OWTF GFIA & OWTF DWIT
New Face up in this Place
I’m excited to share the translation of this acronym, and to explain why it’s so very relevant right now. But first I guess I’ll introduce myself, being new here on Ms. In The Biz and all.
How do you sum a lifetime up into a 6 sentence blurb? Impossible, but I’ll do my best…
My name is Jasmin Bristow. I’m an Aussie by birth and a citizen of the Universe by choice. I’m a little hippy-dippy, I love introspection, self development and transformational work. I especially love people and humanity. My mission in life is to wake people up, and to see humanity shine. I’m a dancer turned actor turned filmmaker, and empowered communities of artists excite the sh!t out of me.
Getting Comfortable
So, here I am in 2015, about to go into my second year of living in NYC, and loving every (okay, almost every) minute of it! Like many actors, I’d been dreaming of taking my career into my own hands. I was slowly but surely shedding that desire and need to have my agent “just get me an audition” and wanting to “just book a job”. I was done with trying to go by-the-book and I declared – “I’m gonna take my entrepreneurial spirit and let it loose on my acting career!!! Woooo! I’m an empowered Actorpreneur!!”
Then the high of empowered decisiveness started to wear off… and, “Wait, oh, man, it’s effing scary on this side of that fence called HUGE LIFE CHANGING RISK“.
The thing is, I know how to do submissions, and agent meetings, and auditions, and workshops and technique classes. I’ve practiced that, I’ve been doing that for years. It’s comfortable. The problem is, I don’t like being comfortable for too long. I get restless. So, I’m faced with a choice… I stay where I am and grow ever more uncomfortable and dissatisfied, or I take the leap over that damn fence and let myself experience the fear and extreme discomfort at facing the unknown. I know the fear is just a signpost – a compass pointing to something greater. But it’s also a sign that I have things to learn and that I need to prepare – (Thanks, Tony Robbins!)
I Do Declare!
Late last year I learned I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks in Milan, Italy in Sept/Oct of 2015, accompanying my boyfriend while he was in a theater show. (He’s pretty amazing, BTW. Maybe you’ve heard of him…). Anyway, the thought of sitting around sipping espresso’s, drinking wine and reading novels all day sounded sooooo appealing! Oh, yeah!!
But, I couldn’t do that. I instinctively knew I needed to use this opportunity for something more. The idea of shooting a film while I was there in Italy popped into my head, and immediately I knew that was it. It was one of the moments where an opportunity was staring me in the face. Something I’d been wanting and willing for. It seemed so perfect! It was far enough in the future that I had time to prepare but still a massive stretch for me. After all, I’ve never made a film before!!
And this is where the acronyms comes in:
OWTF, GFIA = Oh what the fuck! Go for it anyway!
OWTF, DWIT = Oh what the fuck! Do whatever it takes!
I learned these phrases a couple of years ago and they’ve become a mantra whenever I’m faced with something a little (or a lot) scary . “Go for it anyway” reminds me to act in spite of the fear (of failure/success/unknown/you-name-it). “Do whatever it takes” reminds me that a challenge or a roadblock is just that, nothing more, and there’s always another path, another way. It’s getting back up, and never giving in.
So there you go. I declared I would make a film.
Time To Share
The awesome Ms. In The Biz herself, Helenna Santos, and I, along with a couple of other bomb-diggety people, (Ben Whitehair + Joe Karam anyone?) did an Actor’s Roundtable recording for Inside Acting Podcast. After we finished recording, Helenna approached me about blogging for Ms. In The Biz, journaling my journey for this European filmmaking adventure. (It was another OWTF, GFIA moment for me…)
And now, you are hereby cordially invited to join me on my journey! Each month, you can read about how the concept is progressing, the trials of pre-production, script development debates, and, come September, get real-time reports from the filming trenches of Tuscany!! WOOTWOOT!
Please feel free to send me words of encouragement, advice, thoughts or just some good juju. You can comment below, or find me @JasminBristow on Twitter, Jasmin Bristow on Facebook, or roaming the westside of NYC or LA.
Peace, love and all that good stuff.
Jas xo