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[0:00] Leah Walsh: Hi, and welcome to The Compass, the podcast documenting the struggles of life as an artist.

[0:05] Leah Walsh: I'm Leah Walsh. My guest today is Daniel Morgan Shelley. He is a wonderful actor who I've known for a long time. We actually met back at the Chautauqua Institute years ago. Totally coincidentally, that's also where I met Jeffrey Alan Murphy, my guest from last week. We were all there together. And then Daniel was a fourth year at Juilliard when I was a first year. I've always been inspired by his centeredness and focus, and I'm so grateful to get his point of view for the podcast. We recorded this conversation in early November when I was on my hiatus. And I'm thrilled to share it with you now. I hope you enjoy the 180th episode of The Compass.

[0:58] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I've been thinking about this a little bit, and I don't know if there is a way to not go to the dark side as an artist. I just feel like it comes with the territory. So rather than trying to not go there, I'm kind of of the belief that you're gonna go there, it's gonna happen, the best way to handle it is just to go through it. And just to like, it's like that idea that like the only way out is through. So it's almost like, at least for me, a cycle. Like there are some times when you are on the dark side, and there are some times when you are on the light side, and it is a continual process throughout your life as an artist, at least in my opinion, my opinion, at least in my experience. So I think it's better to like acknowledge, like, oh, I'm not in the best place right now.

Oh, I'm not thinking the best things about myself right now. Are these things true? Probably not. I've been in this place before, I will eventually come out of this place. I will go and I will be in this place again at some point. Right. But then again, I will come out of this place. So I think it's more so about not panicking and continuously moving forward.

[2:35] Leah Walsh: When I say the dark side, what does that bring up for you most often? What comes to your mind?

[2:42] Daniel Morgan Shelley: For me, that is thinking negative things about myself. I'm not a good artist. I've wasted my life, I'm never going to work again. I've made a huge mistake. I'm gonna be living in a van underneath the river at some point, you know. Logical things like that. Logical things like that.

[3:10] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I find that you know, whenever I'm working, I'm in a great place, and then many times when I'm not working, which is more often than the times when I am working. Not that I'm not in a great place, but it's definitely like I'm always in a place of striving to get back to working, getting back to having work. Because there's a lot of joy in that.

[4:54] Leah Walsh: Yeah. That's the hardest part, and it's something that Frankie and I talk about a lot, is like how can you not only like try to stay in a healthy place when you're not working, but keep it in perspective when you are working. So that it's not you're not psyching yourself up to such a high the letdown is inevitable when it stops. Like how can you try to find that even keel either way and not depend on that feedback and the validation when you're working either?

[4:54] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Sure. That's really tricky. I'm not saying I have an answer. I feel like the after a while, the more you do it, the more you get used to it. Cause I think like initially coming out of school and getting like those first few jobs, and you're like, Great, I'm hot, I'm doing it. My career is only gonna go up from here, and then you have these down points where like you don't work for a really, really long time. And then like, what what happened? What happened to the momentum? What happened to I thought I was hot and I thought I was, you know, progressing up and forward. Yeah, that's the hardest thing is that our in our business, like it is not guaranteed to be a progression, like a slow and steady arc.

[5:04] Leah Walsh: Exactly.

[5:05] Daniel Morgan Shelley: So I think that you can be very hilly.

[5:07] Leah Walsh: Could be very hilly.

[5:09] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yes. So I feel that now after, you know, being out of school for many, many years, I can handle it and more used to it than when I first came out of school, you know. Not that I'm in I wouldn't say that I'm an old actor, but I'm no longer a young fresh faced fresh out of school actor you know.

[5:23] Leah Walsh: No, I like I like the way you described it as that cyclical nature because that also kind of gives pushback to the idea that you should be in that bright side the majority of the time and that these dips into the dark side are few and far between. It's much more that round wheel.

[5:23] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah, so it definitely makes me extremely thankful when I do have work and to really really appreciate random gigs here and there.

[6:15] Leah Walsh: How are you doing right now? We are talking I know I'm not gonna be releasing this for a little bit but we're talking in October 2021. How are you doing? How has the pandemic time been for you?

[6:31] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um how did you get through? I got through pretty great, which is a weird thing to say and a weird thing to experience like when the pandemic started you know there was the unemployment insurance and then the extra you know pandemic insurance so that helped to pay a lot of bills when all jobs kind of stopped. And then like I'm an introvert, so the idea of hey, you have to stay in your apartment and not interact with people, like that was 100% fine with me. I was totally fine with that, not having to go out and interact with large crowds, and like for an introvert, it was perfect. So like that did not bother me. I never really got stir crazy or anything like that. And I mean, a few months after the lockdown happened, at least in New York City, the gyms opened back up, and I was like, oh, okay, well, let me start going to the gym.

