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[0:17] John Schwab: Hi, John Schwab here from Curtain Call, and welcome to episode 115 of the Curtain Call Theatre Podcast.

[0:23] John Schwab: The podcast that brings you backstage as close as you possibly can be, often while the shows are actually happening to meet the people that make theater happen.

[0:31] John Schwab: You can find all our episodes on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and other fine podcast streaming services.

[0:35] John Schwab: And if you have a spare 30 seconds, please do rate and review this podcast on whichever platform you use.

[0:40] John Schwab: And that kind of helps us to be more discoverable to listeners who have not heard about us yet.

[0:44] John Schwab: So help us out.

[0:46] John Schwab: And now for part two of this week's podcast.

[0:49] John Schwab: Earlier this week, we brought you the first part of our "Get the Most Out of Your Next Job" panel that we had at the Surviving Actors convention in London last weekend.

[1:01] John Schwab: Um, and if you haven't listened to episode 114, do take the time to download it and then you can listen to this episode or, or, or you know, you can do the absolute opposite and listen to this one first.

[1:11] John Schwab: It doesn't really matter, but whatever you do, okay.

[1:14] John Schwab: You don't want to just listen to one part because that would kind of like be watching Harry Potter and the Cursed Child part two and not part one.

[1:21] John Schwab: And no one really needs that to happen to them.

[1:23] John Schwab: Um, okay.

[1:24] John Schwab: In any case, I was joined by director Bruce Guthrie, casting director Sarah Jane Price, producer Kimberly Thomas-Currie, movement director Amaia Mugica, and fantastic Sam Marks, talking about carpentry and all kinds of things.

[1:38] John Schwab: Um, just you wait.

[1:39] John Schwab: Uh, uh, just okay, just have it listed now as we open up the panel to the actors who are in the audience for their questions.

[1:47] John Schwab: And there's some brilliant and insightful answers by our panelists.

[1:51] John Schwab: Have a listen; everyone has a different experience of what they get from being in a job and getting the most out of a job.

[1:51] John Schwab: And you know, uh, this is a Q&A and we've got about 20, 25 minutes left so I want to literally open up to any question that you guys might have.

[1:51] John Schwab: You have a real range of expertise up here, um, and you know, just ask away please do and um, I'm sure we'll get a lovely range of answers back.

[1:51] John Schwab: And um, there's nothing none or if you if you just want to throw a topic out to discuss it doesn't have to be a disc, uh, a question but just a general topic would be great so um fire away.

[1:51] John Schwab: Uh, if anybody has anything, if not we can we can I can carry on but yeah, um, do you ever see um someone auditioning and you think they're not right for that role but you might keep them in mind for something else in the future?

[1:51] Sarah Jane Price: All the time, all the time, all the time. It tends to be when the submissions come in or if somebody sends a CV in you kind of think, oh actually I've got, I mean I've got 19 shows this year all completely different and sometimes actually down the line they might be actually better for that.

[1:51] Sarah Jane Price: Um, so I'll keep that in mind there and like it doesn't, I don't forget the CV; it's always on my system.

[3:16] Sarah Jane Price: It doesn't go anywhere, so all the time happens, all the time.

[3:16] Sarah Jane Price: And sometimes people do come into the room and they might change slightly from their headshot.

[3:26] Sarah Jane Price: I mean try and keep them as you know relevant as you can and you kind of go, oh actually, now that part for them over there would be better.

[3:35] Sarah Jane Price: Some, and I spoke to an agent the other day, he said, oh, I've got this person be really good for that show.

[3:39] Sarah Jane Price: And I went, but they've got the skill set for this show.

[3:41] Sarah Jane Price: And he went, I didn't know you were doing that.

[3:43] Sarah Jane Price: Oh, there you go.

[3:44] Sarah Jane Price: All the time.

[3:45] Sarah Jane Price: Happens all the time.

[3:46] John Schwab: That's interesting because you know you in while you're in work or or if if you're kind of doing workshops or or or similar, you know, doing continual professional development.

[3:56] John Schwab: Having an audition is a great way to engage your bubble.

[4:00] John Schwab: Like getting people to work with you, like because you can get the most out of an audition, you know, by doing that, like because somebody opposite you helping you prepare for audition is such a great thing to do.

[4:12] John Schwab: If you're in a show, you know, um, you know, uh, it's a lovely thing.

