What did you do this week?

Last night I attended the first class of a sort of marketing/acting industry info/actors support network thingy. It's facilitated by Bonnie Gillespie, so I already knew that the time would be well spent, but I wasn't sure what it would be like. Now I know - it was fantastic.

I was excited by the other attendees, many of whom I previously knew and really liked. The other folks there also seem like really smart, on the ball actors - exactly the people I want to surround myself with.

We went around introducing ourselves and sharing a fun facts (which, after two showcases, I am quickly running out of) and then moved on to my favorite part of the night. Bonnie had us all go around and say something positive that had happened in our careers this week.

At first, I panicked. Things have been really slow and I haven't been doing much. But when it was my turn, I said that I had gotten called in for two auditions, the first in a couple of months, so that was good. And that I am in my first commercial, even though it's unpaid because I appeared on the show and signed away the rights. And I started this class this week. So, all in all, not too bad.

Other folks had booked their first nationals, seen the final product of their pilots, shot co-star roles on network tv, seen their episode of The Shield (to find that their storyline had been cut, but still), and met with agents and managers.
I think all of us realized that if you really stop and take stock of all the things you're doing, you'll be surprised that the list is not as short as you may have thought.

A friend of mine in the group mentioned that she moved to Los Angeles a year ago this week. She's done a fair amount of stuff and is commercially repped and has a manager, etc, which is great in the amount of time she's been here. I realized that I have only been really pursuing acting here since last January, when I got my headshots taken and stopped using my old black and white shots from long ago and far away, and that what I've accomplished in that time doesn't feel like a whole lot, but it's also nothing to sneeze at. And then a very wise member of our group pointed out that anything you accomplish before you've been in Los Angeles for five years is pretty dang good.

I'm so happy to have a positive and supportive group of people to help me keep things in perspective and share tools and successes. Starting this class was the best thing I've done for my career this week.

Sort of negative side note, but I have to get it out: I'm still a little frustrated when I hear about other folks who got called in from the last showcase, when I got nary a peep. But trying to put that out of my mind and not worry about it. There! It's gone! And I'm happy to say that whenever I feel that way, the overwhelming feeling is happy for them for getting called in. I've finally gotten it through my head that another person's success does not eliminate or negate my own. It's a good feeling. I feel like I've shed a layer of petty and insecure and replaced it with a little more maturity.

Time to get ready for January's push. Cause 2009 is going to be a great year.