theater

How to Get What You Want

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No one gets everything they want 100% of the time.

That’s just ridiculous.

But if you can do just two things, you’ll get what you want a lot more often.

Be careful what you wish for…

Be careful what you wish for…

First: Know what YOU want

Then: Get specific. Really specific. 

Without a target, you have nothing to aim for. 

What’s your bullseye?

What’s your bullseye?

So many of us (but actors especially) come from such a scarcity mentality, that we are afraid to say what we really want for fear of losing out on ANY opportunity. 

  • We take the low paid jobs, for fear that the better paid ones will never come along. 

  • We check yes to “Willing to take any role,” when we really only want to play the lead. 

  • We audition for everything, and then have a panic attack about declining a role, worried that the director will never cast us again. 

There are times when being open minded is a good thing.

When you’re in your teens or twenties, you’re still discovering who you are, what you like, and what you’re good at. At that point, gaining experience of any kind is good until you start to narrow down your goals. 

However, just thinking about your options does not give you any actionable feedback.

Don’t overthink it. Pick a target. Try it out. Take action. 

Doing the thing gives you direct input—What do I like about this? What do I NOT like about this? 

You get feedback, and you adjust your course. But first, you must be in motion. 

Get moving

Get moving

Listen to yourself. No one else. 

I used to work for Ann Kim, who runs four restaurants in Minneapolis. She won the James Beard Award a few years ago, and her advice when she won, her ongoing mantra: #fuckfear

Allow me to relate a short version of her story: She was an actress. She gave it up. She thought about opening a Jimmy Johns franchise. Instead, she opened her own restaurant, Pizzeria Lola. She had no experience running a restaurant and no formal chef training.

I’m sure many people out there probably tried to talk her out of it. 

That’s what our well-meaning family and friends often do—they put their own fears on us in the guise of trying to be helpful. Because they want to keep us safe. Protect us from disappointment.

So…

  • We go to school for business instead of graphic design. 

  • We opt for a “safe” career, rather than the one our heart yearns for. 

  • We never take the steps toward our dream, because if we never try, we cannot fail. 

True

True story

My Story

I have known, in my soul, since I was three, that I wanted to be an actor. And by the time I was six, I added singer, artist, and writer to that list. 

My senior year of high school, I told the counselors I would not take AP Calculus because there was no reason—I was going to major in theatre, so why keep taking math? Instead, I spent my senior year taking AP Lit & Comp and another English class, and my after school time doing theatre at school and in local community theatres.

The summer after my senior year of college, I had trouble finding a job right away, and my mom encouraged me to apply at the grocery store. Now, there’s nothing wrong with working in a grocery store, but I have no regrets about never having applied. I had already worked retail for about six months in high school, and it was one of the most depressing jobs I’ve ever had. 

There is value in knowing what will help you grow, learn new skills, and make your soul expand vs contract. 

When I graduated from college, I knew I never wanted a full time desk job. I never wanted to be comfortable but unhappy. I wound up working at a desk job full time for almost four years, and while it was admittedly a pretty cushy position, there was no room for advancement or skill building, and it started wearing on me working 40 + hours a week, plus having rehearsals 20-30 hours a week, as well as auditions and trying to have a life. When I was finally laid off, I swore I would never let another full time position get in the way of pursuing my real goal of acting. 

When I became clear on wanting to do voiceover, I quit four of my five part time jobs. I kept the one job that would allow me to invest the most time and money in my voiceover career. And I quit doing theater. Because even though I love it, it didn’t fit into my plan anymore. At least not right now.

One path leads to the center of the labyrinth, and the other one leads to…certain death

One path leads to the center of the labyrinth, and the other one leads to…certain death

Back to the discussion of specificity—

So, while I have known my whole life that I wanted to be an actor, and I have single-mindedly focused on that, the one thing I could have done better along the way is to be specific. To really dig in and figure out “What do I REALLY want?” 

Shakespeare? Film and TV? Musical theatre? Legit theatre? Creating my own work?

I’ve dabbled in a little bit of everything, but never committed to one path, always spouting the same wishy-washy bullshit line: “I just want to make a living acting!” 

So I did make my living “acting”…at kids’ birthday parties, as a mall princess, doing singing telegrams, reading palms at grad parties, being in corporate industrial videos, doing patient simulations for medical students, plus the occasional play that paid a stipend that didn’t even cover parking for the rehearsal period. 

Was that what I REALLY wanted? No! But what I really wanted was too big and scary to really say out loud.

If I had gotten specific and been honest about that, then I could have faced the scary things that it would have taken to get to my goal.

You know the saying…aim for the moon, and even if you miss, you’ll end up among the stars

You know the saying…aim for the moon, and even if you miss, you’ll end up among the stars

How specific can you get?

One time, in my old accountability group, one of the members had said that he wanted to get cast in a feature film. 

That’s at least more specific than “I want to act.” 

But I challenged him to get more specific—

  • What genre of film? 

  • What kind of character? (The dad roles, he said)

  • What kind of dad? 

There’s a huge difference between Liam Neeson’s role in Taken, Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, and Jack Nicholson’s role in The Shining, but they’re all dads. 

Hell, Darth Vader is a dad. 

One day, son, you’ll be a great dad like me!

One day, son, you’ll be a great dad like me!