[4:17] John Schwab: You gotta, you have a captive audience of actors, or if you need a bit of direction, there's an associate director around who might want to help you with an audition.

[4:24] John Schwab: There's, I think it's a really useful thing.

[4:27] John Schwab: Once you're in a show, it doesn't mean you stop being an actor, you know.

[4:31] Amaia Mugica: No, I've had a really interesting, I went, I got invited to see um somebody that I knew actually really, really well um doing a show, and he was doing a part that I never ever would I have gone, ah, he'd be really good at that.

[4:45] Amaia Mugica: And I just went and I was like, I right, I need to find all these roles for you now.

[4:50] Amaia Mugica: It was amazing.

[4:51] Amaia Mugica: I never expected it, and I'm so glad that um because he was covering the part, and he I think he was second cover or something, and he he actually went on and he was so good, and there are always ways of you know, uh, of surprising people or or I might not necessarily see it instantly, but then I'll go, oh actually, they could they uh would be really good now, and you could take that from the your job that you're doing and um you know invite people and say, oh, I haven't played this kind of part before, but I can do you know it there's so many ways of doing it.

[5:25] John Schwab: Sorry, I have to die.

[5:26] John Schwab: Oh no, you have to say that for that day.

[5:29] John Schwab: Would you advise um an actor when they're downtime when they're not working in terms of finding more work and also what they should be doing for themselves to keep themselves fit?

[5:39] Kimberly Thomas-Currie: Or not physically, but I mean would you advise?

[5:44] Amaia Mugica: That's a tough one.

[5:46] Amaia Mugica: I yeah, it's really, it's really really important.

[5:49] Amaia Mugica: Uh, I don't know, maybe John has felt this as well.

[5:53] Amaia Mugica: But I I've had periods where I haven't been working, and I think as access is very easy to get into quite a vicious cycle of thinking that we define by our work.

[6:01] Amaia Mugica: And that by getting a job means validates our experience as access, validates our talent and quality, and I think it's always really, really important just to hold on to the fact that you're really good.

[6:11] Amaia Mugica: Just remember what it is about you.

[6:13] Amaia Mugica: And I mean that is way easier said than done when you haven't worked for eight months, which happened to me last year, and then something changes and then you're working.

[6:22] Kimberly Thomas-Currie: That's great.

[6:23] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, I don't know if you're into meditation, but that can be quite a cool thing.

[6:27] Amaia Mugica: Um, I think like keep working and go to classes.

[6:31] Amaia Mugica: Um, absolutely like when your life revolves around finding your next job, or you know, it just is so unhealthy, you know.

[6:43] Amaia Mugica: Go join a running club, you know, something that will benefit your you mentally, physically, yoga, pull up, you know, anything that outside of acting that you enjoy, make sure you find time to do that as well because you need to be the best version of you in any room and in any job, and the only way you can do that is by finding things to make you happy.

[7:07] Sam Marks: I don't know if I'm pretty good.

[7:09] Sam Marks: I was able to say something similar.

[7:11] Sam Marks: I mean, remember when they'd act up, so I would speak always from this movement perspective, but it's not this thing of you have to be all the time training in something related to acting, you know.

[7:21] Sam Marks: Um, the same as for me.

[7:22] Sam Marks: I'm to keep myself always like feel or engage or embodied.

[7:25] Sam Marks: I do all the things that you may like, like it's I don't know, swimming, whatever, whatever it keeps you in your body and in your head, so like ready in that sort of readiness and present for whatever comes.

[7:39] Amaia Mugica: Um, yeah.

[7:41] Amaia Mugica: I found like doing lots of practical things, you know, as creative people, like you don't have to stop being creative when we're not working.

[7:48] Amaia Mugica: So I've really gotten into carpentry, which is great because I do amazing things.

[7:52] Amaia Mugica: Um, I've got an idea of something, I borrowed the stuff, put it all together, it's rubbish, but you know, I've done as you can see.

[8:01] John Schwab: Sam is brilliant at selling himself because you know, then the next thing I'm I guess slightly better at it.

[8:06] John Schwab: Yeah, you hope that that sort of feeds into you know your person, yeah.

[8:11] Kimberly Thomas-Currie: Yeah, that then is always gonna be a really healthy thing when you go in and meet someone like, hey, I just made this cupboard, it's uh, it's religion, it's a cover.

[8:19] Kimberly Thomas-Currie: And I made it.