And then that just became kind of a focus for me. And it was really, really nice, like in thinking about it now, it gave me a certain amount of structure for my day. I was like, okay, on these days at this time, I'm gonna go to the gym, I'm gonna do this, and it's gonna like lay out what the rest of my day is going to be. And that was really really nice because it gave me something to focus on that kept my mind off of not having anything else to do. So my family was good back in Chicago. I myself was healthy. So like I mentioned earlier, it's weird to say that the pandemic was fine for me because I know that it was utterly horrible for so many people all over the world. So it just made me grateful and thankful and appreciative that I did kind of make it through it fairly well.

[8:55] Leah Walsh: Well, then the follow-up question then is how are you doing now when things are opening up a little bit and you're we're kind of in this in-between time. How's that transition feeling?

[9:06] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Uh still fine.

[9:07] Leah Walsh: Okay, good.

[9:08] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Still fine. I mean, I still don't really go out if I don't have to. The gym is still a regular thing. I've been out to, you know, a handful of shows like over the summer, been to the movies like once or twice. But I've you know, in my recent years, I haven't really been a person who like loves to go out every weekend or every night or anything like that anyway. So it's been fine. I'm happy that the extroverts now have a little more to do. Like that's great for them. But it hasn't really changed much for me now that things are opening back up.

[9:56] Leah Walsh: Yeah. I know you've done a lot of work over the years in regional theaters. Do you enjoy traveling to do shows? Or what are the things that you found that are positive about that experience or that have made it work for you to be a nomad?

[10:17] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um I enjoyed it a lot more earlier in my career. I like the idea of going out of town, new city, exploring, different theaters, exploring, exactly. It was great. And now I'm kinda at the point where I do not really want to go out of town unless it is an amazing job, like an amazing role or an amazing director or a theater that I've always wanted to work at. So when I get appointments for my agent, like I look at those things. Like if I'm going out if I would book it and go out of town, it has to like check off a certain number of boxes for me to accept the audition. You know? So it was it was lovely and it has been lovely, and I've like made wonderful friends, gotten to do some amazing shows. So it's been great. But now I'm just at the point where I kinda wanna be in New York as much as possible.

[11:24] Leah Walsh: Have you gotten to do much work in Chicago in your hometown?

[11:28] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Nope.

[11:29] Leah Walsh: Isn't that the way it works out?

[11:31] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Oh my god. Yeah. So for the longest time, if I ever had things coming up for like for like the Goodman or Chicago Shakespeare or anything like that, it's always been like, oh man, I really want to book this so then like my family can come and see the show. So like I've had some I've had a few family members come out to random regional gigs over the years. My mom comes to a lot of the shows that I do, which is really, really nice. But like my grandmother has never seen me in a play, or at least like not since I was in high school, you know. And other family members it's just like maybe a little more difficult to get out of town, take time away from work. So yeah, it would have been great to book something in Chicago, but it has not happened yet.

[12:24] Leah Walsh: Okay, we're putting it out in the universe again, we're renewing that wish.

[12:29] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Definitely. What does your family make of your decision to be an artist for your career? Is there anyone else in your family who's creatively minded or are you the only one?

[12:34] Daniel Morgan Shelley: My cousin is a visual artist. She's pretty amazing drawing, painting. She did storyboarding for a really long time. But that is about it. Two of us, we're the artists, and everyone else is not really art-minded. But everyone is super supportive and has been forever. So that is that's really, really nice. You know, no one's ever been like, why are you doing this thing? Like what like I've never had to deal with that.

[13:14] Leah Walsh: That's amazing.

[13:15] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Thankfully. So yeah, very supportive.

[13:20] Leah Walsh: Good, good, good. Do you have any like parallel artistic pursuits that you've kind of embraced to help you have more control over your artistic life? Or are you a writer? Or do you have any you know creative hobbies to kind of feel like you have some control?

[13:39] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I have been toying around with a screenplay for many, many, many years. I do have a lot of people.

[13:50] Daniel Morgan Shelley: The same screenplay. The same screenplay. The same ideas. I do not I don't I don't remember exactly when I started it, but I was like, oh, let me you know what?

