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Confessions of a Struggling Actor: Goal Time (Day 0)

As we talked about, this week we’re going to follow a struggling actor and have them keep an anonymous diary, every day, with complete and brutal honesty about what it’s like to be a struggling actor in Toronto.

People often say one thing, and mean another, and it’s so interesting to watch someone state their goals, ambitions, and just the general lifestyle they want, and then watch what they do. Today is his/her stated goals for the next 7 days, and check back next week to see exactly how it all panned out. Enjoy.

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Setting goals and sticking to them is hard, especially since we as humans tend to go through life doing the bare minimum which very often means not sticking to your goals at all. I try to envision myself as being more adventurous, so to inspire me, I like to draw vain-glorious analogies to myself as a struggling actor who wants to just break in to extra work as a first-timer. I try to see myself as a Robinson Crusoe, trapped on an island/ I feel that as an actor who wants to get started in acting, I have to first find some kind of shelter from the coming storms and ice-cold winds.

My first goal is to sign up with an agency, any agency, something that might find me work as an Extra, or Background actor. Once I have a weekly or biweekly scheduled. My next goal is to somehow get a nice warm cave going, by making lots of contacts with independent filmmakers who need actors that might fit my description and versatility.Meanwhile, I have to work every day to make sure that my versatility is sellable to what those independent directors want.

One of the things I plan on doing, is to release just three audios, of insane practice, demonstrating that I can do at least three different very different characters from plays or films that most people are familiar with. I was thinking, Richard III, a Jack Nicholson speech and then maybe the Stoner from “that 70s show.” Something that will demonstrate my ability in audio while I don’t have any short videos to show casting directors. Since one of the few things I was ever complimented on in theatre was my speaking voice, I thought this was the most prudent place to start. Play to my strengths.

I would say tentatively, all I can really do on my own, is create content that might get me a small part in a small short film, some time in March, long term. Right, now all I can really hope for is to get just one background extra job by March 3rd. That’s might short term hope and dream. Maybe fortune will smile upon me and a directors ship and crew will rescue me from my island, with a background job, where I can run around, walk, dance, swim or do as many cartwheels as the director wants!

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What do you guys think about that? Can you relate?

PS: If you want to be featured as an anonymous struggling filmmaker, write to pitch@indiefilmTO.com with the subject “Struggling.”

PPS: Inspired by New York Magazine’s “Sex Diaries”

 

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