Time, money, and energy are all limited resources.

Know what you want, and you’ll not only waste a lot less of all three…

But in not scattering these resources, you’ll get what you want a lot more frequently as well.

Are You Strategic or Are You Stuck?

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Are You Strategic or Are You Stuck?

While job postings make finding the jobs easy, the ease with which they’re found means these jobs tend to be oversaturated with applicants. Sometimes, by the time you see them, they’re already filled.

Strategy means seeing that there are a million different moves you can make to get to your goal.

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Branding Conundrums for the Multi-Hyphenate Artist

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Branding Conundrums for the Multi-Hyphenate Artist

As actors, we are selling ourselves. Our persona is what people connect to. Trying to tailor yourself to different audiences, you run the risk of diluting the essence of who you are, and being too bland to really interest anyone. Perfection doesn't sell like it used to…transparency is more relatable.

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In Which Adri and I Do Not Sing Karaoke

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My friend Adri and I have been singing karaoke together for about the past three years.  We have our favorite songs, and we have our karaoke group, and we have our favorite places.  But we also both sing professionally, he with his band Cabs, and I in the occasional musical theatre production or singing telegram.

Recently, a few people in the theater community have been singing cabaret nights at the Troubadour Wine Bar in Minneapolis.  I attended one for my friend Bethany a while back, and chatted with Adrian (different human being altogether) who runs the programming, and ended up booking an evening! (What?!)

For our theme, we've chosen "Songs We Can't Sing at Karaoke"...meaning songs we can never find in anyone's book, or songs we know we just can't get away with there. 

So...my first cabaret night (where I'm not just singing a song or two) will be Monday, October 23rd. Show starts at 8pm, free to the public. Come on down! But make sure to get there early to get a beverage and claim your seat, cuz the place is tiny!

See you on the 23rd for Cab Cabaret at the Troubadour! 

Where Did Last Week Go?

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Hello friends! I just shot a 💣TOP SECRET 💣political ad last week...cuz, campaign season. I got to be on set with a bunch of people I know, including my roommate! It was just an extra gig, so I probably won't be visible anyway, but it was great to be on set! 

 

Also, last week, I performed for the first time at Off-Book, which is this really great improv show at Huge Theater where one actor is off book for a scripted scene, and the other actor doesn't even know what scene they're in and has to improvise the lines between. I was given a scene from John Patrick Shanley's play "Where's My Money?" Talking to the other actors who were doing the scripted part, I found that almost all of them were similarly terrified, whether they had done Off-Book before or not. Most of them were respected actors around town who I'd worked with before, so I really felt like I was in good company. Maybe I'll go do it again sometime, but I'll let the adrenaline wear off first!

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Off-Book

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Next weekend I will be performing for the very first time at a unique improv performance called Off-Book, where the scenes are performed by one actor who is off-book, and one who has no clue what the hell is going on. I will be the off-book person, so I have some memorizing to do this week!  

From the website:

Come see Off-Book,,Saturday, August 20th at 8:00pm |$12 in advance, $14 at the door

Half-scripted, full speed ahead. It is every actor’s nightmare: getting thrown on stage to perform a play you’ve never read. That’s also the premise of Off Book. We have an actor memorize a script, then send them on stage with an improviser who has no idea what’s going on. Then we sit back and watch the magic happen.

A long-time HUGE Theater favorite, adapted with permission from Upright Citizen Brigade’s Gravid Water.

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Evil Twin at the Minnesota Fringe

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It has been a wonderful week and a half at the Minnesota Fringe Festival! We sold out our Friday night show this weekend, and today we almost sold out our final show as well! 

Last Sunday, we were featured on the front page of the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper. 

Look Ma! We're on the cover! 

Look Ma! We're on the cover! 

Although I don't usually read reviews while I am performing in a show, being the producer, marketing person, actor, etc. makes things a little bit different, and I bent my rules and read the two major reviews that we got, One in City Pages and one in the Star Tribune. We were so happy to be featured in two of the top news outlets in the Twin Cities!

 

Our hope is that this show (and the Twins and Fluffy) will have a future beyond the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Perhaps in another festival somewhere exotic and exciting! Or perhaps a whole other adventure for them to go on! In any case, if you'd like to keep up on those things, please like Evil Twin on Facebook, and we will let you know when those things happen!

Fringe Previews #1

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The first of three official MN Fringe Festival previews took place last Monday, and we got added to the lineup just a few days before the show. It was a great evening, with about 30 different shows presenting previews, and we were honored to be chosen by MinnPost's reviewer Pamela Espeland as one of six favorites! Check it out!

 https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2016/07/pick-your-favorites-fringe-previews-dessa-open-oshaughnessys-season

The twins, ready to take Fringe by storm! 

The twins, ready to take Fringe by storm! 

Wicked

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I just started rehearsals for my first ever show at Old Log Theater!  I'm SO EXCITED! And I'm playing a wicked stepsister!

I take that back...WE are so excited.  My roommate Neal is also in the show. Not only do we get to work together, but we can carpool to Excelsior as well. Neal is playing Cinderella's bird friend.

Me, and my fellow steps, Katie Adducci and Brittany Parker!

Only two more weeks of rehearsal and this baby will be on its feet. Get your tickets now!