[8:19] Kimberly Thomas-Currie: It's great.

[8:21] Amaia Mugica: I think it's really important.

[8:22] Amaia Mugica: I mean, I uh, Americans have a slightly different attitude, like we are constantly working on ourselves, but there's always doing a class, like literally doing a class, which I think is important, but I think it's important to not kind of join a class and just join an echo chamber of the skills that you already have.

[8:39] Amaia Mugica: Join a movement direction class where somebody's gonna make you slightly uncomfortable because you will be far happier coming out of and I think if you have enough money to buy a round, you know, at the pub, at the pub, you have enough money to do a class.

[8:52] Sam Marks: Yeah, and just do buy one less round and and go work on yourself.

[8:56] Sam Marks: Like it's the same thing if you have 30 minutes to look at Facebook, yeah, 30 minutes to learn a new speech.

[9:04] Amaia Mugica: No, I was saying uh say that um you can easily go into this thing of in between jobs of doing nothing, and then you sort of go back in the point of where you're where doesn't make sense.

[9:15] Amaia Mugica: So then by the time you're sale, you have our audition or you something comes up, it's like it takes you longer until you uh they're ready for that.

[9:25] Amaia Mugica: So maintaining the validity with whatever you do, you will be always petel and how I from a creative perspective as well.

[9:34] Sarah Jane Price: I think I mean this is something that um I do a lot, and I know that other kind of freelance producers do it as well, but it's no reason why kind of creatives and actors shouldn't as well.

[9:42] Sarah Jane Price: Is go and see as much theatre as you can possibly afford, and then go and see if you like to show, go and make contact with the director or the actor or the creative you know, the producer who thought it up, writer, get in touch with them, try and find them, stalk them, Facebook, you know, LinkedIn, Twitter, whatever.

[9:59] Sarah Jane Price: Don't get arrested, don't get arrested.

[10:01] Sarah Jane Price: Wild stalking is always recommended.

[10:03] Sarah Jane Price: Um, but go for a coffee with them, see if there's a project they've got that you know, or maybe you've got a project that you want to talk to them about.

[10:09] Sarah Jane Price: I mean, there's loads of directors that I know or actors that I know who we've you know had vague conversations about we should definitely work together one day, and hopefully that will happen one day.

[10:18] Sarah Jane Price: And but we it's really good just to keep your brain engaged.

[10:21] Sarah Jane Price: You're going to see stuff you're thinking about, okay.

[10:23] Sarah Jane Price: Well, that's somebody I might want to work with, or maybe that's a direction I've never thought about going down myself.

[10:27] Sarah Jane Price: So yeah, it's about keeping mentally engaged and keeping those kind of creative juices flowing, as well as obviously networking, but in a way where you're admiring other people's work, so you're not selling yourself.

[10:39] Sarah Jane Price: It's a really nice way to network where you're just going, I really loved your work, I'd love to have coffee with you and pick your brain.

[10:45] John Schwab: It's your way of saying hi, do you know who I am?

[10:48] John Schwab: Yeah.

[10:48] John Schwab: At the same time you're actually complimenting them and everyone loves being complimented.

[10:51] Sam Marks: Yeah, there's networking is it's uh I'm a I'm a master networker.

[10:54] Sam Marks: I teach networking.

[10:55] Sam Marks: I think the big thing people think networking is talking about yourself.

[10:58] Sam Marks: It's not, it just isn't.

[11:00] Sam Marks: Like it's getting people talk about themselves.

[11:02] Sam Marks: You will learn a thousand percent more getting somebody talking, you know, because at the end, they'll go, oh, I know that person, they know nothing about you.

[11:09] John Schwab: And I was just talking about some mild stalking.

[11:12] John Schwab: Here's a great tip.

[11:12] John Schwab: Uh, and this is what I teach my when I go to the job skills.

[11:16] John Schwab: The best time to network, and networking isn't a bad word, it's a great word, it's a positive word.

[11:21] John Schwab: The best time to network is going to um fringe theaters during previews because every producer, director, creative, actors are all gonna be there.

[11:31] John Schwab: So go during previews and you'll spend seven pounds, you'll learn more than you will learn at any other time during the run.

[11:37] John Schwab: And then if you have a question, if you if you want to know about lighting inside or you or or you want to see different choices, you can go back the next night and see that what they've worked on and go, oh god, that's I can see why they made that decision.

