The question is why is acting a good career? In this video, you'll get the answer to that question. Well, let's start with leading the heart-centered life. So, lead the heart-centered life. What else is there? So, in our Saturday class we deal with the art of acting, the business of it, and the balance. Sometimes known as the spirituality of it. Let me jump to the business end of it for a moment. Why is acting a good career? Well, it's a growth industry folks. Take this into account. In the 70s, there were scripted shows, prime-time shows on TV, somewhere around 36 to 38 television shows meaning non-game shows. Reality television did not exist yet. When I began producing in the early 90s there were 103 scripted shows on television. I know, because the first one I did for CVS was number one for the week. We were very excited about that. Because we beat Seinfeld, home improvement, and a personal favorite er, we beat those. So, 103 scooped it shows that was 1992-1993. Last year, over 500 scripted shows on television, okay. We have students on shows on networks I didn't even know existed and they're doing shall we say, really well? So, a growth business, all of those shows need actors. One of the things you know actors will say to me, "Well, I'm 30, I'm 40, I'm 50, I'm 60, I'm 70. Am I too old? I'm too old to be an actor", and I go, "Yeah, you should probably put your head in the oven tonight and just call it because yeah it's really too old for you". No, it's not too late. Why? You know, an older actor who recently passed a dear friend of ours being me and Emily told me in my 20s when I acted with him he said, "You know, if you stay with this game past 40 suddenly there's a whole lot of work", because people fall off, people that start in their 20s, they have a baby, priority shift right and before you know it you look around and you're going all the people that you started with two-thirds of them are gone. They just went they just moved on to other things. So, if you stay with this but the thing about storytelling folks we need actors of all ages. You know there's one leading guy and one leading gal is a rule and then there's everybody else and they're all ages and we need the principal of the school and the guy that owns the cafe and the driver of the bus. I mean, it's truly incredible how much work there is over 500 scripted shows. Remember, you're guilty as an actor until you're proven talented so make sure you have an unshakable skill set before you go into this. But more than anything full self-expression, right. It's a tragic thing to leave this life with your song unsung. So, follow your heart. Remember, we're always transmitting and we're always receiving if the receiver is turned on. Right now you're watching this. You're presumably not listening to music at the same time because that receiver is closed. When you're done here you could open that up and the music will be there all the time. The music is always playing. One of my students just came off the air of multiple seasons on a show at $150,000 an episode. Tell that to your parents younger folks or older folks it's a lot of dope. These numbers are for people that know their business. You know what people don't think about is to work in film or television particularly in television can be an 80-hour week, 65-hour week, you're making a lot of money but your life has pretty much been purchased and it's not for weak people. You know in other videos, we talked about how acting is more like a sport than it's an art. It's for really strong people folks. You know if you're fragile, you know I know people some that I love that if they're under-slept it's dangerous for them. You know this is you're underslept a whole lot of the time. So, is this a hobby for you? Is this a business for you? You've got to be made of stern stuff. So, subscribe below and write stuff in the comments. So, why is acting a good career? It deepens your relationship with yourself. There are two primary reasons why actors fail write this down folks. Unaddressed psychological blocks. If you think you don't deserve success you will fail. So, I'm a big believer in counseling.
You know, look at where that comes from when people say to me, "God, you know I love this so much but I have a fear of success", another clue that you may be in need of some counseling if this is what you really want for a career. But that's one reason why actors fail. I find the primary reason lack of discipline, right. But you know the great thing about discipline, you can do it. You can teach anybody to do it. Babies aren't born disciplined. If you want to play in the NBA you know there are certain requirements there perhaps that nobody can help you with but maybe there are some shorter folks that play there. But you know discipline is a choice. Yeah, I believe that acting is a choiceless choice it chooses you. When people ask me, you know do you think I should be an actor? My first response is definitely not. You don't think I'm talented? I go, you didn't ask me that. You asked me if I thought you should be an actor. If you need to ask anybody the answer is, no, it's a calling. Do I hear it? Yes. I need to follow that call. So, listen to your gut, listen to your gut. Gut level feeling. That's your talent, that's your talent. It's innate in all of us. Okay, so, and remember folks you are the ceo the chief executive officer of your acting corporation. One of the things that I love about training people in these various disciplines and this is what happened for me too is I really encourage you to fall in love with at least one of the disciplines. Whether it's stage combat. One of the gals who went through our school is now a fight choreographer. She came in as an actor. She still acts but she also works as a fight choreographer. We've had people turn into stunned people, voice and speech coaches, something called the Alexander technique which is a part of our curriculum which is all about alignment and how it relates to freeing your voice. I'm a huge believer in teaching something because it takes the focus off you. Every good parent is a teacher first and foremost, right. Fall in love with that and you'll find that what you're teaching is teaching you, yeah and that will really inform your acting work and when you have other avenues of expression, you'll find that when you have an audition it just doesn't become such a big thing because it's not your only avenue of self-expression. So, everyone's a teacher and in your teaching let go of self-judgment it ruins everything. But the most important thing here, why is acting a good career? It builds inner stability which is the most vital tool in the age we live in. So, see you at how to perform on stage for the first time.
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