How to get the right mindset on press reviews

'How to get the right mindset on press reviews”" from Marysia Trembecka LYC Podcast by Marysia Trembecka with Ryan James Lock [ 39:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this Seventh coaching session podcast Ryan James Lock continues to coach me on how to market myself and my work, achieving my big goals, looking at my mindset and tackle my limiting beliefs and overcome procrastination. This week was all about press reviews and how to approach reading  and recovering from them. Ryan has a PR background, having had his own business and then moving into celebrity and brand consultancy on how to get a strategy to get into the media and also Ryan himself features regularly across the world. I wanted to ask him about press and reading reviews. I am in a play at the moment  and we are getting the press reviews coming through. I have a firm no reading of reviews policy as I do not find it helps me do my job as an actor. Part of the reason I don’t read reviews is my experience in Edinburgh Festivals where you have students reviewing who have no idea of the process nor the craft. I now want constructive criticism only from my director and the writer. Bad reviews don’t help you get on stage and do a great show, yes one is always learning and there are technical issues but the press can even get this wrong, I remembered an example of a Times reviewer saying a certain pop singer was pitchy and me overhearing my very famous and brilliant singing teacher call her management and say ‘she was perfectly in tune’, I’d trust my old singing teacher more than a reviewer on this 😉

I currently have an interesting time with the reviews as I understand we need them for promotion, and I know we are getting as actors great reviews even if they don’t love the play, which people are loving or hating. All artists remember the negative reviews and dismiss the positive ones. Ryan’s response is that a review is just one person’s opinion. What is very dangerous to people who are their own brand,, when you step up on stage and you sing or act, not only are you but you are also the brand, hence you are vulnerable. He knows many people don’t read reviews and it is sensible to ignore them especially if the reviewer is a student who has no real understanding.

He has done a YouTube video on dealing with bad press, if you have indeed read the reviews:

1)Be objective in what can I learn from this

2)Look at the person writing it, do they embody of what you want. He quotes  from the film ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ ‘Don’t listen to people who don’t have what you want’, if you want riches don’t listen to those who are always poor

3)To really understand that it is just an opinion. Ryan asks when I say I don’t read them is that because I worry something will hurt or that it just makes me less focused?

I mention Steven Berkoff, the director/writer recently on Facebook saying how he doesn’t read reviews as he has so much bad criticism over the years but he had to post an intelligent review as they are so rare. I am very aware how a good review can really help, indeed we have had great reviews  and theatres already talking about the show transferring so I am not bitter and twisted on this. However I know great reviews can help the brand, me, sales of tickets etc. So there is an argument to get someone else to read them to see if we use them to promote. Ryan said find either a publicist, a friend, someone who is objective. We all have a sense of insecurity and it is a bad cycle to get into to be allowed to be swayed by negative comments. Wise people aren’t swayed, it is psychological well-being, you should not feel validated if people say you are great and invalidated if they don’t like you.

I gave an example of hearing a tune ‘October Arrival’ by Steve Waterman, an amazing jazz trumpeter and asked if I could write some lyrics to it. I then, 6 weeks later, was asked to perform it in front of the 30 piece orchestra with my own lyrics. I was so terrified I couldn’t breathe. We started with me coming in an octave lower than I had meant to. All the way through I was shaking, I came to the middle ten (not 8, it is a jazz tune ;-)) I went to go up to the chord change and my voice broke in that moment but I carried onto the end. I got to the end and a woman came up to me crying, held my hand and said ‘how beautiful it was, heart wrenching and when your voice cracked with pain I  had to cry!’ I personally  knew it was because  had forgotten how to sing but I still said thank you. I also then heard a recording of it and realised that 3 of the 4 trombones had come in the wrong key at that point, I had cracked my voice to accommodate the extra notes plus I was nowhere near as bad as I thought. For me this is where I really learnt that my opinion of what is happening of stage can be miles away from those in the audience. My perception as an artiste has nothing to do with the audience’s perception. I can think I am brilliant and someone in the room can think I am terrible.

Ryan mentioned Terri Cole Whitaker, What other people think of me is none of my business’.

