Lisa Temple Actress Your Senator, Doctor, Teacher, Mom

There are a lot of pieces that need to fit together in order to break into the TV Business. Or at least that has been my experience. To be honest, for a long time I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wasn’t auditioning. I knew I was missing something important, because I found myself somewhere out in the tall weeds, whacking away with my machete, sweating and cursing, hoping to find the path out of the undergrowth. It was frustrating; and my bad attitude didn’t help. But if you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I have found my self-belief, and that I’m grateful to be on the right path now.

Here are some of the pieces I had to put together: Really great headshots, so that casting directors would notice my submissions online. I had to find a way to audition regularly, which means I needed a talent rep to submit me. Then I discovered that each casting office has a particular way they run their auditions. I also research the project, each casting office, the writer, director, and producer, so I can learn more about them. I thoroughly prepare my sides, and often get private coaching. I continually work to gain confidence so that I can walk into the room and do my very best. I’ve put together a great wardrobe, and know how to do my makeup appropriately. Any one of these pieces can seem impossible to grapple with, let alone achieve. This journey takes patience and plenty of kindness and self-care.

NOTE: There are some actors who’ve found success bypassing casting directors or talent reps. These brave souls chose the road less traveled and developed relationships with directors, writers, and producers, and were invited into the fold that way. It is possible.

As you can see, an acting career isn’t for the weak-minded. There are a multitude of reasons to quit. I almost lost my way, but ultimately, I chose to believe in myself. I wanted badly to work in TV and Film, and to find the success I had dreamed about for so long. After all, I’d tried to quit a few times, but then some opportunity would come knocking, and I’d be right back in it. Maybe it’s because I kept seeing myself acting in my mind’s eye. Or perhaps part of the truth is that I let go of any attachment to my results, and just allowed the space for the good stuff to flow in. No matter how it happened, I’m so thankful for those precious moments, helping me find my way back home to my acting journey.

I’m thinking about self-belief this week because I recently had to release an opportunity that’s been dangling in front of me, but was still out of my reach. I had to detach from it because I was obsessing about it, and it was driving me crazy. So I took a breath and just let it go, which felt right. I started focusing on other projects, and putting all my energy into my auditions, no matter how big or small. Acting is acting, right?

After a couple weeks, the project I’d let go of began to reappear in my life: people started asking me about it, friends told me they knew someone working on that show. Interesting, I thought, but then I just let it go again. A week later I get a call saying they might bring my character back! What? A huge cause for celebration! But my wait wasn’t over. I had to stay open when, two days later, I was asked to audition for the role again, with just a few hours notice. Okay, okay, that happens. No big deal. This is the life of an actor, and I choose it.

This is why we must believe in ourselves. There’s a time when this would’ve freaked me out completely. But instead, I remained calm as I was getting ready and memorizing my lines. I reminded myself I’ve played this role before, and I know I can do this. Just stay open and keep visualizing the best outcome. We certainly aren’t trained to think this way, or at least I wasn’t.

This is a whole new way of being for me, but it’s so much better than getting negative and fearful. So I showed up, had to wait for an hour before I was seen, and kept my cool the whole time. It takes practice. I did my very best under pressure, staying in the present moment and being true to my character.

My pursuit of this acting career has helped make me a better person, because I’ve had to let go of so many negative thoughts and attitudes. I’ve trained myself as an actor, as well as for on-camera auditions, learned business strategies for building relationships, and am staying flexible with new technologies. As actors, we must know how to market ourselves, advertise our wares, and stay in excellent communication with our customers, the talent buyers. As human beings, we must take good care of ourselves, advertise our joy, stay in great communication with our life’s purpose, and nurture our souls.