[14:01] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I'm not getting a lot of work right now. Everyone says you should create your own work. So I was like, okay, well, let me write a short. And then I started writing the short film, and I feel like it was really, you know, gathering momentum, and I was getting more ideas, and I was like, oh, I think maybe I have a feature. So then I kept writing and kept writing and kept writing and never quite finished it. Um then other things got in the way, other gigs, other projects, and then I would always kind of come back to it a little bit. When the pandemic first started, I thought that I was like, okay, I'm gonna be on lockdown, I'm gonna finally finish this screenplay. Uh and I didn't. Uh I started working on it a little bit more, I started tweaking it here and there, uh, but did not finish it.

So it's I do not consider myself to be a um a screenwriter. Um, but I do have I do have this story that I have been working on for many, many years that I hope to finish and produce one day. Um but it's not. Like you have a story that won't leave you alone. Like that's the that's the really hard part, I feel like.

[15:20] Leah Walsh: Yes.

[15:21] Daniel Morgan Shelley: So one day I'm sure you will finish it.

[15:23] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[15:24] Daniel Morgan Shelley: But that's the cool part is that you have a story that you really want to tell.

[15:27] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[15:28] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I mean, like, I feel like I have a very solid beginning and uh so so kind of middle, and I'm not sure how I want to end it. Like, I could I could see it as being a standalone film by itself. I also could see it being a much larger story with like a sequel or like a three-parter. But I'm like, Daniel, first you have to finish the first one before you start thinking about other aspects. Um, but I just don't know how I want to finish it. So if I finish it, I will I will definitely let you know.

[16:06] Leah Walsh: Please do.

[16:07] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah, totally. I love that. Um, what are your feelings about auditions? How has your approach changed since maybe you first got out of school?

[16:19] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um, I've never been someone who particularly enjoys auditioning. Share your wisdom with me.

[16:26] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um I am I am not a fan.

[16:29] Leah Walsh: Okay.

[16:31] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um I think when I was younger, I thought that it would be easier. Like, okay, I'll get a few auditions, I'll book a few gigs, it'll be fine. And then as time went on, you realized that you know, the majority, the majority of auditions you do not book, but you still put in the the time and the effort and the sweat and the blood and the tears and etc. So I feel like now that I'm a little bit older, I not to say that I stress about them less, but I'm kind of more aware that many aud um. I don't want to say the mini auditions are a throwaway, but I it's a little less for lack of a better term, life and death to me. Um, so I I think I'm a better auditioner now than I was when I was younger, hopefully.

Um it has changed so much uh in the past you know, like I've been out of school for maybe like 15 years now. Um it's amazing to see how much self-taping has come into play and how important it has become. Because I remember when it first kind of started, it was like, okay, well, you get a camera and like you videotape yourself and etc. And now we're at the point where it's like you gotta have good lighting, you gotta have good sound, you gotta have a clean background. It's like if you don't have these things, like you're already kind of out of the running because a casting director is sitting there looking at a hundred tapes, and if they can't hear you or can't see you, they're gonna move on to the next thing.

Um, so it's interesting how much of a technical aspect has come into play. Like now, if you're an actor, you should know how to use iMovie, you should know how to do some basic editing, you should know how to um, you know, set up yourself. No, and there are pluses and minuses, right? Like people can submit from anywhere, but also it costs money to have all these things.

[19:00] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Truth. Very, very true. And it's time intensive, too. And particularly with um, you know, with the pandemic, like everything has been self-taped, because you know, we're not going in for auditions anymore. I did go, I did have to go in for a callback a few months ago, and that was so interesting. Like it was just it was it wasn't bad. It was just, oh, I have not done this in over a year. I have not been in a room in front of a table of can I was it for a theater or for a TV?

[19:33] Leah Walsh: It was for theater.

[19:34] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Okay. Yeah. I've not gone in person for any film or TV auditions. Um, yes, the good thing about self-tapes is that you can do them from anywhere. Um for me, the bad thing about self-tapes, which may be good for other people, is that if you don't do it well, you can do it again. And if you mess up this take, you can do it again. You have like as much time as you want. Um I am a little bit of a perfectionist, uh, and I'm definitely a Libra and very indecisive. So there have been times when I've spent way too much time on a self-tape trying to get just the right take to send in.

[20:28] Leah Walsh: Right, because no one's there telling you, we got it, you're done.

