Casting Your Net
This Article I wrote was posted on the online publication known as Max It Magazine.
I remember it like it was a year and a half ago, pretty much because that is when it was. I was taking two acting classes (3 nights/wk), performing on stage at least once a week (sometimes 2), and was practicing with my improv team (1 night). There’s nothing like exercising your craft in front of people, especially when its somewhere between 5-6 nights a week. It felt great. My acting was feeling really good. I was accessible to my feelings, I was alert, and my improv was witty (although, let’s be honest, I’m always witty). However, despite all of this, something was missing; an audience. At least the type of audience that is going to hire me for paid work.
In a moment of clarity, I believe after a wonderful topical discussion by The Actors Network founder, Kevin E. West, called “Industry Bullseye”, I realized something. The question, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” finally made more sense to me than ever before. I wasn’t being heard. My craft was running on high, but if no one even knew I was in Los Angeles, it wasn’t going to make a lick of difference. So, I had to make some changes.
Two of my wonderful mentors, Marc and Elaine Zicree
What did I do? Well, I put more emphasis on meeting people. And not just a what-can-you-do-for-me type of relationship, but the type where you foster something meaningful and long lasting. I found networking groups to attend, I’ll go to parties, I’ll attend panels, and I’ll volunteer my time and/or skills with folks that I want to get to know. A guy I know used the phrase recently, “Leading with Value”. And if you can approach someone with something that is also helpful to them, then it makes them want to know you.
Mr. West’s topical discussion pointed out to me the importance of building relationships with the small group of people at the top that can actually higher you. Kevin stated that there are approximately 500 people that run Hollywood at any given time. And you have to ask yourself, “How many of them know me?” If you know these power people and they like you, you are leaps and bounds closer to having your goals actualized.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have not abandoned the importance of my craft, I’ve just tried to balance things so that there is additional emphasis on the people I know and that know me. When people say, “It’s all who you know,” there’s a lot of validity to that, but it’s actually, “Who you know, and who likes you.” You have to be ready when these opportunities come. One of my favorite quotes is, “Success happens when readiness meets opportunity.” So you have to keep your craft strong, so that when you do get that opportunity, you’ll be ready. And I like to create more opportunities by casting out my net wide in hopes that I’ll be able to pull in some of those big fish.
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