You can't get work if you don't have experience. But you can't get experience if you don't get work. As a new performer, it is a constant struggle. How do you get casting directors or directors to trust you when you don't have a track record? It can be a very dangerous vicious cycle to get caught in.
I auditioned some time ago for a major West End production and got called in for 2 roles during final callbacks. I thought, "Wow ... 2 chances ... high stakes ... established award-winning director ... major global stars in the production ... I NEED to nail this."
The feedback after the audition was "Thank you but compared to the others, Eu Jin wasn't as experienced."
It stung badly and I immediately concluded that I must have come off as inexperienced and amateurish in the delivery of my audition. I started to ask myself: how do I compete with these people who have a 20 plus year headstart on me? There's no way I can compete!
2 months on, I read an article about what casting directors look at when making final casting decisions and one of the key swing factors was how much experience an actor had, i.e. how much responsibility had an actor been entrusted with in terms of the size of the role and scale of production?
Then it dawned on me: what if a contributing factor in that decision was that I had just graduated from Drama school? And I realized that that was nothing I could control. Then it became clear what I needed to do: get more experience ... prove that I can be trusted with roles.
Seems like common sense, but what the realization did was put a stop to the negative cycle that I had started to swirl in.
So much of building a sustainable career is about managing our inner critic's voice, understanding where it comes from and whether there is merit to that insecurity.
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My name is Eu Jin. I recently embarked on a career as a professional actor after 20 years in the corporate world. A big supporter of personal growth, I also dedicate time and energy in performing arts education, specifically in the arena of practical approaches to inner health because I believe that lays the groundwork for a sustainable career as an artiste. If you would like to find out more or share your thoughts, please leave me a message on the "Contact" page of my website. Thank you very much!