If I’d Only Known Sooner

Hi There,

At first glance, my career in casting, acting, and production and the choices I made along the way seem to lead neatly to where I am today, coaching actors. A logical progression of events—almost as though planned. That definitely was not my experience at the time. My journey often felt like a maze of pitfalls, heartaches, and false starts riddled with lessons I had to learn along the way. It’s only through looking back that I can see those lessons, and realize their importance. Perspective leads to insight.

In this issue of The Dialogue, I’m letting you in on three of my biggest regrets, the lessons I learned, and what I’m doing to make sure I don’t have to make the same mistakes twice.

Ready to join On Camera Lab?

Click here to find out how you can join the waitlist and be first in line for open spots.

Be well,

JC

Sometimes it means I tell them to seek other forms of training. Or tactfully point out a weakness in technique. Other times it’s a gentle prod to keep going when their efforts seem to bear no fruit: to be aware of the invisible phase where progress happens without immediate reward.

It all amounts to this: help actors avoid the same mistakes I may have made.

Many of the problems that sidetracked me when I was acting seem universal to the acting careers of my clients. I’m breaking down my top three regrets to hopefully help you avoid those same career detours.

#1 CHOOSE YOUR ADVISORS WISELY.

As a young actor, I did not do a thorough job vetting the teachers and coaches I worked with. This was a mistake I made more than once—if I liked the coach, that was enough for me to train. As a result, I wasted precious time and resources on work that didn’t necessarily move me forward or challenge me in areas where I needed improvement. It felt good, and my advisors meant well, but the work didn’t really serve me or my career.

When I decided to transition into coaching, I vowed to avoid the same mistake.

This time, the people I sought as teachers and advisers had to fulfill a very particular set of criteria. I evaluated myself and my needs, then combed through bios, interviews, and articles, verifying, and cross-referencing information to ensure I was choosing guidance that would truly move me forward.

I knew I’d be investing a fair amount of time and money. This time around, I had tangible expectations.

I came up with a list of requirements for my mentors, and it made a world of difference in selecting them. I only wish I’d done this much earlier in life.

My Three Requirements for My Board of Experts:

I. Professional Credits in Their Area of Artistic Focus

I learned too late that many of my acting teachers hadn’t ever worked as professional actors. And without meaning to, they were passing along incorrect or inaccurate advice that may have actually gotten in the way of their own careers—both artistically/creatively and in regard to career decisions.

Recognizing this, I decided to only align with teachers who had walked the walk—with professional credits in the area they were teaching. Knowledge is one thing, experience is another—I wanted the advice of mentors with both.

IMDb, IBDb and Google made verifying work history, biography, and credits ridiculously easy.

II. Proof That Their Methods Work

I can’t track down the origin of this quote, but I love the simplicity:

“Success leaves clues.”

Any teacher or coach with more than a decade of experience should have clients or students with a measure of success.

It sounds simple, but it’s easy to overlook—who can an instructor point to as an example of their methods? Who has the technique or experience worked for? What growth did they achieve? Where did they start? Where did they end up? Rather than relying on feelings to guide choices, what tangible results exist to support a teacher’s claims?

III. Current Experience in the Entertainment Industry

The entertainment industry is a unique field. Child actors often have more professional experience than actors four times their age. It’s a fickle, crowded industry with lots of people trying to get in, no linear means to getting there, and lots of outdated information passed around by people who mean well.

In entertainment, no one shares the same career path, and most of the people involved in training have no connection to people who are working. Often, those teaching and training are doing so because they have failed, and are no longer involved in the business.

I decided I needed mentors with current experience—be it stage or screen. I wanted to work with people who understood the unique pressures of the business because they were currently steeped in it themselves. I wanted to trust my teachers knew the full measure of production time restraints, the true level of excellence required to work, and the actual level of effort put in by those at the top of their field. (See the Francis Ford Coppola video below for the effort I’m talking about.)

Train With the Best Teacher For You

These three benchmarks made all the difference in helping me choose a Board of Experts that I trust, and whose guidance is based on results. They help me be the kind of coach I set out to be. I am grateful for their continued guidance and wisdom.

#2 WHAT YOU’RE HIDING FROM IS GETTING IN YOUR WAY

Ah, risk. The necessary beast I avoided for a long time. By avoiding risk, I almost grew into my worst nightmare: a safe, comfortable, and ultimately unfulfilled human.

I used to hide from risk. And that meant hiding from opportunities—by avoiding them, I gave myself few chances to experience the good luck that comes from embracing both.

I was rising through the ranks at work, making a comfortable living, and spending my days with talented creators. But save for relationships with some wonderful colleagues, I was miserable. Safe, but miserable.

When I decided to get back to an acting class, I promised myself to do something that ended up opening doors:

“Seek out ways to fail.”

That simple phrase freed me. I didn’t have to succeed or avoid risks in order to be happy: I just had to put myself in positions where failure was a possibility. Because wherever there’s a chance to fail, there’s also a chance to succeed.

This mindset let me embrace risk and allowed failures to strengthen my resolve instead of weakening it.

#3 BE BRUTALLY (BUT TACTFULLY) HONEST WITH YOURSELF

I can admit now that…

• I went into situations unprepared and hoped no one would notice.
• Instead of addressing weak spots in my technique, I hoped an audition wouldn’t bring them to light.
• I ignored emotions that stuck in my throat by attempting to “sound natural”, limiting my acting abilities.
• I didn’t put in the effort, but still hoped to reap the “reward.”

What I lacked wasn’t the ability to make changes or address these weaknesses; I lacked a belief in my ability to make changes.

Trying to adjust and fix a shortcoming sucks. It’s messy. But that’s growth.

Once I believed I could face these problems and survive, I could finally address them—shocking myself in the best possible way.

Sure, a lot of times it wasn’t fun. But it helped me develop trust in myself.

I will fail. I will f*ck up. I will face it. And I will survive.

Fix it if it’s fixable, adjust if it isn’t, and move on. You will fail. You will f*ck up. And I hope you learn sooner than I did that you can face it, fix or adjust it, and move on.

I came across this quick clip of Francis Ford Coppola going through his massive notebook for making the film. It’s unbelievable.

If you’re curious about what It takes to create a cinematic masterpiece, check this out:

Francis Ford Coppola’s Notebook on the Godfather

This simple thought really struck me:

The body’s physical patterns are in direct correlation to emotional and mental patterns.

It’s an actor’s job to transform psychology into behavior. Understanding how your own behavior is influenced by your psychology is key to reaching your potential as an actor.

Purchase on Amazon:
http://jamiecarroll.me/lucid-body-amz

Purchase on Barnes & Noble:
http://jamiecarroll.me/lucid-body-bn

Purchase from an Independent Bookseller:
http://jamiecarroll.me/lucid-body-indy

Or, check the stacks of your local Public Library.

On Camera Lab is designed to be an on-going practice for your development as an artist. This work is structured, specific, and follows a repeatable set of steps designed for actors to craft and hone their own On Camera Technique.

Actors are encouraged to return to the Lab each month, as long as they are experiencing growth and progress.

The waitlist is ongoing—and since we’re still in a time of economic upheaval, upcoming sessions are still available at a special “relief rate”.

Click here to learn more about the workshop—and find out how to apply.