Podcast 09: There is no room to be a dilettante + newsletter

Podcast 09: There is no room for being a dilettante + Marysia's newsletter [ 15:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“There is no room for being a dilettante as an actor” Sir Richard Eyre informed me tonight.

He wasn’t accusing me, just answering my question regarding his experience of working of some of Britain’s greatest actors of the last thirty plus years.
This is the  weekly podcast newsletter where we track our creativity but first I set a 13 minute task of the day inspired by successful creatives telling me the importance of hard work and unrelenting focus as a creative. Even William Blake got his oar in.

Brief show notes

Ken Collard, his website
“The starting point is that it’s absolutely possible, there is no reason why, if you are half decent as an actor, there is no reason why you cant get consistent work.”

His favourite quote is by Daisaku Ikeda, SGI President, the lay organisation of Nicherin Buddhists

“Press on, nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not, the world is full of educated derelicts. Perserverance and determination alone are omnipotent”

“Persistence – you have got to keep going, even though it is incredibly difficult, develop it!”

James Purefoy @JamesPurefoy
Some of his other gems on speaking Shakespeare I will post tomorrow

“Be proactive, there is no such thing as resting.
Work begets work
If you are not proactive then give up, you have to get auditions, get in the loop.”

Sir Richard Eyre, the director
NB I took so many notes at his Q&A today it will be a few days before i pop them up on the blog

“Actors need to be heard and be serious at what they do, they need to take their job seriously and work hard. There is no room to be a dilettante”

Blake’s poem – Jerusalem, the unofficial British anthem
‘Bring me my Bow of burning gold;

Bring me my Arrows of desire:

Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!

Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,

Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:

Till we have built Jerusalem,

In Englands green & pleasant Land”
Beneath the poem Blake inscribed an excerpt from the Bible: “Would to God that all the Lord’s people were Prophets”: Numbers chapter 11, verse 29

All these people were saying ‘Decide who you are (actor/artist/dancer/….), commit and then get very serious about the business of your craft & getting better.

13 minute task of the day

So sit down no distractions
Decide what you are – actress, singer, painter
Write down
1) what you know you need to focus on in your craft, technical development
2) for the business of ur craft
What it is that you need to ‘not cease from mental fight’ from

Then today commit to doing one thing every day for your craft & one thing for the business of your craft even if it is just 10 minutes a day on each

Weekly Tracking Time
The following is what we need to track each week as a look back in brief, full explanations are in a previous podcast .

How many CV’s and emails did you send out for creative work?
How many creative jobs did you actually do, whether 8 shows a week, a gallery opening or a song in a children hospice?
How many auditions and meetings for creative projects?
How many classes and workshops did you do?
How much practise done that week, how much each day?
How much money made through your creative pursuits?
What marketing of your creative output did you do and what revenue generation plans put in place?
Did you learn or see anything new or worth exploring creatively?

If it is zero then dont feel guilty, just look at the coming week and endeavour to do better. Each week track these statistics and review the same day every week. Your creativity and bank balance will thank you for it!

Love Your Creativity.com is dedicated to all creatives trying to make great work and make a living from it.

About Marysia and Love Your Creativity
I blog at least three times a week on creativity and techniques to get your art on.
Whether you are a musician, an actor or a choreographer I endeavour to make https://loveyourcreativity.com is a place to come for inspiration and motivation.

I also podcast interviews and this weekly newsletter via podcast with a 13 minute task.

The dance music I use Londontown, is a track I wrote years ago and Andrew Hyde and I are currently working on 3 remixes of it. We will be releasing it very soon as a dance track, dub step mix and bar mix.  I figured if I was going to podcast I may as well use my own tune! The other bits of music are me, my inspiration and whatever instrument is lying around!!.

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