[11:49] John Schwab: Or you will people love to talk about themselves after a show.

[11:53] John Schwab: So you can ask, that was a great decision as an actor, like what why why did you make that choice?

[11:58] John Schwab: I just thought it was a great performance.

[12:00] John Schwab: Can you just take me through your choice there?

[12:01] John Schwab: And they will give you twenty minutes of talking.

[12:04] John Schwab: You go away and you write it down about why it it's uh it's a great way to network, brilliant way to network.

[12:11] Amaia Mugica: Um, I have a question.

[12:13] Amaia Mugica: Uh, as um movement director, we were speaking about the fact that uh in uh audition, it's uh good to bring yourself, like what can yourself bring to the part.

[12:23] Amaia Mugica: Are you looking for the same when you uh auditioning for uh let's say dancers or physical artists?

[12:30] Bruce Guthrie: I totally have different people to be honest.

[12:32] Bruce Guthrie: When I go uh and I'm going to work with actors, I'm already working in something in a play or something, and there's this uh sometimes there is a specific cues to find the physicality of a play or the actor, or sometimes we have to find it.

[12:46] Bruce Guthrie: So when when we have to find it, what I'm looking for is sort of like an open person that's going to work with me.

[12:53] Bruce Guthrie: So I, my way of working is I don't like to sort of impose things because otherwise it would be me telling you what to do.

[12:59] Bruce Guthrie: And you come like a play dough and I mold you and that's it's done.

[13:03] Bruce Guthrie: So the thing is like I like to be working together and find the things together so you can bring what you have as an actor.

[13:11] Bruce Guthrie: So it can be anything.

[13:12] Bruce Guthrie: So the way I do things and the way I embody uh things is different from each of you.

[13:19] Bruce Guthrie: So I like to for you to bring that what you have or discover new things and like that create whatever you need for your for your character or the scene or whatever.

[13:28] Bruce Guthrie: But yeah.

[13:29] Amaia Mugica: Did I answer your question?

[13:30] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, I do.

[13:32] Amaia Mugica: I think if if you end up doing a job and you're lucky to work with uh a company that can afford to have someone like a mail there, room director, or someone who does text and speech.

[13:43] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, use that and exploit that person.

[13:47] Amaia Mugica: They're there to do a job, but you know, in lunch break, maybe just see if you can have half an hour or after rehearsals, say, can I come and do like hours of text work with you?

[13:57] Amaia Mugica: Can we look at that speech?

[13:58] Amaia Mugica: Because that is I'm confused.

[14:00] Amaia Mugica: I don't understand it.

[14:01] Amaia Mugica: Can you help me?

[14:02] Amaia Mugica: Can we do some physical exercises just to improve my breathing and my speech would be great, or my flexibility, do some Pilates, whatever it is, you know.

[14:10] Amaia Mugica: Use those people.

[14:11] Amaia Mugica: It's a great opportunity.

[14:13] Amaia Mugica: Like you guys were saying, you know, you don't stop working once you get the job, right?

[14:16] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, like doing stuff and like an athlete doesn't stop training.

[14:22] Amaia Mugica: Just because you know they're at the Olympics or whatever.

[14:24] Amaia Mugica: They're always training.

[14:25] Amaia Mugica: And I think as actors, you can always you can kind of take your foot off the gas and be like, well, I've got the job now.

[14:31] Amaia Mugica: Like I've made it.

[14:32] John Schwab: And in that vein, Bruce, when somebody when one of your actors is in mid-run or whatever, and you're always open to having questions thrown, like as the director of the case, it's if there is a question, it should be no, there should be no question about coming to you.

[14:46] Bruce Guthrie: Is that right?

[14:47] Bruce Guthrie: Or absolutely.

[15:15] Bruce Guthrie: Um, that then you do note sessions the next day. Because I always, when I watch a show, note the show, then watch the notes whenever I do that. Um, just to make sure that I've been clear with the notes and that, you know, that the order the note has worked, because if it's not helpful, then it's a bit so like, yeah, that was, yeah, that was wrong. We should we shouldn't do that, go back to doing what you were doing, or that what I try to do is if you've got two pages of notes and you try and get that down to half a page, um, because you try and find the note that will do five things. Right. The five of the things that you want to happen, rather than say, can you go up on that word and down that one or whatever it might be, or that I think that the dynamic in the scene has shifted, so we need to work on that.

