Could one have a successful VO career without these things? Yes. One COULD.
But what's more fun?
Read MoreThe Ultimate VO Christmas Wishlist: 12 Dream Gifts for Voiceover Professionals
year end
Inspire Your Year
Considering that “normal” still seems a ways off, we’re going to have to stop holding our breath and start bringing in oxygen to keep our spirits alive.
Read MoreMissing the Moments
People facing difficult circumstances throughout history, even in the darkest situations, have found a way to celebrate, bring joy and light to their lives, and make moments.
It is not callous to do so. It is not insensitive. It is how we survive.
Read MoreThe Game Ain't Over Yet
Belief opens us up.
A lack of belief closes us off to those around us, to ourselves, and to opportunity.
Read MoreThree Tips for a Great Year in 2021 (no matter what happens)
It might seem counterintuitive, but sometimes the best way to start something is NOT to go all-in.
Often, jumping in headfirst is a sure way to scare yourself right back to doing nothing.
Read More
Where we started…
2020 Is Hindsight
This year was a blur of books, audiobooks, streaming TV, Zoom calls, and getting outside in any way possible. Mostly, it felt like one VERY long day that never ended.
But that doesn’t mean it was cancelled. I did PLENTY.
Read MorePermanent Vacation
It took a few days, but my brain started remembering what it’s like to not always be bombarded with multiple inputs. I learned to put aside the easy dopamine hits, slow down and just enjoy sipping on my coffee.
Read MoreAnd We're Off!
Well, there has been no real time for reflection. Not really. What with that family holiday stuff, working solid since I've been back in town. Who needs to reflect? Okay, I probably still should, but I haven't had time to figure out numbers and such or finish my record-keeping for last year, so maybe let's just do a little bit right now.
Auditions:
I do keep track of my auditions. In theory. In practice, I have no clue. I'm really really bad at keeping my spreadsheet updated. Back when I started keeping track and trying to get myself to go to many many auditions just to get over my fear of them, I believe during my first year of having that goal I went to 55 auditions, and I thought that was a lot. Since then I've gotten a little more selective about my auditions, but I still think that 60 is about average. I might find out differently after I do my tally. I already know that my callback rate has gone WAY up over the past few years, so that's always a positive.
Performances:
I was in only two actual full length shows (Crazyface by Clive Barker with Shadow Horse Theatre and Hauptmann by John Logan with Candid Theater). Crazyface took about three months out of my year, though, and the other about two months. I did one music video and World Commedia Day as well (which was a full two hour show, but improvised, so that should count for something, right?), and I did Chameleon Theatre Circle's season preview day, performing a piece from their upcoming production of Durang's "Betty's Summer Vacation."
Class Scenes:
Ugh, this might be harder. I know I did a scene from Butterflies are Free, one from Other Desert Cities, and then one from the movie Housesitter. I think that's it. There were a few others discussed and then shelved for various reasons. That's not the best record. Okay, that's a terrible record, actually. I will do better this year!!
With that in mind...
My next blog post is going to be about the roles that I'm working on for class right now and the challenges inherent in each. I've got three scenes on the books, so there's plenty I need to be doing to prepare for them. Research is one of those things I'm apparently terrible at getting myself interested in doing (though it wasn't always that way...hm, I wonder what THAT'S about), so writing about my roles here and the research into each will be a fun exercise.
Reflection
So, it's that time of year for reflection. And I'm going to SO do some of that. Soon. I want to put together some statistics and compare with previous years. I'm kind of a dork and keep spreadsheets of many things, but I do like to keep track of how I'm doing theater-wise in particular.
The beginning of this past year was a bit fraught, with some very large life changes for me: breakup, move, giving away one of my cats. (No worries...Luna found a good home with my friend Rachel). Because of all this, acting got put on the backburner somewhat. I was still auditioning, but my priorities were figuring out where I and my cats were going to live, if I would be able to afford it, and where I might work if I needed to find a new job. Luckily, my friend Neal needed a roommate, and I moved into his lovely home in Minneapolis. Neal, our other roommate Ryan, and Ryan's cat Milo have been wonderful roommates, and they and my friends have all been very supportive in my year of big changes.
During this transition, I did find time to perform in World Commedia Day with my friends at Shadow Horse Theater, and then I spent eight weeks rehearsing and four weeks performing in Crazyface by Clive Barker. That show was so physically demanding that I lost ten pounds(!) I took a breather after that and just enjoyed going to see many Fringe shows, attending the Ivey Awards, and then worked on Hauptmann by John Logan with Candid Theatre. I acted in one music video this year. And I wrote two articles that got published, one for Minnesota Playlist and the other for Paid Actor.
It's been a light theater year, but a good one. I'm going to work on that spreadsheet, and I'll be back with some concrete numbers. I like to know how much progress I'm making.
Also, I just wrote another article that I'm trying to get published. If it doesn't get picked up, then I plan to publish it here at my blog and do the follow ups here as well. I have a plan. Stay tuned!