ARTICLES: fertile ground
Articles by Penelope Brackett
THE BUSINESS OF ART
AND ART OF THE BIZ
May 2000
Artists are courageous, passionate, creative, and hardworking. They love developing their craft, and will go to great lengths to get inside their character. Witness Hillary Swank's month living as a man to prepare for the role in Boys Don't Cry, and the incredible performance that followed. Many artists are working at least two jobs plus late night rehearsals or writing sessions. One of my clients is writing 3 screenplays and 2 plays, plus teaching a class, directing a show and developing industrials for a corporation. Whether they are working exclusively as artists or balancing dual careers, many artists are masters at juggling their personal and professional lives. To develop their business, they will spend time, money, and long lonely hours doing a major mailing, advertising their work or seeking representation. They'll skip meals, dates and vacations in pursuit of their career. That's the great news…
and the bad news.
Below are some specific strategies, I've discovered with artist clients in the pursuit of life and livelihood. Here's a way to good news and great news.
INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS
It's easy to spend your resources, i.e. time and money on something you love, the craft and harder to invest in an area you may be ambivalent about or even hate, namely the business. One of my clients found the perfect acting class to develop her performance and auditioning skills. She got consistently positive feedback from auditions and performances, but the jobs and auditions were scarce. Realizing she needed to invest as much in getting the auditions as in what to do when she got there, she hired me as her coach. We discovered a knack and a habit for doing weekly rounds. She eventually landed an agent through one of her "impromptu" stops.
If you're not a working professional or working in the right area, ask yourself exactly how much time and money you're investing in developing your business. Clarify your goals. Decide what business skills and industry knowledge you need to achieve them, as well as the support to actually follow through, whether that means finding a career development class, a mentor or a career coach.GET A PARTNER
Actors love to be on their own in the limelight, but often don't enjoy the solo performance in their business. The belief that you have to compete and "make it by yourself, the "High Noon" School I call it, can lead to isolation and varying degrees of despondency. Fear of being a burden may also keep us from seeking the support we need.
People like to help their friends, but they need your declaration to know you're ready and specific request to put them into action. One of the first steps of any business plan is to write a list of the people you know and the people you want to know, and get them talking together. In my Actors in Action class we set up a Manager/Client relationship to give peer as well as coaching support to move through your agenda, deal with obstacles and make the most of opportunities. I've also set up partner coaching which includes a structure for two clients managing each other and bimonthly coaching. Some of my full-time clients have also initiated their own partnerships for specific actions such as the phone calls. Doing phone calls together allows you to hear and support each other in your commitment to building the relationship no matter what the circumstances, plus you have the fun of hanging out together. Anyone who's been successful in this business knows that relationship building is the way to enjoying and achieving professional goals.BE CREATIVE
Artists are creative, bright and hard working, but fear of the business can lead to practicing safe, half- hearted or inconsistent business strategies. We often take actions that take lots of time and money, but don't produce results. Prospective clients often come to me having confined their business strategy to mass mailings. Mass mailings are not worth the time or money. Targeted mailings are part of a creative strategy. Use the same courage and creativity in your business that you use in your craft.When you do write a letter, be outrageous. (timed writing, pen to paper, anything you want to say- "the cocktail party is a good context.) Edit from Outrageous draft instead of editing before you've begun. Many have found their outrageous letter to be envelope ready. I have a client who routinely is told she booked the audition because of how enjoyable her letters are. (She still follows up with phone calls.)
HAVE A LIFE
Many artists feel they have to give up their lives to have a career. They forget that acting was a vehicle for enjoying their lives. They begin taking actions in their career and business to "appease the acting gods" rather than to please themselves. They put off taking care of themselves, till they feel their success gives them permission. Yes It's true, if the cash register's not ringing." You want to set regular office hours and a daily strategy for your business. You also want to make sure you've scheduled time off as well as on. Valuing yourself is central to having others value you. One of my first coaching assignments is "five hours of pleasure". My inevitable reply from New York actors is "Consecutive?" "Does sleep count?" Yes, consecutive and of course sleep counts, but not for this assignment. You may remember the story of the golden goose. The farmer cuts the goose open to get more golden eggs. Having a joyful, fulfilling, creative life is the gold. Don't set up a losing formula of when/then. You may find your sight of the joy you seek. Treat yourself well now. We need to vacate, re-create routinely. Beyond the five hours, I suggest you create ten daily habits that comfort, relax, inspire and refresh. Mine include moisturizer, invocation and laughter. The added benefit is when you care of yourself, you attract more of the work you desire, with a lot less push.Being a professional artist is exceptionally challenging and exceptionally rewarding. Apply your courage, passion and creativity to your business as well as your craft, and even more importantly to personal as well as your professional life. Make your life your greatest work of art.
Sow Yourself like a Seed
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