Game Plan

Now that I haven’t had something to do every single day, I have been able to sit back and analyze where I am at and what I have achieved this summer. There are a lot of things I am so happy and proud of, but I also think I missed out on a lot. Not that I would have gotten all of the parts, but there were a lot of roles I didn’t even submit myself for because I thought I would be ACTRA by the middle of July. As it turns out, it probably won’t be until the end of September, maybe later, and that’s okay, I just need to stop planning based on things I don’t actually have a timetable for. There’s an expression about not counting your chickens before the eggs hatch, and I definitely learnt it this summer. From now on, I will take Carolyne’s advice and submit for all of the non-union stuff until I have my ACTRA number in hand. I will also not sit around and wait to be called for extra work, or for things to happen. There are a lot of things I am planning to do ‘as soon as I am ACTRA’ which I know make sense, but there’s no reason I can’t prepare everything before then. I am going to be proactive, not reactive about my career, as suggested in an article on making it in Hollywood. There doesn’t seem to be a secret answer to becoming a working actor, but I think as long as you keep at it and are always doing something, you’ll eventually make it.

So, I have spent a lot of the past week working on my short and long term goals, where I want to be in 6 months or a year, and more importantly, how do I make these goals and dreams come true. I have already signed up for ballet classes, and will be starting back up with Suzanna in a few weeks, which kind of takes a load off my shoulders. It may be counterintuitive that more work would make me feel less stressed, but there is something about being out of class for a while that makes you stir-crazy. If you’re constantly on set filming things or watching talented actors work, it isn’t so bad, but when you’re spending a lot of time at your day job, you need to get back to being creative and acting. I have 10 days to go 🙂

For those of you who are my facebook friends, you will notice that I did the ALS ice bucket challenge last weekend. There has been a lot of criticism on the idea of wasting drinking water and posting a video of yourself to supposedly find a cure for ALS, but the point is to do something big, that people will see, in order to raise awareness, so more people will donate, like everyone who took the challenge is supposed to have done. I think it’s an amazing idea and it’s clearly working. After doing the challenge myself, I drove to Ottawa with Steve, so that he and Rikki could also do the challenge. It was a nice excuse for a road trip and a night out with the cousins. We checked out Mosaika, a light show on parliament, which you should definitely check out if ever you find yourself in Ottawa 🙂

On Wednesday, Carolyne and I caught up at Starbucks, where I got to have my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. A bit early, and I’m not ready to see summer go, but the PSL and watching If I Stay afterwards definitely got me in the mood for Fall. If you’ve read the book or seen the trailer for If I Stay, you know watching it will make you cry, but it is also an excellent primer for reading the second book, Where She Went, so that you cry upon random passages where there is nothing actually sad. You’ve been warned.

I am now off to have lunch with my dad, then will organize all of my goals to form a cohesive Game Plan for the next few months, especially September. Starting tomorrow, I plan on truly following Hugh Jackman’s pre-X-Men plan, of working on it 7 days a week, giving it your all for 5 years. I also think I might get back to posting monthly or weekly goals on here, since I seem to work better when I have someone to hold myself accountable to 😉

“Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.”
-Miguel Angel Ruiz