I just don't know what to do with you...

It's Saturday!

"I just don't know what to do with you..."

Ever heard that before?

I could have had that on every t-shirt as I was actively auditioning and learning how to manage the mine-field.

My answer of course was: "HIRE ME DAMMIT!"

However,  alas,  not so much...

Why?

Why was I told they didn't know what to do with me?

Why was I told how talented,  how musical,  how beautiful my voice was,  how skilled I was,  and then .... crickets?

It's about that damn audition room again.  It's about being an artist,  and having to negotiate that audition room.

We do too much.  Yes, we do.

We see the same people getting called back or hired.  What are they doing they we are not?

They aren't.  They aren't doing so much.

Too simple?  Perhaps,  but consider this.

Auditions are an opportunity to be hired.  Too much information in a short time,  even if the person on the other side of the table has imagination and knowledge,  is just too much information.  No time to sift through all that of that - so - NEXT!

So,  now the question is:  what do YOU do with you?

Quit trying so hard.

The perkiness,  the eager to please,  the desperation...way too much.

Quit trying so hard to look or seem indifferent.

The playing around with "I'm not impressed" doesn't work either.

What do you want to show them in the room?

Don't answer so quickly.  See?  That's part of the problem.  You have TONS to show them and that's why they don't know what to do with you,  if YOU don't decide precisely WHAT you will show.

You do not reveal everything.  You do not reveal most things.  You invite them to see one,  maybe two things during that audition/interview that intrigues them enough to call you back:  where you show them a little bit more.

Always leave them wanting more.

Do not leave them confused.

Often, as artists, because our internal lives and therefore our craft process is very complex,  we don't realize how to simplify.  It seems ridiculous to us.  It doesn't seem as if it's enough to be that simplistic in the room.

Really?  That's IT?!  That's ALL I have to do?

Yes, darling,  pick ONE thing to reveal in the room the first time.  Don't angst.  Just focus and do it.

When I began to figure that out and actually do it,  they finally knew what to do with me!

AND I wasn't exhausted after the audition like I had been.  I actually had enough energy to stay present in the room,  do my work,  simplify and leave and have energy to pick up the rest of my day instead of blinding wander back into the street and figure out how I could catch a nap.

Start exploring how you simplify for the audition.  What do you want to reveal?
Start with 3 or 4 things.
Then decide out of those 3 or 4 things what are uniquely you.  Narrow the choices to 1 or 2.

How will you execute those choices?

How will you stay present as you walk into the room with those choices?

How will you breathe in those choices as you prepare to sing?

It feels too simple doesn't it?

But it's not,  yet it is precisely right.

Not too much,  not too little,  but just right.

If you've done the work - if you can rely on your craft,  on your skill,  on your technique in all areas of your work:  voice,  acting,  presentation,  professionalism  - then there is nothing to hide or nothing to hide behind.

This gives you many choices that you can enjoy deciding from.  It isn't about throwing out ideas;  it's about deciding what to reveal today.  You may choose differently tomorrow depending on the call,  the opportunity,  the song choice and your energy!

These are not tricks.  These are decisions.  Decisions can be made because you are committed to craft.  Craft allows you to access more of what YOU will offer.

Offer what you have in small doses.  Give them something they will know what to do with,  instead of throwing the bag on the table and looking up and expecting them to choose.

The rest will follow.

All of your artistic "burn"  will find a place to unfold when you have an opportunity work a callback and then book the role and embody that!

Let's turn "I just don't know what to do with you"  into  "I know JUST what I can do with you"!

Are You READY?

It's holiday season...

It's opera audition season...

It's always theatre audition season...

Sometimes, it's successful,  sometimes it doesn't seem to be.

If you aren't getting the auditions,  or the callbacks if you get the auditions;  if you aren't getting seen;  if you feel frustrated,  disappointed,  despondent, ready to take a hiatus...

Your feelings are valid.  Acknowledge them,  give them permission to exist and let them move through so you can get to the next.

What is the next?

A simple, yet complex question:  Are you ready?

Your answer may be:  Yeah, but Susan, ready for what?  I am not getting seen/getting appointments/getting callbacks/getting ANYTHING.

Ah, but what happens WHEN they call?  WHEN you get the audition appointment?

If you are stubborn and crazy enough to pursue this career choice (and you have to be a little or a lot of both!) - you have to be ready.

Once the disappointment wears away,  get your big girl panties on and GET TO WORK.

There is nothing more devastating than to watch someone who SAYS they want a career,  who may go through disappointing seasons of no work/no auditions,  suddenly get an opportunity, and they just are not ready.

It happens more than you think.

Make a commitment to yourself this season.  Make a commitment to be ready.

Sometimes you wonder if a casting director, or an artistic director even remembers you.  Then, out of the blue,  you get a call.  Are your ready?  (and that's not a story, it DOES happen)

What are you doing to be ready?

Is your voice is tip top shape?  Are you studying regularly enough,  are you practicing consistently to access your talent at will?

Are your arias ready to sing and PERFORM?

Is your audition book ready so if the casting director says "what else have you got in there?"  you could sing that cut exactly the way you want it?

Do you know what you want them to see about YOU in an audition?

Vocally?  Dramatically?

Are you ready to take on those roles or those projects that you say you want?

Is your head shot working?

Is your resume up to date?

Have you up'd your game in order to stand out for all the right reasons once you have a chance to show them what you do?

What if that phone call came today?  Are you going to get excited,  get focused and prep or are you going to start making excuses as to why it might not work?

If you say you want it,  then DO IT.  Prepare even when the opportunity isn't beckoning you.  Prepare precisely because it is not there.  This allows you the opportunity to be ready when the pressure isn't breathing down your throat!

Is the presentation of YOU accessible at a moment's notice?  This is the time to assess and ponder and then do something about that!

Little secret:  the business isn't going anywhere.  You can take some time to get yourself in order to truly be ready when the call comes and they want to see you this afternoon, tomorrow or next week.

So, instead of letting the lack of work, auditions, callbacks get you down - let it be permission to get it all together!  Organize!  Plan!  Study!  Practice!  Discover!  BE!!!!

Yes, sometimes being ready means you hurry up and wait.  Waiting doesn't mean dormant.  Waiting means prepared.  Our business is fickle,  and it's temperamental and it changes its mind quickly.  If you aren't ready to meet the challenge when the opportunity beckons or demands your attention,  you will be stuck in your own decisions.

The opportunity will come.  Be ready for what you need to do, in order to DO IT.

Don't settle for kinda, sorta,  maybe.

Kinda, sorta, maybe isn't memorable for the right reasons.

You want it?  You gotta go get it when it presents itself.

That's the best gift you can give yourself this season:  ALL OF YOU!