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Before we begin.

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I'd like to share something from behind

the casting table.

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Actors often ask me, what are casting

directors really looking for?

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It's a fair question,

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and the answer surprises people.

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Yes, we're looking for talent.

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Yes, we're looking for preparation.

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Yes,

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we're looking for professionalism.

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But underneath all of that,

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we're looking for truth,

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not perfection,

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truth.

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Sometimes an actor walks into the room

and gives a performance that

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technically is flawless.

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Every beat is there.

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Every emotion is present.

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Every line is beautifully delivered.

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And yet

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it somehow feels borrowed.

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Then another actor comes in.

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Maybe they're a little rough around the

edges.

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Maybe one line isn't perfect.

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Maybe they

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stumble for a second.

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But there's something unmistakably

human about them.

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We lean forward, not because they're

showing us how talented they are,

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but because they're showing us another

human being.

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That's the actor.

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We remember,

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not because they became someone else,

because they allowed themselves to

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bring themselves into the room

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ready for more.

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This is casting actor's caste.

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Just actors,

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fast wash

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with chef.

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Redvice box.

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Ready.

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Go some pages of Jake slum.

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Watch you lack soon.

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Every week we're bringing it your patch.

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Well, hello, and welcome to today's

episode of cassing actor's Cass.

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I'm casting director Jeffrey driesbach

with the mccorkl group in New York.

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We're casting office.

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We cast theater, film and television,

and we're currently quite busy, even

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though the dog days of summer are upon

us.

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I can promise you that there's a lot

going on in our world, and I hope

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you're staying busy and keeping

yourself healthy as well.

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I'd like to just take a moment and say,

if you're so inclined, I invite you to

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check out our website, casting actors

cast all one word dotcom, casting

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actress, cast dotcom.

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There you're going to find all kinds of

what I think is extremely useful information.

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There's also a form that says, dive

into the talent pool.

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Sending me that form that sort of signs

you up, but automatically right then

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and there it'll open up

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a new file for you.

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Two.

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Actually.

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One is a book I'm doing voice over work,

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called conversation pieces out of the

studio, the voiceover workshop for

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professional actors.

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The other is a twenty minute video

casting secrets.

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What they don't tell you

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also there's jeff's jots and my new

book is out and available.

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It's also available and audible.

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Yeah, I actually did my own audio book.

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That was kind of a kooky experience.

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So there's a bunch of stuff to check

out.

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It's just my way of giving back to the

community of actors.

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And hopefully I'm providing some

insights and information

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that you're not going to get anywhere

else.

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And it's information that I wish I had

when I was an actor.

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I was an actor for twenty years before

I became a casting director.

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I promise you there's no bitterness.

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I had a really great career as an

actor, and the transition into being a

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casting director was just sort of like

the next best thing for me.

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So it's been a crazy journey.

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And I'm happy to be able to provide you

this information, absolutely free, of course.

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And please consider

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staying with us.

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This is number four out of five.

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The past five episodes are all sort of

combined into what I'd like to call

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it's just

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sort of a themed

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compilition

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of podcasts.

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And i'll do the wrap up in our next

podcast, so you'll hear how we tie all

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of these episodes in together.

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So listen more than once, if you can,

because I think that there's a lot of

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dense, evergreen information.

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It's not going to go anywhere.

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And I think that you would find it

quite useful.

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Quite helpful.

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In fact, I know from the letters that

I'm getting, from the notes that people

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are leaving.

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Um, I'm so gratified

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to know that you're out there and still

enjoying the work that I'm doing for

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you, and it's been a pleasure for me.

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But I need to know that you're out

there.

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So sending me alike a share, thumbs up,

whatever you can do to support the

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podcast means the world to me.

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All right, let's move on from.

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There's

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something that I want you to consider.

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The most interesting person

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you'll ever play

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is you.

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Not literally,

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please don't play every character

exactly the same,

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but don't abandon

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yourself either.

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Every role should become a conversation

between two people,

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the character

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and you.

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The writer provides half.

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You provide the other half

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that's collaboration.

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Now, imagine an artist

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and the artists painting with gloves on.

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It's technically possible,

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but why?

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Your fingerprints

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are what make the painting yours?

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Actors sometimes do the same thing.

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They spend so much time trying to

disappear into the character

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that they accidentally erased, the very

thing that made the casting director

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invite them in.

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You were called because of something

uniquely yours

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don't leave that.

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In the waiting room.

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I'm going to talk about an actor who

taught me something.

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Now, this was years ago.

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I watched an audition

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that honestly, I still think about

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listen.

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The actor wasn't famous, he didn't have

an extraordinary resume, didn't do

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anything flashy.

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In fact, if you ask me to describe the

performance technically,

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I probably couldn't have.

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What I remember

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is how I felt.

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There was honesty,

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gentleness, curiosity.

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The actor wasn't trying to convince us.

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They were simply living inside the

circumstances

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afterward,

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someone in the room quietly said to me,

I believed every second of that

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sentence has stayed with me for years.

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Notice what they didn't say, they

didn't say.

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What incredible acting

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they said.

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I believe them

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that is the highest compliment an actor

can receive.

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You.

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See, your uniqueness

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is your superpower.

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We spend so much time comparing

ourselves to other actors,

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their resume, their agent, their

credits, their social media, their

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awards, their auditions, their careers.

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What an exhausting way to live.

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Comparison

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is a terrible rehearsal partner.

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It whispers.

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Be more like them.

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Art whispers

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be more like yourself.

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Guess which voice

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creates better work.

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I have a casting room truth coming up

right after this.

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Welcome.

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It's time for this week's casting room

truth.

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One of the greatest privileges of

sitting behind the casting table is

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watching hundreds of actors bring the

same role to life.

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No two actors ever do it exactly alike.

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And that's the point.

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We're not looking for twenty identical

performances,

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looking for twenty different human

beings.

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The actors who consistently

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stay in my memory, aren't the ones who

disappear into the role.

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They're the ones who illuminate the role

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through their own humanity.

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Here's something I hope you'll remember.

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Casting directors don't fall in love

with tricks.

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We fall in love with the truth.

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Truth

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has remarkable staying power.

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So here's this week's reset challenge?

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Choose one scene you've worked on

before.

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Instead of asking,

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what should my character do,

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ask three different questions,

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what part of me already understands

this?

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What have I experienced that feels

emotionally

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similar?

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How would I naturally pursue this

objective

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notice, I never ask, how should I

perform it?

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Because performance is what happens.

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After

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those questions are answered,

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there will always be actors

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who are taller,

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funnier, younger, older, more

experienced,

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better connected.

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There will always be someone with a

different resume,

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a different look,

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a different journey.

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There has never been and never will be

another actor with your exact life

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that is not a limitation.

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That's your greatest artistic resource.

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Protect it.

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Develop it.

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Trust it.

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Because the world doesn't need another

copy of someone else.

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It already has them.

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The world is waiting for the most

truthful version

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of you.

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Listen.

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If today's episode encouraged, you

share it with another actor who might

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need the reminder

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that they already possess more than

they realize.

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Subscribe if you're watching on

YouTube.

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Leave a review.

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If you're listening wherever you get

your podcast, and please don't forget

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to visit.

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Casting actors cast dot com for more,

including my new book, workshops and

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resources dedicated to helping actors

prepare smarter, perform truthfully

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and build lasting careers.

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I'm Jeff drisback.

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Thank you for joining me.

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Until next time.

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Stay curious, stay creative

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and keep