[20:32] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Exactly. 100%. Um, so like I feel like that is a pro and a con, depending on who you are. Right. Um, but it's auditions themselves, like, we don't on one hand I've heard it said that hey, just turn auditions into your time to shine and your time to act and your time to be a performer. And that does not work for me. Like, maybe it works for other people, and that's wonderful, but my brain just doesn't work like that. I don't get a satisfaction from going in acting in an audition room. I get satisfaction from having a gig. So it's, you know, but it's also been said that what other way do producers, directors, casts and directors have to find the talent. Because it's so interesting to get like audition, doing an audition and then being on set, they're so different.

It's such a like the audition is so vastly different than doing the work. And it's it's complicated. I love hate relationship because I I feel like everyone is wants to be the best auditioner they can be so that they can get the work. Um but you end up doing that more than you do the actual work.

[22:17] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[22:18] Daniel Morgan Shelley: And it's particularly weird if um if you're doing commercial auditions. Um I got a commercial agent a little while ago, so doing commercial auditions is so vastly different than doing theater or film or TV because they ask for such um for lack of a better term, bizarre things.

[22:43] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[22:44] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um I don't know if I want to go into this, but it is I found that I come from a place of if I am auditioning, then I want to do as much research as I can. I want to figure out who this character is, I want to know what the situation is, I want to know what the story is. I want to have all of this background to be able to give my best performance. And I find that many times for commercial auditions, you get nothing. And it's like, um, here's kind of a situation. Okay, just do just do it. Just do look out the window.

[23:21] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[23:22] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Go wash your hands. Here's a line you could say, but also give us three takes of you doing something completely different.

[23:30] Leah Walsh: Right.

[23:30] Daniel Morgan Shelley: And I'm like, I don't know. Do it as if you have a life-threatening illness. And you're like, oh, what?

[23:38] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[23:39] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um, so it's at least for me, it's hard, it's hard to know what to prepare if I don't know who the character is or what's going on. And yes, I could make it up, and maybe I get lucky that the thing that I made up is the thing that they're looking for. Um Frankie had done like the one bigger commercial that he's ever done was for some sort of like pain medication. And um the audition asked if he could mountain bike. Like it was all like very serious questions about his level of proficiency with riding a bicycle and like specifically mountain biking. And so he, you know, he probably embellished a little bit like what he could do.

[24:28] Leah Walsh: Sure.

[24:29] Daniel Morgan Shelley: And but it's it kind of made him a little nervous, like how much they were asking about it. He got the he got the gig and he goes to film it. The the kickstand never came up. He had to like stand on the bike. Kickstand was down, you know, say the line, holding the candle bars, a shot of his hand in the bottle, you know, never rode the bike. It's like the things they shit like that. Make you imagine you're gonna go through. Pretty pretty funny. It's um and I just I don't I don't get it. Um but we we do it because we are asked to do it, and we want to book the job.

[25:19] Leah Walsh: Can I ask um a little bit about how you've kind of Tetrised together your financial life over the course of your career, like in between gigs or day jobs, or like what sorts of things have you found helpful to kind of make it all come together?

[25:37] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I have worked in so many restaurants. So many restaurants. Um I just feel like for for an actor, for any artist, it's um it's the way to go because especially in New York City, it can be very profitable, it can be very flexible, um, but so many restaurants. I did catering for a little bit. Um I worked with an education company for a little while where uh we went into schools and um taught study skills like note-taking and test taking and things like that. That was interesting. Um, but it's been uh it's been a hodgepodge, you know, just over the years. Sometimes I could go back to the same restaurant after coming home from a gig, sometimes I couldn't, so then I had to find some other new um gig. But it's been it's been a wide variety of mostly um hospitality, mostly food service. Um and I'm not a fan of it.

[26:56] Leah Walsh: I was gonna say for your introvert self, though, the restaurant business is kind of the opposite.

[27:02] Daniel Morgan Shelley: No. I mean, like, I I like to describe myself as an extroverted introvert. Like, I can be fine in public, I can be fine in crowds, but like at the end of the day, or most days, I want to recharge at home by myself on the couch. Like I have no desire to be around a lot of people. Um which is interesting for theater because you're in a room full of people, but like you go, you do that, and then you come home.

[27:36] Leah Walsh: No, and it's very focused. You're all focused on the same event.

[27:39] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yes, you know. Very, very true. It's not just a lot of kinetic energy coming at you.

[27:44] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[27:46] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um, so lots of food service and uh I have not loved it, but I am thankful for it because it has paid my bills when acting did not.

