Train Like a Warrior

An actor has to be on set for 12 hours, or do 8 shows a week, and the show always goes on. You have to have the stamina and the training to do what is expected of yourself as an actor, and an actor's training is never complete.

As an artist, I am constantly growing and evolving and that involves training.  An actor prepares is a famous book but the title has so much truth. An actor has to constantly be prepared and ready to go, so that when the opportunity arises you are ready to do the work.  This means taking acting classes, coachings, and voice lessons and so many other things.  From these lessons, you learn more about your craft and essentially more about yourself.

This week I had the privilege of meeting with a new acting coach, Caroline Thomas.  She has coached several famous people and has agreed to work with me.  I am excited to study acting once again and remember why I fell in love with this business.  We talked a great deal about shows we liked, different schools of acting, and actors whom we admired.  In the end, we reached the conclusion that Neil LaBute would be a good playwright for me since he has a contemporary voice that lends itself to both stage and film.  I am excited to be coaching with her and revisiting The Shape of Things by Mr. LaBute. I think in my upcoming weeks, I will have to explore and delve into myself which in turn will help my acting.  I know this training will help both me as a person and me as an actor.

I think training is good in all aspects of life.  I am currently doing the Insanity workout and yes it really is insane.  As much as it is good physical training, it is great mental training as well.  I am constantly pushing myself to go beyond my limits and tell myself that I can do this.  As an actor, I face rejection on a daily basis, but I have to constantly push myself and tell myself to keep on going and always believe in myself and my talent.  So thank you insanity for pushing me so that I can push myself in my career.

Your training as an actor is never finished, never complete.  One of my favorite things as an actor is to watch other actors work when I am on set or in a show. I learn so much by observation. So in turn, always remember to observe the world around you. You can learn so much from the people and things  right in front your face.   There will be many moments of doubt, but when those moments happen you go back to your training.  Train like a warrior with your whole body, heart and soul, and your success will follow.

Live for today, laugh hard, and love this moment!

Patrick