When the Auditions Stop: What to Do During a Dry Spell | Powerhouse Conversations Ep. 32

Hello. Hello. Welcome to Powerhouse Conversations. We are talking today. Actually, before I dive in, I'm going to go live on Instagram. Sweet. We're there. Welcome. Today we're going to talk about something that I think every actor at some point in their career has dealt with and that is the dreaded dry spell. Right? You you know they come on kind of suddenly. So you're realizing that you haven't received any emails from your agent in a while or you know you haven't gotten any calls in a while and the last self tape you sent you got no feedback on. It just went out into the void. And the days go by and the days go by and the weeks go by and you realize like it's been a while since I actually had an audition. Like what is freaking going on here? Every actor has this to some extent. Almost nobody knows what to do when you're inside a dry spell. Most of us will just like white knuckle it. We'll wait. We'll worry. We'll keep looking at our inbox to see what's going on. you know, just it's just that repetitive cycle of worry and anxiety. And so today is going to be super short, super simple. We're going to talk about what a dry spell is and what it isn't and three specific things that you can do when you find yourself inside a dry spell. All right, so let's go clip that. All right, so first what it isn't. I want to talk about like what a dry spell does not mean. It does not mean that you're cooked. It does not mean that your career sucks. It does not mean that the industry has decided that you are a terrible actor and you have no talent and you'll never work again. I know that sounds kind of cra silly to say it like that, but I think those are the thoughts that go through some of our heads when this is happening. were like, "Oh my god, like I'm never this is the end." Right? So if if you can resonate with that honestly, like let me know. Um we have to understand that the industry isn't thinking about you at all during these times. And that is not me trying to insult you. It's me trying to comfort you. There's no meeting that's like Asia Ray Coleman never going to work again. Let's not call her in right now. Right. Quiet seasons are structural. Casting has rhythms. There's less of a rhythm than before when like networks dominated television. Um but there are seasons, right? Productions cluster, budgets freeze, we've gone through strikes, we, you know, market shifts, holidays, you know. So, some of that has nothing to do with you whatsoever, but some of that is information, right? Sometimes a dry spell is information for us on what what we need to do to kind of adjust the way that we are um presenting ourselves or being perceived or represented or all that. So, you find out which one you are by doing some specific things instead of just waiting and worrying. That doesn't help. So the real definition of a dry spell is a stretch of silence uh in terms of audition opportunities that is either seasonal or it can be diagnostic and your job is to figure out which one it is. That's it. It doesn't mean you're a failing actor. It means you're an actor who's not getting any auditions right now. And those are wildly different things and we're going to approach them very differently. Clip that. So, I want to talk today about three things that you can do during a dry spell. Hi, Linda. And we're going to um break these down one by one. And it's not not 12 things, right? Three things, super simple. The first one is that we're going to check on what's going on here. We're going to spend one honest hour looking at diagnosing where you are, what you're doing, what's going on. If you have reps, pull your submission numbers, right? If you self-submit, look at what you're submitting. Are there submissions that are going out, but you're not getting any auditions from them? That's a materials question, right? We need to look at your headshots. We need to look at your video stuff, your real, your clips, the story that's being told on your profile. Now, is it that submissions are barely going out at all? That's going to be a strategy question. That's going to be a rep question conversation, right? Did everything slow down marketwide, right? Talk to some of your actor friends. See if things are slow for them, too. Right? If everyone's slow right now, then it's probably a season. And one caveat here that you want to talk to people who are kind of in the same category as you. You know, my manager was just saying a couple weeks ago that he's seeing so many breakdowns for like actors in their early 20s, like lots of shows that are looking for actors of that type, like, you know, like late teens. And um, you know, that's not me. So, I'm not going to talk to some actor in his late teens who's like, I'm going out five times a day and then feel terrible about it. Like, doesn't make sense. Make sure we're looking at data instead of just staring at the silence and drawing conclusions from that. Silence tells you nothing and the data always tells you something. Clip that. Now, the next thing that I want you to do inside a dry spell is make sure that you're keeping your relationships warm. Outreach should never pause during this time. And yet so often I find that it does because when things go quiet, actors go quiet too because they feel like they have nothing to say. They have no news to report. Nothing's going on and so they disappear. And that is exactly like the opposite of what should be happening. The dry spell is the best time for outreach because first of all, you have time. You're not doing a bunch of self tapes and just frazzled and running around and whatever. But you're also able to reach out with no ask, with no agenda, which is really the most powerful kind of outreach that there is. We talk about this a lot in my community. So, make sure during a dry spell you are sending making one power move a day. You're sending a congratulations to someone who booked something or a casting director who just had a show get picked up or you're checking in with a director that you worked with last year. I had a Zoom meeting with a director that I um worked with a couple three years ago and we talked about a project that he is in the process of writing for me, right? Like that was an incredibly inspiring and exciting meeting to have. And if I was in a dry spell, that would make a total difference, a shift in my mindset, right? Thank you to a casting office who's called you in before. You're not reaching out to say, "Where are my auditions? What's going on?" You're reaching out as a human being who's keeping their circle warm. That's it. Because the thing about dry spells is they do end. They will end. And they'll end more quickly if you do this. And when they do, the people who kept their relationships warm during the quiet times are the ones that the opportunities come to. Okay, you're planting those seeds and getting ready for the next season. That's all. Clip that. Now, the third thing that I want to talk about that you're going to do during a dry spell is you are going to stay in what I call creation mode. You're going to protect your identity as an artist, right? Because the most dangerous thing I think about a dry spell isn't that the lack of auditions or bookings or whatever. is what that silence does to your mindset, your identity. Um, and you know that voice that creeps in and says, "Am I even an actor? Like nothing's going on for me." So what do you do? You create. You create. Not for Instagram, the Instagram algorithm, not for Tik Tok, whatever, not for casting even, but for the muscle of creating, for your own soul as an artist. Just keep doing the work. Tape a monologue you love. Do a reading in your living room uh with friends. We have a playwriting group that we get together once a month and read a play. It is so great. Write. Make that short film that you've had an idea for for the last two years that you haven't done yet. Do morning pages. Do the artist way. Anything that keeps you in contact with yourself as an artist. Because guess what? When you start getting those eco-casts again, you're going to be so much more ready to walk into that room and book. If you keep this going, you don't need anyone's permission to be an actor. A booking may be how you get paid, but creating is how you stay an actor. Clip that. All right, so this was a quick one, but I hope it was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Um but yeah this is just this is it. It's very simple right and the exact playbook the diagnosis steps your outreach rhythm and how to how to do your outreach the creation practice all of that is what we do together inside the table all year in every season. And I will tell you those dry spells hit different when you are surrounded by a community when you're not in them alone. when you have someone to talk to about them and when you have a community who's making moves right alongside you and reminding you who you are. So, the link is in the Facebook or in the YouTube description. I guess it's on Facebook as well, but it's claimat.com. So, go check it out. Let me know if you have any questions. Um, so yeah, check the machine, keep your circle warm, and keep creating because you are an artist and you need that for your soul. Nobody can take that away from you. All right, hope that's helpful. I'll see you next week.