Hello everyone! Holy Moly, it has been a while, hasn’t it?
If only I could clone myself. I think I may need a hiatus from my hiatus.
As you know, I’ve taken quite a break from acting and coaching. I miss it, however, I don’t currently live where it’s realistic to pursue, so I have focused on my business and my writing.
Will I go back to LA? Maybe someday. Or maybe it’s not necessary to live in LA for my goals.
After a couple years of audition invitations while here (self-taped auditions, out-of-state), I realized it was a waste of my efforts. That’s for me. Everyone is different. But I found they were simply hiring locally and if it’s not right, it’s not right.
As the saying goes, “Life Happens While You’re Making Other Plans”.
The hilarious irony is that in the midst of promoting my business, I finally learned how to take a selfie and record myself. LOL
When it comes to auditions, I truly prefer to focus on my performance & not have to worry about the technical hocus pocus.
I already had a pretty healthy respect for crew members, however, wearing every hat yourself should bring even more appreciation for their important roles in the process.
Being myself and recording myself to promote my business is easy breezy.
Trying to focus on a performance while also worrying about the lighting and the sound and how do I look? Yikes!
I always appreciate EVERY opportunity and appreciated all those audition invitations.
However, thinking back on all of those for the first few years of my “hiatus”, I would be lying if I didn’t admit I sometimes wish I could have a “do over”.
It’s always the way, isn’t it? I’m not auditioning and I find myself giving into the social media pressure to promote promote promote my business. So NOW I’ve started to feel pretty savvy, technically speaking.
I’m no guru, but compared to where I started, it’s day and night.
This may sound ridiculous coming from someone who has shared many personal stories, but I am actually a very private person.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit tired of social media. However, if you want to compete (in MANY businesses!), it’s a must. When everyone else is taking advantage of it, you cannot miss those opportunities.
Can you?
Ahhhh, a “Do Over” would be nice in many areas of life, wouldn’t it?
When I was in LA full-time and auditioning full-time, I was wearing a lot of hats. It’s expensive to live in LA and I juggled many careers to make it work. It gets to you. I’m only human. And over time, the financial stress would get to me and I would stop taking care of myself. And pretty soon, I’d look in the mirror and not even recognize myself.
I embraced all of it, because I wanted to work and loved the process. So I then embraced playing more character-type roles.
I find it SO ironic and somewhat hilarious (very “me”), after some time out of LA, I’m suddenly tech savvy and I’m looking more like myself.
When I was in college, a friend and I would joke that when we “let ourselves go”, the social calendar was always full and we had money to burn.
When we were in-shape, we were broke and bored. LOL
Of course. That sounds about right. 🙂
And yet…here I am, in no man’s land. No auditions, no “cameras” per se. I feel like Rapunzel up in the tower.
If a tree falls in the forest…we know that one, don’t we?
If an actress is feeling like her old self and there are no productions around … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
C’est La Vie. Such is life.
It all sounds so superficial, doesn’t it? Well, it is. The business is very superficial. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I guess I get sick of “me”. Headshot after headshot.
I took a break from “the business”. I’m like, great, I’m going to use my business skills in another industry.
Great!
Then my social media guru informs me, hey, they don’t want to see your cute little bitmoji meme. They want to see YOU. The selfies and videos, that’s what gets engagement.
Sigh.
Okay, Okay, I’ll do it. And I did it. And I’ve been doing it. And frankly, I’m burnt out on social media.
I think it’s toxic. But that’s a much longer conversation for a different day.
Life is always throwing detours our way. I’ve transitioned and remade myself many times over. And each time is scary and exciting all wrapped up into one.
I had even put some of my writing on a bit of a hiatus and then an opportunity came out of nowhere, so I jumped at it & suddenly found myself on a plane going to a meeting.
This business if full of many starts and stops. So then you switch focus. It’s not easy, I’ll be the first to admit.
This year is getting away from me. It’s almost June! I started thinking about my goals at the beginning of the new year. Where am I on that list? Hmmm, must ponder.
It truly might be time to Take 5 and go on a hiatus from my hiatus.
Step back from it all and take a long, hard look. I wear a lot of hats. Always have.
Where should I focus my energy? What’s the short-term goal? Long-term goal?
I’ll be the first to admit you cannot do it all. I’ve tried. It’s a constant shuffle and juggle and shifting priorities from one day to the next.
I have a hard time relaxing. I can’t do nothing. My “nothing” would wear most people out.
But I’ve been on auto-pilot for a bit and I need to give myself permission to step back from some things.
Which things ?
And those of you that juggle get it. You have that fear that if you’re juggling and you drop one of them…is that the one you were supposed to keep up in the air? Or was it the other “thing”?
But I have an inkling that a Time Out may be necessary.
Of course, as I’m typing this, I’m making mental lists. LOL
Will I be able to step back and take a long, hard look to determine where to focus most of my energy?
Stay Tuned.
Take care of yourselves, focus on what matters and don’t forget to Take 5.
Actress Writer & Acting Coach 