As a recent guest speaker at an Actors Expo, I met several actors who were freaking out over feedback they received at a pay-to-meet seminar with agents and casting directors who were paid to give advice.
But here’s the thing: when actors trust a professional to give advice, they make the assumption that 1) the feedback will be good or at least constructive and 2) that they need the feedback. While we all love admiration and praise, feedback can be a double-edged sword if it skews on the more negative or constructive side of the spectrum, creating confusion, hurt, and self-doubt.
Actor-entrepreneurs live in a vacuum, not knowing why a role was cast, what someone thought of us after an audition, or if what they said to our agent was accurate. “Really? They thought I was great? Then why wasn’t I cast or at least called back?” It’s hard to decipher the reality from the hopeful wishes and misinformation or wrong advice.
But feedback is also a necessary part of growing as both actors and humans. We can only rely on our opinions of ourselves so much before we also must look to trusted outside resources for constructive advice.
That said, the first thing you need to know about feedback is that you should be
As a recent guest speaker at an Actors Expo, I met several actors who were freaking out over feedback they received at a pay-to-meet seminar with agents and casting directors who were paid to give advice.
But here’s the thing: when actors trust a professional to give advice, they make the assumption that 1) the feedback will be good or at least constructive and 2) that they need the feedback. While we all love admiration and praise, feedback can be a double-edged sword if it skews on the more negative or constructive side of the spectrum, creating confusion, hurt, and self-doubt.
Actor-entrepreneurs live in a vacuum, not knowing why a role was cast, what someone thought of us after an audition, or if what they said to our agent was accurate. “Really? They thought I was great? Then why wasn’t I cast or at least called back?” It’s hard to decipher the reality from the hopeful wishes and misinformation or wrong advice.
But feedback is also a necessary part of growing as both actors and humans. We can only rely on our opinions of ourselves so much before we also must look to trusted outside resources for constructive advice.
That said, the first thing you need to know about feedback is that you should be
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