This is casting actor's cast, the

podcast for actors with a passion

hosted by me.

Jeffrey Dreisbach, casting director,

teacher and author,

whether you're in the spotlight or

behind the Scenes, this is your place

to be informed, inspired

and creatively charged.

And today we're going to be talking

about what to do when you're not

working and you don't have the funds

for classes

or coaching.

Let's turn those dry spells into

creative Wells.

See what I did just there let's go.

Well, hello and welcome to today's

episode of casting actress Cass.

As I said in the opening, this is

Geoffrey drisbach.

I'm a casting partner with mccorchel

cassing in New York.

Hope you haven't a good day.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you so much for being there for

that special event that took place last

week.

I am so grateful that the event turned

out to be a complete success.

There were so many friends and

colleagues and students that I had

worked with had just made me feel so

great.

And I really feel.

And I know this might be a little

misplace, but I feel like they all got

something out of it as well.

So it was a fun experience.

Had by all.

And hopefully we'll have some future

events like that.

But again, my sincere.

Thanks.

Hey.

Listen.

If you haven't done so already.

Check out the website, casting actors

cast all one word dot com.

You can find all kinds of information.

One is Jeff jot's, which are actually

show notes for each of the

corresponding episodes.

I think you might find that useful.

There's also information about getting

my book.

it's called bookt it, the actor's

playbook to getting cast.

I think you might find that kind of

valuable.

Also there's a form that says, dive

into the talent pool.

And if you do, that it's going to open

up some freebies for you, a video and a

free book.

So there's a lot going on.

But most importantly,

this subject is something that I've

been wanting to do for such a long

time, because we talk a lot about the

ups and downs.

But let's talk about it with a

scenario.

And our scenario

here is

what we call the in between blues.

So here's the truth?

Every actor, no matter how successful,

go through.

Oh, I'd like to call the in between

it's that kind of awkward stretch of

time when you're not onset or you're

not auditioning, and you're frankly,

you're not sure when or if the next

opportunity will come.

And you know what, I know that's really

hard.

I certainly know that when I was an

actor, I've been casting for fifteen

years.

But boy do I remember my acting days,

how challenging those were.

Especially when you're watching your

peers' book jobs, or you're scrolling

through casting sites that you don't

think there's anything for you, there's

nothing available

for you.

That's a terrible feeling.

And worse, maybe your bank account is

saying no

to classes and maybe workshops, or,

you know what, even just to night out

sometimes.

So now you're not acting, now you're

not training and definitely not feeling

creatively fulfilled.

Does that sound familiar?

Listen, if so.

I want you to know that you are not

alone.

What we need to do is think about

shifting the narrative.

And so here's something I want you to

try

shift the story.

Instead of thinking, I'm not doing

anything,

reframe it to.

I am in my creative incubation phase.

Ok,

ok, maybe.

But you know what?

Honestly it's powerful.

It is

when you shift how you see this time

from a dead space to a productive pause.

You start to regain control.

You're not waiting.

You are preparing.

You're growing.

And here's the best part.

You don't need money to do that.

All you need is a mindset,

a mindset, commitment

and just a little structure.

That's all

really.

So let's talk about some free ways to

fill that creative cup.

So what can you do that costs nothing

and feeds your artist's soul?

See, listen, I've got a whole menu of

options for you.

So let's dig in.

Number one.

Easy peasy.

Read plays,

read scripts,

read monologues.

There are other internet sites that are

full of royalty free plays.

Also, your local library is a gold

mine.

Pick a character,

break it down and perform it, like,

just do it for yourself.

Even better, record it as a self tape

and watch it back.

When you watch yourself back on a self

tape.

Don't be critical.

Observe areas in which you could take

more risks.

Could you have taken some additional

chances playing that?

What if game?

What if my character?

Fill in the blank?

See, that becomes

your scene study class, right there,

right there.

You don't have to pay for.

That that's something that you can

create for yourself.

And I know it's hard,

but once you start.

Just that little bit of structure

can have a huge impact on you feeling

better about yourself.

And guess what?

That energy also goes.

I believe this bitro goes out into the

universe.

I'm not trying to get weird or woolo or

whatever, but there is something to be

said about manifesting your future by

having the right mindset.

Now

here's another thing that I suggest

actors do all the time.

And I suspect that there are blocks or

reasons that actors choose not to do

this.

But I would love for you to consider,

to journal in character.

How do you do that?

So, pick a role from a show or a film,

something maybe that you've read, and I

want you to spend fifteen minutes

writing in a journal,

making a journal entry.

As that character.

Sound interesting,

my gosh.

It is.

What are they thinking?

What are they feeling?

What happened before the scene?

What do they want?

See, to me, this builds empathy.

It gives you a back story skill set

that you might not have had otherwise.

And it actually is part of

keying into that creative voice of

yours.

Here's another suggestion.

Create a one minute scene.

Think about it.

Write a scene,

just one minute,

and then perform it or film it on your

phone.

Challenge yourself to do one a week.

