Monday, February 01, 2010

 

Adrianne Cury on Early Mistakes

Q: What is the biggest mistake that you have made in your early career?
A: Saying no a bit too much, for fear of making a poor choice. Seek advice, sure, and have a compass, but leap more often without fear

(from actingstudiochicago.com). However, as Bob Fraser points out, an actor's true power is the ability to say 'no'::

In business, it is critical to use your power. And in our business, as Leonard Hanzer so aptly put it, the only power you have is in denial of services. The ability to just say, "no."
However, we are steeped in "yes" attitude and because of that - we often get in trouble when it comes to the business end of our careers.
That is why I advise all actors to start practicing to say "no" immediately. This is not a power that comes later - along with the limo and the red carpet, after you've started making good money - it's something that you must start building now, from the ground up.
...you must have standards.
I think that a professional actor's minimal standards should include, "I'm doing this for money." Because, after all, remuneration lies at the very heart of the definition of 'professional.'
As Jeff Goldblum said succinctly, No pay, no Goldblum. That's it.

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