Acting: The Healing Power

Got a lot of positive feedback from this
recent Actor's Break article. 

You might want to listen as you read
along.  Click this link so you can hear
my voice.

--Tom

07-31-2008

Actor's Break

NOW What?
   or
Acting: The Healing Power

How to Use Your Acting Skills to Re-Direct Your Day

By Tom Brooks

Actors are gifted with the ability
to transform Now, but most forget
to apply their unique skills to
every day life.  Many actors don't
even know they possess the power
to direct their lives by using the
same skills used to create characters. 

This is part of the joy of acting
that those in the business tend to
have forgotten; that those in their
30s, 40s and older who are just getting
started in acting are overjoyed to discover:
the incredible healing power of acting.

Think about it.  There is no "some day
when..." but most people think in those
terms.

NOW is the Real World -- "some day
when" means "Never."

You are as you think.

You lie to yourself if
you tell yourself "One day...

...when I'm more confident 
  (then I'll audition at that theatre)

...when I'm successful
  (then I won't have to worry about this stuff)

...when I have a lot of money
  (then I won't have to struggle so much)

...when I find the person of my dreams
  (then I won't be lonely)

...when I lose weight
  (then I'll live a different life)

...when I feel better
  (then I'll be able to do more)

...when I start to exercise
  (then I'll have more energy)

...when I clean my office
  (then I can get organized)

In other words

   ...THEN I'll be happier.

Language like that puts the goal,
the vision, forever out of reach.

The moment is Now.

The magic is in Now.

So, when you have thoughts like that,
don't put the vision out in a distant
and abstract "some day..."

Instead, INGEST it; BECOME it.

"What the heck are you talking about, Tom?"

Lemme explain...

 - - Confidence - -

Whenever and wherever you catch yourself
having those kinds of "one day" thoughts
-- whether you have them while waiting
for your turn at the audition, where
you feel very out of your league,
surrounded by others who seem so
much more "right" for the role than
you are...

  BE and FEEL, in that moment when you
  recognize the doubt, as if you already
  are that confident person you wish to
  be.  Feel and believe that there is no
  way you can possibly fail.  How does
  that affect your posture, your attitude,
  your facial expression?  Note the thoughts
  that your confident self thinks.  

  More in a moment...

 - - Success - - 

Whenever you see yourself as small,
and a million miles from your definition
of success, whether these thoughts occur
while waiting in the wings for your one
entrance in your nothing little role, or
whether you're in the grocery store, or
sitting behind a desk, or sitting in
traffic...

  BE and FEEL AS IF you already ARE
  that successful person of your dreams.
  When you immerse yourself and, like
  an acting exercise, BECOME that
  person who Has Arrived at that
  pinnacle, note how your thoughts
  change.

  More in a moment...

 - - Money - -

When you're struggling to pay the bills,
or can't buy that thing that you want
because you feel like you can't afford
it, change your attitude as if you have
an ABUNDANCE of money.  Look around and
be grateful for all that you have that
you take for granted...  Now, BEHAVE
and THINK (and observe yourself) as if
you now have an endless supply of money.

Now gratefully pay your bills,
acknowledging that each payment you
make is payment for something you
ALREADY HAVE.  The payment is due
for services rendered.  Give thanks
and gratefully pay that someone who
wishes to be paid, as you do, for
being valuable.  Know that you are a
person of value.

  CHOOSE to pay with an attitude of
  gratitude.  CHOOSE to allow the
  money to flow out from you -- so
  that money can flow IN.  Hold that
  attitude of wealth and abundance
  ALL DAY.  (I just noticed the word
  "dance" in the word "abundance")

  That doesn't mean that you foolishly
  go out and spend spend spend.  When
  you see that thing you want to buy,
  KNOW that it is already as good as
  yours, and CHOOSE to walk away
  because you will choose a more
  appropriate time to buy it.

  More in a moment...

 - - Someone Special - -

When you have thoughts of loneliness
and find yourself wishing for the
person of your dreams, close your
eyes and EMBRACE what having that
person with you FEELS like -- even
if you haven't actually met this
person yet.  If you already have that
special someone, but times are rocky,
you can also do this exercise.

See yourself talking together,
laughing easily together, sharing
yourself openly and without reserve. 

  Be grateful for the fact that this
  person already exists, and s/he will
  show him or herself at the appropriate
  time -- which is more likely to occur
  when you're feeling GOOD than when
  you're in self-pity mode.  Right?

  (When you're in that negative self-
  image mode, how do your actions differ
  from when you are feeling really good
  about yourself?)

  So turn your longing into gratitude,
  and feel all the good feelings of
  walking together, playing together,
  making plans together... Smile and

  KNOW all of that is yours.

  More in a moment...

 - - Losing Weight - -

When you've eaten a whole bag of
potato chips and a pint of Ben &
Jerry's the night before, take the
feelings of self-loathing and turn
them into joy of the GIFT of NOW,
and MOVE AS IF you already have
that body you love.  PICTURE it.
SEE it... your muscle tone is
just so; your weight is just where
you want it; you have and wear the
clothes you want... feel how it
feels to be COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE
at the beach -- no need to hide your
body.  See yourself at lunch with a
friend...you're having a good lunch
that nourishes your body...observe
how you move, how -- just for brief
moments of NOW -- you FEEL like that
new person.  Feel and behave like
THAT You feels and behaves.

