Training Young Actors #4: Handle Your Business

Acting is not an easy business.  Contrary to popular belief, translating words off of a page and breathing life into them onstage for an audience to view is not always an easy task.  We are human.  As much as we love this acting craft, our lives can still get in the way.  We’ve all been there: the last minute cram session for memorizing our lines, the stressful run in with the director because of a missed note or direction, or the rough day at school or work before a five (10?) hour tech rehearsal.  Sometimes life is not an easy business either.  

So what happens when the craziness of our lives intersect with the craziness of the acting world?  Do we give in to the pressure?  Do we crumble with defeat or do we rationalize and make excuses for things that we honestly didn’t really make a priority?  I’ve been in many situations as an actor and director where laundry lists of excuses and the inability for performers to “handle their business” can make the acting business even tougher than it already is. 
 

Let’s take line issues: the reality is that this is a fact of the job and we can’t get around the importance of following through with this task.  But so many of us make up excuses and rationalizations when our lines aren’t memorized on time.  We say things like “I was real sick” or “I had so much to do.”  Now if these are legitimate reasons, then I hope directors and production teams can work through those actual illnesses and issues.  But if these are simply excuses that we use to help cover our tracks, then that is where we need to change things.  It would be refreshing to say something like this: “I dropped the ball on this one.  I just didn’t get them done.  I’m not going to let this happen again.”  Wow.  Owning up to our mistakes can go a long way in this business.    

So what if we owned up to our mistakes and shortcomings instead of making up half-truths and cover-ups about them?  There is the reality of not finding work if we are constantly making mistakes and causing issues during a production.  Don’t mistake this entry as an excuse to make mistakes.  We should always strive to be the best we can be; especially with our performances and preparation.  What it comes down to is the understanding that we are not perfect people and that mistakes and mishaps happen in life and in acting.  Accept the mistakes when they come, move on from them, and push forward towards improvement.  Dwelling on the mistakes and making excuse after excuse for them gets old after a short time which then directly affects our credibility and level of professionalism.   

We have to be careful here though.  It’s not just about owning up to our mistakes; it’s following through on the promise of “it won’t happen again.”  This is the business that we must learn to handle: that promises and apologies really mean nothing if they aren’t supported by our actions.  If we say “it won’t happen again,” we better do our best to not let it happen again.  

Directors will think twice about a person who constantly makes excuses or doesn’t handle their business.  They also will look highly on someone who owns up to their shortcomings and makes professional changes in their actions.  Handling our business is crucial to our success because it keep us on task and acts as a buffer when the occasional mistakes occur.  

We all make mistakes.  This world needs more people who are willing to admit these shortcomings, learn from them and work to not let them happen again.  Excuses just delay the progress.  And life, as well as acting, needs progress in order for success to finally become a reality.