The response of someone to your work is to do with where they are.   Ryan says you have to read reviews with the eye of ‘does this help me get more business?’. He says Madonna doesn’t read her reviews as she says it is too dangerous. I understand the use of great reviews for press so he suggests I don’t read them and get objective others to read and cherry pick them.

Ryan always thinks ‘backseat drivers’, he has noticed when you put yourself out there, you are vulnerable and others will make comments that are uninvited.  If you have inner energy and fire people will try to chip it. What people say about you is just noise. It is your choice what you attach yourself to, listen to those who support you and have your best interest at heart and you can learn from.

I mention in Frank Skinner’s autobiography he talks about getting his manager to cut out in local press any reviews or mentions of him. He then finds himself worrying about the size of the hole in the paper; no holes, small article, massive article – what have they said about him?

The Eight Winds quote 1277 Nichiren Daishonin A truly wise man will not be carried away by any of the eight winds:  prosperity, decline, disgrace, honor, praise, censure, suffering and pleasure.  He is neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline.  The heavenly gods will surely protect one who does not bend before the eight winds. However, if you bear an unreasonable grudge against your lord, heaven will never protect you, however strongly you may pray.

Theodore Roosevelt Citizenship in a Republic is the title of a speech given by the former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne in Paris, France on April 23, 1910. One notable passage on page seven of the 35-page speech is referred to as “The Man in the Arena”: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

JK Rowling (Harry Potter) It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you have lived so cautiously that you have failed by default, you might as well have not have lived at all.

Back to my Londontown track, I have been talking to more of my ideal customers and have the feedback is I need to start with Heaven GAYE etc Ryan asks how I am finding juggling with all my projects. One of the reason palm trees are so strong is because they bend with the wind. He says we do all ultimately know what is best for ourselves and coaching helps bring that out A good assignment of to find the review situation work for me, be it leave them, get someone else to read them etc as he feels I have some energy tied up in that that is better used elsewhere.

If you, as a listener would like to ask myself and Ryan a question on creativity or marketing just email us or call my Speak Pipe. The advantage of leaving a message on my Speak Pipe is that of you leave your blog details etc we can play the call live. marysia@loveyourcreativity.com @RyanJamesLock Face book : The Ryan James Consultancy Ryan James Lock <ryan@beingyourownpublicist.com>

The website and place to buy the coaching course is  www.beingyourownpublicist.com/home He also has on his site a free audio download 7 part coaching sessions, weekly mindset and pr strategy emails you can sign up to.

If you like this and want an indepth overview on being your own publicist see Podcast on How To Be Your Own Publicist, Marysia & Ryan James Lock The Coaching Sessions in reverse order are as follows Podcast Coaching Session 006 Look at the Cold hard facts of why you have a great product and noone is buying it, plus stop ‘shoulding all over yourself’ Podcast Coaching Session 005 How to deal with ‘free’ work, learning to say NO & taking care of yourself” Why you must get comfortable being uncomfortable – Coaching podcast session 4 Why you must be your authentic self & ignore all obstacles & distractions Podcast Coaching Session 03 Podcast Coaching Session 002 ‘Creating a next steps plan whilst talking Marysia off the ledge’ Podcast with Ryan Lock Podcast Coaching Session 001 How to start promoting yourself and stop holding yourself back

If you like this podcast please rate us or subscribe on iTunes, it’s free and will help others find it.

Or you can just go the website for the blog and you can subscribe there via your email if you dont want to miss a post &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Post 61 of Dream, create and make money in the arts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;This is a &lt;a href=”https://loveyourcreativity.com/Topics/series-on-becoming-a-successful-creative/”&gt;series&lt;/a&gt; of blogs for you on how to dream up, build, market and sell a creative event, gig, festival, book launch, cabaret night, exhibition of rude plastic cupcakes or whatever creatively inspires you. It is time to create and put on that play about your family, a series of drawings about hedgehogs, the album you have talked about making or the short film you always wanted to write and make. You can read the series in order &lt;a href=”https://loveyourcreativity.com/2013/05/03/how-to-be-successful-dream-create-make-money-in-the-arts-1/”&gt;Part One&lt;/a&gt; or just pick and choose a topic that interests you.&lt;/div&gt;