HOW TO USE THIS TECHNIQUE OFF STAGE

You do all of this imaginative work
in rehearsal, and as you build your
character.  You PUT YOURSELF into
your character's thought patterns.
You do, in fact, CHANGE YOUR THOUGHT
PATTERNS when you are performing
at your best. 

When you use this technique off stage,
you are moving in Now swiftly toward
BECOMING that person you want to be.

Truly, in those VIVID MOMENTS, you are,
and YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS BELIEVES YOU ARE,
that person.

In those moments, note how your behavior,
and the spirit of your whole being,
changes in those moments.

THAT is the state of true power and creation.

That is the Actor's power, the Actor's Gift. 
We tend to forget that we can weild our skills
off-stage.

This state can at first be difficult
to maintain.  Try it for 1 day.
Pick one of the areas above, or one
from the list at the top of this article,
and note how you slip back into your
"normal" mode without even noticing.

It's like trying to be aware of when
you fall asleep: elusive.

In the moment when you become UNconscious,
(and this is important) you have moved a
little closer to that New You than you
were moments ago.

The more you exercise this ability to
direct your being

Let me say that again:

The more you exercise this ability to
direct your BEING -- the more you
exercise your power over NOW -- the
easier that state is to maintain.

As a result, you will behave more
and more in the manner of this
ever-evolving person You want to be. 

You are growing with deliberateness
and awareness.

Amazingly, it will be easier to smile
and decline the Ben & Jerry's, to
ignore the voice that says You Can't,
to dismiss the once powerful voice that
says you are not worthy.  In other words,
your actions will change in accordance
with your thinking... your behavior
will move you forward

not hold you back.

At these times, new thoughts will come.
ACT ON THEM.  Surprise yourself.

NOW you've WON.

I attended a workshop in Bethesda, MD,
Monday night, at the Imagination Stage.
It was Sean Pratt's audition workshop
("How Working to Get the Part WORKS!").

Incidentally, I was glad to meet TWO
Empwoered Actor subscribers. (It was
nice to meet you, Beatrice and Judith!)

Sean uses a great analogy of what he
calls your "Evil Twin." 

Your Evil Twin is that part of you that
is down and doubtful; self-defeating. 
YOU, on the other hand, are the one
who feels great in those self-directed
moments of NOW.

Do you see how, when you're nervous
or full of self-doubt, at an audition
for instance, you can USE THESE VERY
SKILLS at every step of the audition
process? 

In my book, Audition Success: 5 Critical
Steps all of Chapter 1 is dedicated to
doing this specifically for your acting
career, whether your focus is on community
theatre, regional theatre or film acting.  
Grab the instant download here.

Actors, more than anyone else, have the
ability to re-creating themselves.

Remember, the best acting is not "being
someone else," but rather re-creating
your Self.  You see how one is truthful,
the other is a façade?  In Audition
Success: 5 Critical Steps, there are
7 pages focused on how to own the space
with confidence at any audition.

In his seminar last night (he'll do it
again this fall -- watch for upcoming
seminars at his site), Sean points out
that at the audition, if you allow the
space to remain as-is once the actor
before you has gone off stage, when it's
your turn you are performing in his space,
and you will not get the role. 

You must own the space.  In Chapter 4
of Audition Success I tell you how
to do just that.

Click one of the links in this email,
and you can get and download Audition
Success: 5 Critical Steps for $7
as opposed to $19.95.  Didn't mean for
this to become a commercial for my
book -- I don't want to put you off --
I just want to let you know that I go
into the How To of doing this as it
relates specifically to the audition.

In fact DON'T BUY THIS BOOK if you
are just going to download it and leave
it on your PC.  You must at least print
the sections pertinent to the areas you
want to improve -- then write all over
them... take notes... highlight...

For it is those brief minutes of the
audition that you want to be your best
minutes of that whole day.  You want
those moments to be your day's "sweet
spot" as Sean says. 

If you want to know more about how to
put yourself into NOW very easily, so
that it is controllable and sustainable,
grab Audition Success now.

WHATEVER you do in life, you want to
SHOW UP with authenticity, with energy,
and in a way that uplifts those around you. 

You uplift others when you uplift yourself. 

Enlighten yourself and you enlighten others. 

People will want to be with you and
work with you (i.e., casting directors)
-- which is why it is so important to learn
to turn this Now Power on, and control it
at will.

I don't mean being flashy, or falsly "on"
in some superficial way.  I'm talking about
the ability to step forward and step up to
who you really are.

I hope this has been helpful. 

Here's to Your Empowerment!

--Tom

P.S. Like every one of my products
and serives, Audition Success is guar-
anteed to produce results when used as
directed, or your money back.  With this
particular book, you can transform your
ability to audition, so that you show up
with a commanding, powerful presence and
complete confidence.

Audition Success: 5 Critical Steps takes
the few key seconds and miliseconds in the
audition, and disects them so that you
understand the How and Why the powerful
and time-tested actor-approven techniques
work.