And um, because you've got to be sensitive to the fact that the actors as well are, you know, probably in the middle of, you know, a long intensive run, and so, you know, pulling people in to re-rehearse things for three or four hours when they're on the road is not a helpful thing for them. And you've got to be a bit sensitive to that. Sometimes you need to do it, and sometimes it's, you know, for the sake of the show and for the sake of them actually. It's just that they need to rework it because they want to rework it. But um, but yeah, no, things like that, challenges like that are kind of awesome. I love it. But that's just, you know, because I love the shows.

[16:37] Sam Marks: Yes. I was wondering if you, uh, have got the next job and you're going to make account and you've got a great job coming up and you want to invite some people, professionals to it. Do you have a, uh, specific preference to that? If it is an email, for example, should it be short and sweet? Should you put your headshot there? How would be the best way to gain someone you don't know is that I'd like to work with you or like you can see Magic, what would be the best way to try and get your attention and politely ask you to come and see me from this game for duration exam? Everyone's like a series. What should we do?

[17:10] Bruce Guthrie: I think you think it's, it is that everybody unfortunately, every, everybody is different. I will, I will answer every email I can from an actor. It's just it takes time, but it's fine, even if it's, you know, I'm gonna do it some this evening. But um, headshot, great, because then I can see what you look like. Um, and just say, I'm doing this show, I'd love for you to come um, or get your agent to email, you know. I've had, uh, last week, I was to saying, I'm getting to see the mouse trap next week. Um, because somebody in it emailed me and then their agent emailed me and I went, right, yeah, okay, I'm coming. It's fine, I'm coming. Um, not in a I wanted to go just finding time. But would you prefer an agent or yourself? Is it better coming from an agent if you've got to do it?

[17:57] Bruce Guthrie: Really doesn't matter to me either way. Um, if an agent says I've got this client and they're great and they're going on to their cover, really love you to come and see them. If I've got time, I will go. Um, if somebody, uh, if an actor then emails me and says, um, look, I'm going off my cover, I'll be like, right, okay, I'm gonna come. Um, you know, if you can help me sort tickets if I put my name down on the cover run list, great. Um, and then if I can't go, then somebody else in the office might want to go. You know, there's, there's hundreds of us in there and someone might want to go, one of the um, producers might want to go, one of the general managers might want to go. Always take the time to write. It, you know, yeah. Email better, but always take your time because someone somewhere will see it and go, Yeah, of course I'll come. And you just never know. You've got nothing to lose.

[18:50] Sarah Jane Price: Yeah, that's it. Exactly. And you've got nothing to lose. I would agree that, I mean from my point of view, I'd definitely be more likely to take note if it was an agent because I need agents sometimes. Um, so therefore I'm more likely to, if it's an agent I have a relationship with or I know I'm gonna be doing a deal with in a little email and I'm, you know, I will try and just keep them sweet. So if your agent is gonna do it for you, brilliant. I mean get your agent to work for you, get them to be sending stuff. They should be working for you. They're, they're, you are their client. So they work for you. So if they're not pulling their finger out, they should be. But that said, do more as well.

So invite people yourself as well. And yeah, like Sarah Jane said, I used to program 200 shows a year in the festival in Edinburgh. I was invited to thousands of shows I didn't get to see, unfortunately. But if somebody in my office or somebody even in another office of another company, I sometimes send invites to friends who I trusted the judgment of. If I could get someone to see that show, I would obviously there are lots that I didn't get to see. It doesn't mean that it's as it, it's a bad thing on you. Like you don't take it to heart if someone doesn't come. But definitely just try every avenue you can. Yeah, and um, you've literally got nothing to lose.

[20:03] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, I still write to people when I'm in place.

[20:06] Bruce Guthrie: Oh, you always write.

[20:08] Amaia Mugica: Um, and email or handwritten thing, it's hard.

[20:13] Bruce Guthrie: I mean personally, you don't get any handwritten.

[20:16] Amaia Mugica: Oh, I'll write it back.

[20:21] Bruce Guthrie: Most people I think email and you know you get it all in there and you can do loads and it's great, and it's cheap.

[20:29] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, on that. I just don't have too much money and like postage can really add up. But I would say if it's someone who you'd know and who you have a relationship with, I think a handwritten note can be really good. And I was given some advice once to send casting directors or directors or producers people I've worked with, uh, a postcard. Something or something nice, like a nice postcard that they get, they'll read it. They'll be like, oh okay, that's nice, time send me that. But it's a nice and they might put it up on their, you know, they might put it up on their message board, and then every time they look at, you know, they look at the message board, they might, they might send them. Do you know what I mean? It's like something might come in, a breakdown might come in, and like they look at the postcard.

