What I’m about to say probably feels cliché. Get involved. Duh. But you already are in a great acting class and go to a million casting director workshops and send out mailings and are doing all the great actor-things that keep you in the hearts and minds of the movers and shakers in this town. I WISH I had all those plates spinning in perfect equilibrium. But I don’t. Not always. And all those plates can feel like a real chore. What I mean by, “get involved” is have fun! But have fun in your creative medium. Get involved means make stuff. Go out on a limb and step into new roles and create something. In the new age of entertainment YOU are your best content creator, marketer, and PR agent. You have the ability to create an identity and the ability to create art and have a ton of fun. You have the ability to make a difference. You have the ability to help others. And you have the ability to make things happen!
There are SO many examples of awesome females out there who have created their own content. From Whitney Cummings to Brit Marling there are more and more actresses who have become their own career launchers. They have moved from being the “talent” behind the camera to their own creators and screenwriters. No one knows your skills and talents like you and no one has the stories that are inside of you so share them with the world! Along this line, check out the hilarious – and perfect for fall – “Adult Wednesday Adams” by fellow Northwestern Alum, Melissa Hunter. She is an absolute badass for creating her own series and bringing top-level production values. Rather than being defined by others, she has self-typed and created a hilarious ongoing concept from it.
Now, you look at this idea of “make stuff” and you may feel totally overwhelmed. But let go of the fear and move forward with determination. Start slow and see how it goes. Try new things. Have fun! For example, I have been in a self-administered acting class for the past year. We finished the book we were working through and are now utilizing the skills we’ve learned and played with over the last year to create our own content, a variety sketch comedy show. It is so much fun! We are starting slow, but the sky’s the limit. Each of us has the ability to step into roles as writers, directors, DPs, editors, and all the roles that “other people” usually fulfill. We are stepping into our power by becoming the people we need to make the art that is in our hearts.
As you probably have noticed, I am not just speaking to “all the other people” out there on this year long journey of getting out of your own way and kicking ass. I am also speaking to myself. And for myself, I have found one of the major blocks to my creativity and further advancing my career has been creating my own content here in Hollywood. And I grew up doing this naturally. I was the kid creating the show at my day-care and putting it on for all of the parents, I wrote plays and directed an award winning film in college. So what is stopping me now? Have I let fear of failure, or the “can’t do it” voices in too deep? Has my quest for perfection now that I am a “professional” stopped me from unleashing new creative projects in the world with myself at the helm? Have I let the Hollywood role stereotypes hold me back?
So I am pledging, right here, right now, to get over it and create something for myself this year, with myself at the helm. We are half way through this year long pledge to kick ass, and wow, do I feel like I’ve come somewhere on this journey. I also feel so much more inspired to go so much further. In the spirit of the harvest season, I hope that this blog inspires other women artists out there to empower yourselves, and to see yourselves as creative leaders in this world that desperately needs your voices to be heard.
Photo by Allan Peach, 2013.
So, my challenge to you and to myself is to personally get involved this year. Don’t limit yourself to one role: play and unleash the artist inside you into the world. If getting involved means starting an improv troupe, a writer’s group, or a women in entertainment group, then that’s it too. Founder of Ms. In The Biz, Helenna Santos-Levy, is a huge inspiration on how to get involved. She has started the first major outlet for women’s voices in entertainment! All of this spurred from her desire to provide and get support from other women in entertainment! So get involved in your own empowerment, it will take you places you never even imagined.