As actors, you may prepare a lot for your auditions, feel ready, open and clear about your choices. And then, when you’re in the audition room you may feel your heart is beating so fast, your hands are sweating, your jaw is so tense and you are so nervous that all the power, clarity and openness you had when you were rehearsing is not there anymore because your nerves take over your entire instrument.
As a consequence of this, you are unable to be your character, defend their needs and show up as great as you know you can. This can be really frustrating since you are unable to be present, instinctive and creative. You can also bring that frustration and fear into the next one. So it is a kind of downward spiral, where there is no pleasure or fulfillment, just survival.
You may have thought there is something wrong with you and that you have not trained enough so you need to do more acting and audition classes to fix this. But then, when another opportunity comes; your nerves hijack your entire system again. And the bigger the opportunity or the role, the more nervous you will get.
When you watch my training below you will discover that the reason for you to be nervous is not because there is something out there that you did not learn and that other people have. Your nerves are not really the issue, but the consequence of what is happening inside. They are just energy that has been stuck for a long time.
What is really happening is that you have been conditioned to behave like others so you can be loved, liked and validated. You’ve never been encouraged to feel what you feel and follow your impulses. So when you feel nervous at an audition or on set, you try to repress it and modify it so you can make the emotion work for everyone else. You may feel embarrassed to be yourself and fear you will not book if you don’t do the scene “right”.
However, as an artist the only thing to do to make art is to honor and express what’s true for you. So what there is to do for you is to actually dig in, go inside of your instrument and look at what's going on in your specific situation, which will be the result of you wanting to honor your truth freely in that moment as an artist.
Watch the training below to hear all my thoughts on this topic.
After you watch the training, I'd love for you to join in the conversation happening in our private Facebook Group THE INSTINCTIVE ACTORS' SOCIETY. You can get answers for your specific situation directly from me and connect with HUNDREDS of like-minded actors across the globe, so we can move things forward faster together.
If you're not already a member, be sure to request to join ASAP here.
See you there!
Jo Kelly
Creator, The Reset Journey From Resistance to Freedom
P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are two ways I can help you:
Get your FREE training on how to STOP TRYING TO BE A GOOD ACTOR SO YOU HAVE A CHANCE AT BEING GREAT
Get on the waitlist for my program, The Reset Journey From Resistance to Freedom, and stop struggling to access your natural, authentic talent in the audition room or on set. You'll learn how to reset your instrument to be 100% instinctive and free in just 33 days.
GET ON WAITLIST: tobeornottoact.com/waitlist