[21:09] Bruce Guthrie: That's true. We used to get really weird differences as well from um like personalized things, you know, like somebody sent me every day. Or even the layout, right? And yeah, some of it you're like this is not the same bribe. You know, there's something in doing something memorable. It was like what I was saying about that first day at the meeting, but you do something that means other people are gonna remember who you are and what you're about. As long as that's obviously not really annoying thing that you know you want it to be a positive thing.

[21:40] Sarah Jane Price: Yeah, absolutely. Keep it short. Like in the email, keep it short. Like I've, I've been on both sides, uh, you know, I talked about it. No, it's like, but you know, if I see if I open up an email and I've, I've done it because I have produced and directed and it's a long war and piece of an email, I'm not gonna read it because I just don't have the time. Yeah, keep it short, keep it three lines, state your intent, get in, get out. And on that vein, just make sure if you are sending the same email to lots of different people. Don't call her Susan. I get everything, I'll get Jane, I'd get everything. Um honestly, which is fine, and I, I understand, but you know that that's it is a thing, like yeah, I if I if I open an email and it says, Dear Susan.

[22:25] Sam Marks: Yeah.

[22:26] Sarah Jane Price: I'm not Susan.

[22:32] Bruce Guthrie: So this is why I wanted you to come see. It'd be nice, it would be nice.

[22:35] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, then just saying, hello, please come to my show.

[22:38] Bruce Guthrie: This is what I, I'm like, how many people have you sent that to you? If you can make it personal, do, but if you can't, then just be then don't, because yeah, like you say, it's worse to say, I've always wanted to work at the pleasants when you're sending it to me at assembly.

[22:50] Sarah Jane Price: Yeah.

[22:51] Bruce Guthrie: That doesn't work. That immediately is going to be a no. Whereas if you just said I've always wanted to do a show in the fringe, okay, yeah, I're uninterested. You know, so do whatever you have the time to do. Yeah, but whatever you do, do it well. But just think about it though.

[23:04] Amaia Mugica: Yeah.

[23:04] Bruce Guthrie: What would you rather have? What would you rather have in terms of when you're being written to? Um, you know, and the attention to detail, detail matters. And it's a bit sort of like is that and a lot of this is we have way more control over all of this than we think that we do. Because that, you know, I mean my wife is an actress and that, you know, so we have a lot of conversations about kinda like, you know, it just feels like I'm so out of control, and it's like but you do have control. You've got control over everything that you do, and nothing comes of nothing, all right? And the worst thing that can happen is nothing. All right. So if you're rejecting stuff like that, then it's like, right, fine, I've tried that bang.

That's not gonna happen right now, but that I can move on to something else. And that your own standards that you would have and the stuff that what would you respond to? What would you go and see? You know, and uh if you're reading it as if it's a generic thing or as if we're trying not to make a mistake, if you're trying not to make a mistake, then you're not gonna be memorable. All right. Um that and that that goes for auditions, it goes for everything. This is that bring your best, and that whether that's an email, if the email is the first point of contact, then that's your first impression.

[24:16] Sarah Jane Price: Yeah.

[24:16] Bruce Guthrie: It all counts. All of it counts as much as you want it to. Because if you and if you think, oh well, I'm gonna s, I'm gonna send a hundred emails today, is that volume is meaningless. Quality is everything.

[24:34] Sam Marks: If you for example, I send you an email and I don't get any answer. Would you recommend for the next uh job I do to keep sending you an email?

[24:42] Bruce Guthrie: Uh, starting.

[24:43] Sam Marks: Yeah, but why not?

[24:44] Bruce Guthrie: I mean I, I don't know. If we haven't got an answer, if it was from me, if you haven't got an answer from me, uh, it wouldn't have reached me. But I for everybody else, yeah, why not just say, Oh, I'm just sending this again, I've got I'm doing another job. Um, I've just updated my headshots and if you, if you get any time to come and have a look at this, then do. And I'll go, Oh, right, yeah. I didn't get to see the last one, but maybe I'll try and get to this one. You like I said, you've literally got nothing to lose. You've got to know your why. You have to know your why before you do anything before stepping into, uh, into an audition or something.

