Pursuing an acting career has its ups and downs, how do you manage the down times?
The film industry is NOTHING like other industries. 95% of our job as actors is looking for a job! No matter what stage your at with your career, you will have feelings of self-doubt. "Should I quit?", "Maybe I should do something else?", "Am I good enough?" all actors have thought these to themselves!
Obviously we can't tell these thoughts to go away forever, but you can work towards managing them and building confidence in yourself as an artists by trying these tips below...
Tip #1 - Take classes
Acting classes is an obvious way to work on your craft as an actor, but also to build confidence in your skills. A great way to think about a class is to look at it like a playground, not a performance. You don't have to have perfect work every time you go to class, you need to learn from your mistakes. Better to fall on your face in class than in an audition or on set!
Tip #2 - Avoid comparing yourself to others
This applies to life in general, but because we are in the visual story-telling business it's hard not to compare yourself with others. The film industry is becoming more diverse and is telling stories from many different points of view- so productions are going to need more actors for all of those stories! More opportunities are becoming available for actors, so rather than comparing or trying to be like other actors focus on the things you can control like your acting skills!
Tip #3 - Have other activities!
I think the biggest trap for an actor is focusing only on acting. This can feel isolating and stressful because all of your thoughts are about "When will I book a job?". Enjoying hobbies in your life is not a distraction from your career, it can actually help you with it. We need to be able to draw from our lives and experiences in order to portray characters in TV and film, so get out there and live and have experiences!
It takes time to build confidence
Probably the hardest part about becoming a confident actor is that it doesn't happen overnight. If it did, EVERYONE would feel like superstars all the time. Be compassionate to yourself and remember to have fun with your acting!
For more tips and tricks, check out www.TheDramaClass.com !
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