No one else even has to see it.

Oh, of course, unless you want them to,

if you really like it, you know, maybe

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your weird uncle, Joe would love to see

you acting.

I think that's a great idea.

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00:07:51,871 --> 00:07:55,8

See, the value of that is just really

clear.

I don't have to spell that out for you,

how that makes you feel connected, at

how that makes that,

that creative part of you infuse

energy into something outside of

yourself, yet inside.

At the same time.

I hope that that makes sense.

Sounds kind of weird, but I think you

get what I'm talking about.

I think that there's also something to

be said about the free online learning

that you can take advantage of.

See, YouTube just isn't about cat

videos.

There are great acting coaches and

voice specialists.

And there are casting directors

offering free insights like, oh, hey,

casting actors cast.

We're free.

See, I think you should make it your

mission to watch one video a day with a

journal nearby, for taking notes for

takeaways.

Now, I alluded to this earlier, but I

think there's value in sharing it a

little more in depth.

And that is self tape challenge.

Why?

Don't you set up a mock audition?

I want you to pick a scene,

set a dead line,

and then tape it

and then review it.

Maybe you could even consider sending

it to a friend for feedback.

This builds your self tape game and

really keeps your investment really,

really sharp.

This is also the time where you can

perfect some of those self tape issues

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that you might have had in the past,

but we're unable to correct them

because there was a tremendous amount

of pressure on you.

Now is the time to perfect that.

I feel very strongly that once the

actor has a default setting for their

self tape environment,

they can spend more energy and more

time on the most important thing, which

is how you're going to play the part.

That's why.

That can be extremely useful.

Having a really confident

about what yourself take product looks

like when you send it is absolutely

invaluable.

All right.

Moving on from there.

I want you to simply take a walk

and observe.

I want you to take a walk with your

actor eyes on.

I want you to watch people

listen to conversations.

Of course, you want to be kind of

discreet about that.

You don't want to be weird.

Please don't do that please don't say

Jeff told me to,

what I'm thinking is just observing

people is so interesting.

And

really taking a look and asking the

questions, how do people move when they

are upset?

How do people move when they're joyful

or distracted?

I know it might seem a little corny,

but this kind of observation

actually

honestly

that's training.

You see, you're feeding your actor

database,

you are

moving on from there.

I think there's something very noble

and inspiring when I see volunteers.

And you could consider volunteering in

theater, or even in an arts organization.

At some theaters, they offer comp

tickets or industry nights to

volunteers who participate.

It's also a great way to meet people

and stay engaged.

Just offering your services as an actor

to young people, for example.

Something to consider.

Here's another suggestion I'm making in

terms of free,

take advantage of the time period, so

that you can continue to feel like

you're growing.

And that is to meditate,

do breath work.

It's absolutely true that creativity

thrives in calm.

Ten minutes a day of stillness

can help you reduce anxiety

and open you up to new ideas.

Trust me, your auditions will thank you.

Another big one,

I want you to consider

connecting with your actor community.

Even if you're broke, you can't buy

into a class, you can still build a tribe.

Consider starting a weekly zoom cold

reading group,

share scene, work,

talk shop.

There's also something to be said about

accountability partners.

You make a huge impact on yourself when

your motivation is low.

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To have an accountability

partner that somebody who is in a like

minded

externally and internally, maybe

somebody who is very much like you,

maybe they have similar goals and

ambitions

that you check in with each other to

make sure some of those goals that

you're setting for yourself are being

met.

Now listen, you don't

have to do this alone is the point.

The actor's path oftentimes feels very

solo,

but I can tell you that it's a team

sport in disguise, it really is.

And connecting with another person in a

like minded state, that accountability

partner is such an amazing

idea.

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I think.

Moving on from there, every time you

read something, I want you to record

what you read.

I want you to observe, make some

observations about what you read.

I want you to write, or you could

reflect

your investing every time that that

happens, when you make a notation of

what you experienced,

you are filling the vessel with

interesting thoughts,

and you're filling the vessel with

motivational

criteria that you, I promise will use

later on down the road.

It's not going to be an investment in

dollars,

but in discipline.

And guess what?

When the opportunity does come, and it

will,

you will be ready.

You won't be rusty, you won't be bitter

or out of shape.

You'll be charged up with creative

electricity because you kept the spark alive.

See, I want you to know that your value

as an actor doesn't change based on

your booking status.

Ok?

Somebody write that down?

That was really good.

Your worth is not determined by how

much you can spend

or how busy your calendar looks.

I promise

you are enough

right now.

And I will add this.

Everything you do in the in between

builds the foundation

for what's next.

Hey,

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listen, if this episode gave you a

little boost today, would you mind

sharing it with a fellow actor who

might need it to?

And please don't forget to subscribe,

leave a review, or check out the

website at casting actor's cast.

Outcome for more tools, resources

and a whole lot of love for your acting

journey.

Until next time.

This is Jeffrey driesback reminding you

to keep creating,

keep growing and keep showing up because

you've got this