8. If you can’t beat them, join them….or better yet, promote them

So crazy November has been a little out of hand for me.  I have managed to find myself deeply entrenched in the nanowrimo writing competition (yes not only an actor, but now I’m adding ‘blogger’ and ‘novel writer’ to my repertoire of skills I may never use to impress anyone but my mum). As a result I’ve been unable to keep up with my weekly blogging.  But I do intend to make the months of December and January fruitful.  I have received some great feedback on things that fellow actors really want to hear about… so please stay tuned.
In the interim this month I want to share a few thought inspired by another blogger, Wendy Kier, who wrote about ringing up one of her twitter followers and having a personal conversation.  It really is a wonderful thing to consider…..actually calling up a tweep who you banter with on twitter and saying hi – Making the connection real. Through this notion came another few ideas more closely aligned with generosity in acting:

• Sharing & caring
• Promoting
  

  Drawing by nataliedee.com

 
Let us start with Sharing  & Caring.
If you consider every time you have ever been to an audition and not gotten a role, and then considered what your ‘average’ success rate is (AND ACTORS – YOU SHOULD ALWAYS KNOW THIS OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD), then how incredible would it be if one of your mates managed to
win some of those roles you didn’t get.  It would increase your communal success rate percentage.  Sounds odd, yes.  But would it make you feel good….Absolutely.

Sharing auditions means there is a greater chance that one of you will get the role, over some other unknown. I’m no mathematician but I do know one thing.  I’d rather one of my acting friends got an acting job any day of the week than someone who I didn’t know – I’d rather see our communal success rate increase.  Share audition opportunities with those you know and good karma will almost certainly be waiting in the good karma bank for you in the future.  Remember that the actors who knew each other at the beginning when they were small timers, are often still close many years later when they “break through”.

The second idea is about promotion. We have #ff on twitter.  Avid fans of twitter will know this means “Follow Friday”. On Friday’s it is a chance for you to share with your twitter buddies who you follow and why, i.e. you get to recommend someone to be followed by others. An extension of this is actually taking the time to recognise the work of fellow peers.  When we do this, not only does it help to create and foster greater recognition for them through our acknowledgment of what they do, but it also increases our own profiles at the same time.  I love it when I read an email from a fellow actor telling me how great someone else’s play or movie is.  It makes me really feel like they are a genuinely fresh and interested actor.  I find I want to know more about them immediately.  Do you?

So on that note I decided I wanted to big up a few actors this week who really inspire me constantly… some you may know, some you won’t.  In essence it’s my very own #ff on my blog.

Felicity Jurd: An incredible and talented actor who has not only enjoyed monumental success both here and in her homeland Australia, but has also produced, written, directed and performed her own international play!  Want to learn from an ex ‘Vegemite Tales’ pro? Spend a day with this wee lass. And she is one of the kindest girls I know.

Jade Alexander: Though relatively new to London she is doing some amazing things both in acting and producing.  Filming is about to start for Jade in her first feature film role in London (congratulations!) and she is really making London work for her the ‘old school’ way – through hard work and determination.  It is truly inspiring.

Ben Whitehair: Incredible, talented, and an up-and-coming one to watch!  Ben is making big waves in LA.  But the thing that constantly impresses me about Ben is that he is modest, motivated, honest, warm and engaging.  How many times can we say that about actors….(modest – I mean, do we even know what that word means).

Paul Barry: He needs no introduction if you are from Australia. Paul moved from Australia to LA and is literally one of a kind.  Great guy, great smile, talented actor, teacher and good friend.  While Paul is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met in the world (sometimes I nearly cry I’m laughing so hard) and works his butt off all the time, the one thing he will never do is suck up or waste his time with promoting rubbish.  And if you want a really great acting teacher, I can also highly recommend him.

And finally, a personal favourite Lindsay Morton: I have seen her act, I’ve heard her sing, and she makes me smile constantly.  I am pretty sure I don’t know anyone sweeter than this little fresh faced Canadian/English actor.  And in a year when acting is at it’s quietest in London she signed with the biggest VO agent and continues to work all the time.  Clever and cute!

So that’s it for now.  But I want to make sure I do this at least once a month.  If you know an actor that I should know, please email me.  I’d love to meet them.

Bye for now.
Angela
p.s. you’re a b.a.b.e