#1 NO FRAME OF REFERENCE FOR THE CHALLENGE

 

FALSE BELIEF THAT HOLLYWOOD ISN’T “QUITE THAT HARD”
aka Mrs. Waddlesworth is exaggerating about how hard it is out there.  

Some of the ways that we make meaningful progress are incredibly expensive, incredibly time-consuming and otherwise brutally arduous.  

Still, if we’re talking about standing on a stage pretending to be Sir Gawain and riding an imaginary horse: are we talking about anything other than a goofy art party?  That’s right, I said it, a goofy art party that costs $300/month.

Due to the incredible expense and sacrifice of spending 7 years training in the competitive and grueling program at The Groundlings we can prefer to believe that “Hollywood is not that hard” or “It’s pretty hard but I can find a shortcut.” Or “I just need one more audition.”  

You might feel differently after you test for three pilots over 5 years and have nothing to show for it except for wrinkles and mileage on the Prius.

So in the case of most “lost decades” the actor unwisely spent years and vast sums of money on casting workshops and coaching fees and all manner of photographs and career consultations and networking events and soft bribes instead of taking that same money and investing it into something expensive, difficult and worthwhile.  This is sometimes called investing in yourself.  

A couple of examples might be taking the international program at The Old Vic in Bristol, England, or studying at RADA. Or if you're a comedian, taking and graduating from the 2-year Meisner program at Baron-Brown or Playhouse West or commuting to Chicago to take the training program at The Annoyance Theatre. Or moving abroad for a year to study at École Philippe Gaulier.  Or, taking 7 years of your life and grinding your way through the comedy party at the Second City or The Groundlings School.  

I am sure there are actors out there who have done all of these programs and are still busy wood-shedding.

Personally I enjoyed riding my improv horse pretending to be Sir Gawain and I never really worried about the $350 (in 2011 dollars) that it cost me for the privilege of inflicting that performance on a group of distracted millennials.

I have stated this in numerous forms:  in order to make any real progress in Hollywood we have to first acknowledge that the task is intrinsically difficult.  A series of severe obstacles much greater than anything that you have previously encountered, ever, in your life.  You have NO FRAME OF REFERENCE FOR THIS LEVEL OF CHALLENGE.  Unless of course you are a former Olympian in track and field. My guess is neither of your parents or four grandparents ever attempted anything this difficult.

So instead of pissing away more of your money on useless expenses now could be the time to double down on your training so that six years from now you can brag about being in Sunday Company to casting directors and your mom. Already done that?  Well... I heard the Improvised Jane Austen at The Impro is a real hoot.

If you light the fire, you could ignite the slow burn.  

And one day, if you burn long and hard enough, you could become the next Edi Patterson.