Hello beautiful people!
Let’s get in class!
A working actor we all know took the stage and started in on her material. This was an unannounced workout. And it was awesome.
I left that night not only happy for my friends and their breakthroughs but also inspired by what was clearly a pro facing some fears and pushing beyond her comfort zone. It was a great reminder for me — and now for you — that putting in the work on your craft is always worth the workout.
How often are you giving yourself room to work out in front of others in a place with higher stakes than in your ongoing acting class? You are in an ongoing acting class, aren’t you?
How long has it been since you’ve had a really great workout? And if you regularly work out in your ongoing craft class (Yay, you!), how long has it been since you’ve changed up your workout a bit? Challenged yourself differently?
Actors living at the highest tiers are not afraid of a workout like that. Of regular workouts like that! Whether it’s an improv jam, a regular gathering with a collective of folks working through scripts in progress, an ongoing scene study class, on-camera tech class, script analysis, any specialty area, privates with a guru, or an old-school nuts-and-bolts class, there’s working out going on and that’s what’s important to take away from this.
Your choice to get better at your craft is just that: a choice. (Tweet it.)
When people used to write me through my column’s email address to let me know they thought that week’s column was the best I’d ever written, I’d assure them that it may be the best they’d ever read, but the best I’d ever written was yet to come.
Because I am always getting better at my craft. And so are you! Unless you’re… not. And with that, I challenge you!
Today’s work: Audit a new class. It’s free and it’ll inspire you to imagine another way of approaching the same stuff you do in your current class. Even if you’re not looking to change up your craft training gameplan right this second, do an audit. Schedule it today to happen before the end of this course. If an audit is not turning you on, then make it an open mic night, an improv jam, a workout with fellow creatives. But get it on the books. Make it happen during this 100-day challenge. You owe it to your pro-level excellence to invest in it at every turn.
Extra credit: Using your ninja research skills, hit some of your favorite pace cars (Day 57), actors who led to your target reps (Day 54), and industry leaders whose style turns you on (Day 2) on IMDb-Pro, with a good Google, or via their archived presence stored at the Internet Archive. With whom do they and did they train? Where do they and did they work out? Using this new knowledge to piece together some of what it took to build their inspiringly consistent craft muscles, make a list of coaches, methods, and companies you want to jam with in the next year. Then put on your calendar — yes, even months out from now — the deadline by which you will have enrolled in this next-tier YOU workout regimen because it’s exactly what next-tier YOU wants current-tier you to do in order to get there.
Ah, that’s delicious. Let’s do this!
Need to check the SMFA Hot Sheet on training? It’s here. Have folks you would add to such a list? Share below! I’d love to know who’s rockin’ your craft world already… while you get inspired for who’s gonna make *you* even more inspiring next!
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