[28:02] Daniel Morgan Shelley: So like it's it might sound like I'm complaining. I'm trying not to complain. Um I'm thankful for those restaurant jobs that I had. Because they allowed me to be in New York City to pay my rent, to get headshots, to buy the lighting equipment that I need to have good lighting for the self-tapes, you know, etc.

[28:31] Leah Walsh: Are there any lessons that you've learned over the last couple of years that you're really proud of?

[28:37] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Oh. Um, it can be something small. It can be something doesn't have to be a huge thing. Uh-huh. Be kind. Be nice to everyone on set. Um, be particular about what you let stress you out. Is the thing that's stressing you out really as big as you think that it is? Like, um uh I'm big on energy, how I expend it. Uh so I try not to worry and stress about things until I know that there is something to worry and stress about.

[29:38] Leah Walsh: I need to know how to do that.

[29:42] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I feel like I struggle with anxiety, which is like is the exact problem you're talking about. Gotcha. Um it's like mission in life is to make me worry about things that probably won't come to fruition. I think I found that there's um many times if I've like started to panic about something, if I just like take a second and breathe and just kind of look at the situation and just kind of be like, is this actually something I need to panic about? Is this actually like how how how big is this problem? And I'm is my mind making this bigger than what it actually is and just kind of like taking try my best to step out of the situation and look at it um look at it from the outside to really get a better perspective on it and then step back into it.

[30:38] Leah Walsh: Yeah because I try my best to not get stressed out because stress can kill you.

[30:48] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um and I'm not about that life. So um I try to think about most things before I react to them and put them into perspective before I make a decision about how to proceed.

[31:07] Leah Walsh: That's a good one. Um do you have any mentors who have been important to you in your artistic life?

[31:16] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um unfortunately um I wish that I did or wish that I had uh or maybe if I was more of an extrovert then I would have sought that out. Um but I'm very much a I mean don't get me wrong I would love to have a mentor someone who has been in the industry for a really long time and if I'm you know starting to panic or get stressed about a thing be like hey can I get some uh can I get some advice on this situation have you been in this situation before like what should I do? Um but most times and most things I just kind of deal with it on my own. Um which I don't know if that is the best thing or the healthiest thing but it's um it's what I've got.

[32:04] Leah Walsh: Yeah you're very self-sufficient.

[32:18] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah. Do you reach out to others I mean outside of your career like in your family if like when you're dealing with personal things like or are you you are you that kind of self-sufficient person all around?

[32:30] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Self-sufficient all around yeah um I mean like if if I happen to be dealing with something and if someone asks me about it, like I'll be honest about it and I'll talk about it. But it is um extremely rare that I would reach out to someone um to discuss something that would be going on with me.

[33:00] Leah Walsh: Right.

[32:58] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um that is valid.

[33:02] Leah Walsh: That is valid. Uh is there anything that you're any like ideas that you're really excited about right now like things that you've been kind of percolating on I don't know where I'm what I'm getting at with this question.

[33:16] Daniel Morgan Shelley: This could be like a hobby, like something you're suddenly like reading everything about. You know, something that I did decide to start doing at the start of the pandemic, uh, which I had never done and I figured would be a good time to start, um, was Harry Potter.

[33:32] Leah Walsh: Oh.

[33:33] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah. Um, like for you like I'd never read the books. I feel like they kind of came out when like when I was a little bit older. So I kind of just missed them. And had watched the movies for years and like loved the movies. And then when the lockdown happened, I was like, you know what? I'm a star Harry Potter.

[33:51] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[33:51] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I'm gonna wait I'm gonna work my way through the house. How far along are you?

[33:54] Leah Walsh: Uh I am on Order of Phoenix right now.

[33:57] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Okay, great.

[33:58] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[33:58] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah. I love those thoughts. I mean, they're so much better than the movies. I hope you're enjoying them.

[34:03] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I am. It's super duper fun. Um That's a fun thing when you like as long as you like it, obviously, like the when you know you have lots of story ahead of you.

[34:14] Leah Walsh: Yes.

[34:15] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Like it's not gonna be done anytime soon.

[34:18] Leah Walsh: No.

[34:18] Daniel Morgan Shelley: And it's been nice 'cause like I have seen the movies and I know the base, you know world. The basic of the story, but I'm like, let me see what details are in the books that are not in the movies, which of course there's so many. Um so that's been fun.

[34:38] Leah Walsh: Is there a project from like the last five years or so that was really like monumental for you that you could tell me about? Like that the experience of doing it was really important to you, whether it's because of the character or the people or the the play itself.

