking place, especially with some of the contemporary material, some of the film scripts that we're we have been currently casting. The really interesting stories written by some really amazing writers.

[17:35] Jeffrey Dreisbach: The material that I've been reading has been just mind bogglingly good. Ooh, is that a good word? Mind bogglingly. Well, I just said it, so we'll make it. So reading some new scripts. I think that's a really useful idea because guess what? You don't have to rely on anybody else but yourself. And you can structure it so that you have a regular, you know, an hour before bed, an hour in the morning, whatever is useful for you. But staying in touch with the material that's being written and going on out there, extremely valuable. And guess what? It also makes you feel so much better about yourself.

[18:15] Jeffrey Dreisbach: Moving on from there, trust that the time you put into any of these suggestions that I'm giving you will not be wasted time. You see, we beat ourselves up because we think we're not doing enough. But shifting the mindset to everything that I'm doing that's on my list, everything that I am trying to achieve is not wasted. Whether it's your acting itself or whether it's your acting career. Nothing, nothing will be wasted. I promise. And I know this sounds a little woo-woo, but the energy that you put into the universe is definitely reflected back to you in the form of choices, uh, decisions, and ultimately, consequences.

[19:29] Jeffrey Dreisbach: When you can objectively view your situation, and you can what? Surround it with positive what ifs. You're setting a pattern of success in your acting and your acting career. You see, I think that the creative mind will only become receptive to possibilities when you are in the right place to receive them. Now, in my view, that's what back into it means. Not walking back, but getting back into it with full knowledge and awareness that everything temporary, everything is temporary, and change is inevitable. There's no reason to suffer our current state because it will change course when we change directions.

[20:28] Jeffrey Dreisbach: I will see and hear you next time on Casting Actors Cast. Please don't forget to review, like, and share Casting Actors Cast wherever you get your patio's podcast videos. Thanks. I'm Megan Grace Martinez.