[25:17] Amaia Mugica: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[25:18] Bruce Guthrie: If you're writing an email but you don't know why, don't write it. Like just don't write anything.

[25:32] Sam Marks: I've got this rash.

[25:34] Bruce Guthrie: And then started sending them posts and Christmas sent them a card which is filled with glitter.

[25:40] Amaia Mugica: I open this card.

[25:43] Bruce Guthrie: And you know they're still trying to still picking it out of their chain.

[25:48] Sam Marks: Still going now.

[25:50] Bruce Guthrie: You know, so you not every week, but if you've got another job, why not? That's that's a piece of news. You know, maybe not a newsletter with and I threw my Christmas tree out this week and you know but if you've got a new headshot or you've got a new agent or you've got a new voice reel, I will always oh voice book doing some work and I'll have it on in the background. You know, always. You just why not?

[26:15] Amaia Mugica: Yeah.

[26:16] Sam Marks: Sorry, I think you were talking more about theatre, but do you also look at emails from people who work in screen more?

[26:20] Bruce Guthrie: Like if they send uh screen for me.

[26:23] Sam Marks: No, um, I don't deal with screen at the moment.

[26:25] Bruce Guthrie: Okay.

[26:25] Sam Marks: Um, I mean, feel free to send it to me.

[26:29] Bruce Guthrie: But I mean I'm not sure I can help much with screen at the moment.

[26:33] Sarah Jane Price: It's just at the moment, isn't it, Saranja?

[26:35] Amaia Mugica: At the moment.

[26:36] Bruce Guthrie: Yeah.

[26:36] Sarah Jane Price: I did I did commercials for a while, but um now it's theatre mainly.

[26:43] John Schwab: Guys, we're gonna have to start wrapping it up because I think that that's our time. Um, is there um any kind of last parting requests? You know, wisdom, the pieces of wisdom, like you know, if you could give 30 seconds of wisdom before you send these guys on the way to enjoy the rest of the day, use the rest of the day, get the most out of today. Um, is there anything you could pass on?

[27:06] Bruce Guthrie: Um, I would say be proactive. Um, my bestness of it is just be the best version of you that you can be. If you're going into audition and you know you're prepared and you know you've done your homework and you feel good and you've had a good night's sleep and you are the best version of you. It's not then you don't get the job if you don't get the job, it's not because of you. There's so many factors that go into it. As long as you're the best version of you that you can be, then what else can you do? Be kind to the rest of your company. Be kind to your company manager. So be kind to them. Um, and if you're gonna start a romance with another cast member or a member of stage management team, just make sure it can outlast the run.

[27:52] Sarah Jane Price: Great advice.

[27:53] Bruce Guthrie: So don't even don't even go there.

[27:56] Amaia Mugica: Well, that would be the ideal.

[27:58] Bruce Guthrie: I would say be present, be in your bodies and be open-minded.

[28:02] John Schwab: Brilliant.

[28:09] John Schwab: Okay, well, thank you guys. Can you uh please make the panel for me? And um thank you all for coming.

[28:15] John Schwab: Thanks, guys.

[28:23] John Schwab: Bruce Guthrie, Sarah Jane Price, Kimberly Thomas-Currie, Amaia Mugica, and Sam Marks at the Surviving Actors Make the Most Out of Your Job Panel in London Twenty Nineteen.

[28:35] John Schwab: Before we wrap up, if you're a theater professional, head on over to CurtainCallOnline.com and sign up for a free profile page. You can follow us on all the socials, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at Curtain Call, and you can follow me personally at John Schwab, J O H N at C H W A B.

[28:50] John Schwab: We'd love to hear from you if you have any suggestions or feedback for the podcast, just get in touch with us via any of the social media platforms I just mentioned, or write to me at John at CurtainCallOnline.com.

[29:00] John Schwab: It just leaves me to say a huge thank you to Director Bruce Guthrie, casting director Sarah Jane Price, producer Kimberly Thomas-Currie, movement director Amaia Mugica, and actor Sam Marks for joining the panel at Surviving Actors twenty nineteen. Also to Leanne Robertson and Felicity Jackson of Surviving Actors for all their support. And uh we can't wait to see you guys at Surviving Actors London twenty twenty.

[29:25] John Schwab: Thanks for listening to today's episode of the Curtain Call Theatre Podcast, and I will catch you all next week. Bye.