[34:56] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Uh so a few years back I did Fences at Florida Repertory Theater. Um I played Lions. And it was I'd had uh I'd had a relationship with that theater over the years. Um I did a tour with the classical theater of Harlem many years ago. We did uh Romeo and Juliet and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. Um but at Florida Rep, we were like in residency and did Romeo and Juliet for about a month. And then many years later uh they brought me back uh to be an actor in their new play reading series. Um and I just I love the theater I love the people there. I love the town. I love being in Florida especially if it's cold up here. Um so they were doing fences and it was just it's always nice um to work on August Wilson.

I just love August Wilson. Um and that was the second August Wilson play that I had done. I did piano lesson uh in Hartford a few years before that. Um but it was just a really uh great production like the cast was amazing the director was magnificent um and the theater was just so supportive and the audiences really loved the show so that was just it was an overall wonderful experience because it was nice to be back at this theater that I had worked at before and also doing this amazing play.

[36:35] Leah Walsh: Um I'm horrible with years so I forget the exact year.

[36:40] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um just years are not good in my brain. For whatever reason. But it was maybe like three years ago, something like that. Maybe four? Not two. Yeah, maybe like three or four years ago. Definitely not two. Now now that COVID has happened, we'll have a mark exactly.

[36:56] Leah Walsh: Yes.

[36:57] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um.

[36:58] Leah Walsh: Oh, that's wonderful.

[37:00] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah, what a play. Jeez.

[37:02] Leah Walsh: Yeah.

[37:03] Daniel Morgan Shelley: It was it was so it was lovely developing the character and just the amount of collaboration um with the director, um, Vinny Ambush. Um yeah.

[37:16] Leah Walsh: It was amazing. If if you do feel like you're like going to the dark side, kind of in that uninspired or down place, are there any concrete things that you can reach for again and again that'll kind of help you get out of it, like a book you reread or music you listen to, or things like that that are like tangible.

[37:40] Daniel Morgan Shelley: I find that if I stay on like my routine, um that cycle eventually passes. Because if I am um if I'm feeling like I am not a good actor, if I feel like I'm never gonna work again, at some point a new audition is gonna come into play, and then that's gonna give me something to focus on. Um or I might go back and just like start doing some old monologues that I feel good about, and just like reciting those or working on those while I'm you know doing cardio at the gym or something, just it typically will be something in the same vein of acting that gets me out of that dark place. It's something to focus on.

[37:55] Leah Walsh: Something to focus on.

[38:41] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah, it is uh it's rare that I don't have anything to focus on. So if I am getting to that dark place, I just need to like at some point an audition will come up, or um or focusing on like learning something new will help to get me out of it. Um having a focus helps.

[39:06] Leah Walsh: And then is there anything that you've seen recently of any art form or taken in recently that you want to recommend?

[39:16] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Um I have really been enjoying uh Wu Tang and American Saga on Hulu. It's a really, really great show. And I didn't really grow up listening to Wu Tang, but when it came out, I was like, oh, this seems interesting, and I watched the first few episodes.

[39:35] Leah Walsh: Is it like a season or is it like a limited?

[39:38] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Yeah, they're in the second season right now.

[39:39] Leah Walsh: Oh, I missed it.

[39:40] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Okay. And I like I love the first season, and then when the pandemic hit, I was like, oh man, I don't know if they're gonna come back for a second, but I was anxiously awaiting for it. Um but it's out. Awesome. Uh, and I've been watching it, and it's it's really it's really great. I love stories about seeing how artistic things come together, um, and then just watching how this group of artists like all kind of knew each other and how it kind of slowly came together um has actually been really, really inspiring.

[40:20] Leah Walsh: Yeah, so I highly recommend Wu Tang an American Saga on Hulu.

[40:26] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Thank you.

[40:26] Leah Walsh: Yeah, you're welcome. Well, Daniel, that's it. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you doing this.

[40:33] Daniel Morgan Shelley: Thank you for asking me.

[40:45] Leah Walsh: Thank you for listening to the Compass Podcast. If you find these conversations valuable to your life as an artist and would like to support the ongoing production of the Compass, please consider becoming a patron at Patreon.com slash the Compass Podcast. Pledges start at as little as one dollar a month, and anything you can give would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have a moment, please review and follow in iTunes. Every little bit helps other listeners to find the podcast. Audio assistance from Monica Choxie, and a special thanks to Frankie J. Alvarez. See you next time.