There's No Business Like...

 "Keep the heart out of the art because the business will rip it apart," is how Scott Wojcik of Wojcik-Seay Casting began his business class.  He claims he didn't mean for that to rhyme but it certainly did and it works. The statement also holds very true. Sadly, anything that the world has to offer whether it be a natural resource or a person's talent someone, somewhere, will find a way to make money off of it.  Parks are one of my favorite things and thank goodness there isn't a price tag on those yet.  However there is a monetary value on almost everything else especially entertainment. With the masses yearning for their 5 minutes of fame (I remember when it was 15) it has become a lot harder for a sole individual to "sell" themselves because the next person down the line might not only be able to sing, but sing while doing a hand stand.  At that moment singing takes the backseat and we're now interested in the physical demand of the hand stand instead. Even though you might have invested more time and genuine passion into training for the art of singing, the producer will push you aside because the acrobatic vocalist reads more $$$ dollar signs. This isn't to say one is better than the other, it's just a matter of who will make more money. Now, Scott isn't proposing that we all learn to sing while doing a hand stand. Instead he realistically warns us that we have to put aside our passion and love for the work, for just a moment, while we put on our business caps and start thinking of ways to make ourselves stand out in the crowd without jeopardizing our integrity.

I've always been a rebellious one. I have a problem with authority and am constantly trying to break down walls to get people to understand that a manager or the president, for that matter, is nothing more than a human being like you and I. Of course there are boundaries and levels of respect but on the simplest level, everyone can make mistakes; everyone can be wrong. I lead with the mantra, " Just because that's the way it is, doesn't mean it's the right or best way."  I always yearn to make some sort of change in this brutal bureaucratic world we live in. Yet, a wise friend once explained to me that the only way to make change is from the inside out. He was SO right. I might not like the money-hungry attitudes and the sense of entitlement in this business but the only way to induce a change for the better is to show that I belong and that I too can set my own values and standards of behavior and procedure. Sometimes you DO have to "play by the rules of someone else's game," and then you can actually "Defy Gravity." If only Elphaba knew what I know.

As young actors starting off in this business, we are comparable to a small start-up company, as Jennie Geoffroy explains. As a start up company, we need to brand ourselves and inform the community of what we have to offer. All aspects of ourselves, not just our talent, are things that we need to think about and hone in on when presenting them to the rest of the industry. Everything from our clothing, our headshot, our website; all the way down to our actual email address and the font we use has an impact on the how the industry will perceive our person. The important aspect of all this, is to not be fake and not choose things that you think the people on the other end will like.  Instead be specific to yourself and find what is unique to you. Choose things that you like and believe will show you off the best. If you like you, then they'll like you. However, with any new company, there are tests and evaluations that are to be made before the consumer can be assured that your product will deliver. We have to remember that, as we venture off into this large competitive field, not only do we have to be unique and genuine but also skillful and reliable. We are responsible for ourselves; our brand, and we must make sure that our brand develops an indestructible reputation. We want to be Apple. We want to be Starbucks.

It may all sound daunting and disheartening when we think about the greedy masterminds surrounding theater but our job as actors is to just be as secure and self-knowing as possible so that we can assure those money-making fiends that we have it taken care off. We know who we are, we know what we can offer and we know what we're worth.  At the end of the day, self awareness is the most useful tool to an actor in the business. We can't constantly be trying to earn the approval of every casting director we meet. Instead knowing our capabilities and knowing what we are marketable as will certainly advance us in this crowded fish bowl.

I don't know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone. - Bill Cosby

~ Michael-Anthony 
P.S.  I don't think I can do a hand stand.