The Gift of Time.

Here we are, 50-some odd days into this quarantine. Like many of you, I have so many feelings about this very strange and unsettling time. 

We have no idea what the future of our industry is going to look like. We don’t know when things will be back to “normal,” or if they are ever going to be “normal” again. Is the future of our industry going to be an endless stream of zoom calls and IGTV? Will we ever be able to perform to a full house again? Will we ever be in a hot and stuffy holding room with WAY too many people WAY too early in the morning ever again? The amount of uncertainty is overwhelming. 

Instead of being overcome with fear, depression and anxiety about what the future holds for us, what if we reframed this as a gift? A gift of time. Time to work on developing some skills that you feel less than stellar about, or diving into that role you’ve always wanted to play but never carved out the time to work on. Maybe it's that inconsistent high C in the song you absolutely LOVE to sing or that f***ing backbend in the Cassie dance.

Maybe it’s finally learning some music theory so you don’t have to google “what key is 4 flats?” ever again. Instead of being at an audition wishing you had more time to work on your cut, or your flexibility, or whatever, you are at home with the time to work on all those things with ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE. Now is the time to indulge in the challenge of getting better. Legendary acting teacher, Larry Moss, once wrote that the only essential ingredient for a healthy acting career was “the thrill of the challenge to be a better actor”.

Maybe, for you, it looks more like taking the time to reconnect to why you got into this business in the first place. Why do you still do it? What do you want to accomplish with it? Why do you want to be on Broadway? Maybe you don’t, maybe it looks like something else for you, and that’s OKAY! Use this time to ask yourself these hard questions and get clear about what your special talents can offer this world. 

“Take a breath, Take a step, Take a chance…..Take your time.”

Annnnnd…ACTION: Brainstorm a list of all the things you want to work on with this time you’ve been gifted. Get crazy, get outlandish, get CREATIVE. Then pick one. What can you do in the next week to take action on that? Today? In the next ten minutes? Tell us in the comments below what you have chosen to work on so that we can cheer you on!