Thought I would take a moment to briefly outline what I was able to get accomplished this year and talk about my thinking for the next.
This year was a very good year for habit forming and foundation building which is sort of always on the agenda. I had some goals to create a stronger foundation for my acting business and some hopes for how that would pay off for the year. I’m just going to briefly outline some things I wrote down for myself. In no particular order-
My New Condo Complex.
1. In Nov. 2011 I purchased a Condo in Monterey Hills (Near Highland Park). I know technically it has been over a year, but this was a big purchase and I like to remind myself that this was a move that I made in order to stretch myself financially and personally. It was a big step to take to become a home OWNER and create a more full and solid life for myself in terms of making my commute easier, change up my surroundings and mentality, diversify my equity. Etc. I would not have been able to do this without inheritance savings and contributions from my parents for which I am very grateful. And sometimes it’s still scary because I am now attached to a property/location and all the financial responsibility in a way I wasn’t before. But really, if things get bad, I can always get a roommate, and if I need to move, I can sublet the property. I believe that owning is always a better step than renting because when I pay my mortgage I know it is going to paying off a loan, rather than going to a landlord (ie-money I will never see again). Additionally I have a nice lovely space in a beautiful area, which is still a work in progress in terms of being decorated (now to get money and time to do that… LOL.)
Now a card Carrying member.
2. I performed in 3 plays this year (one short piece). I was in a show of One Acts through my writers group, a production of Twelfth Night, and the pre-show short- Sonnets for my Son through Vanguard Rep. All very good experiences. And then I decided to finally join The Actor’s Equity Association, the professional Union for Stage actors. Through that I was able to audition for venues like the Old Globe, Lake Tahoe Shakes, and Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Just another step toward making the stage for my acting and arts broader.
3. I re-did my theatrical Reel. Wanted to get some of the footage from the Student films and shorts that I had been working over the past several years into my theatrical reel. While the experiences of doing those projects is invaluable, the footage is hardly seen by folks outside of the circle of those who worked on the projects. Hopefully I have something that shows a far more wide-array of things I can do acting-wise. (you can see it on the main page here).
4. I re-did my website. I decided that I no longer wanted to be paying for services that I felt I wasn’t utilizing. To that end I stopped paying for Nowcasting and the service of my website being through them. I learned how to use WordPress and created a website that I don’t have to pay a monthly fee for. I had already purchased the domain name last year so all it took was time and effort. www.adamburch.net is the result. And I have written a couple blog entries too. Which I hope to continue. I hope to maybe write a little bit less more consistently in the future.
Me as a Nazi “Zombie” in Nazis at the Center of the Earth. (props to Carleigh Herbert and JoEllen Elam for the Make-up!)
5. I was the lead in a Chapman Thesis film- Chester Briggin’s Magic Blood, the film I was in Nazis at the Center of the Earth came out on DVD/BluRay, I was in another low budget Asylum film 40 Days and 40 Nights, I booked the web-series The Valley which shot in SF at the end of the year. I also got several auditions for TV shows including Hot In Cleveland, Ben and Kate, and the Jersey Boys movie mostly based off of my workshops/self-submissions. Also had numerous commercial auditions.
A Good place for CD Workshops.
6. I signed up for the Actor’s Key and began to regularly attend workshops. This summer I watched the Dallas Travers free videos and finally narrowed down the list of Casting directors I wanted to target and began just pursuing meeting those people. I was able to mail them throughout the year four times so that every 3-4 months or so I sent them letters letting them know what I was up to and ask about their projects. I also asked about being a reader at the Actor’s Key.
7. I began reading an Industry article a week, whether it was about a movie I wanted to see, marketing tips, or inspirational messages. I felt like doing this and in a casual, but consistent way, my mind kept focused on me being IN the industry and allowing the way I was playing in the game to expand.
8. I got a New agent. Though this was a goal for the year, I didn’t actively pursue it until it was a necessity. I had hit up some friends with very reputable agents and did a showcase at the beginning of summer with 0 response (Other than the standard- we have your type, not seeking clients right now, you have no credits/not interested). My then current manager sold his management company. He then became an agent at a company that was bought out. He landed at a new agency while, jockeying to become an agent at a higher level company. He was finally accepted, but could not take any of his clients that didn’t have substantial credits with him. So I was out of a theatrical agent. I put out a message on Facebook and a friend who was working in the office of Agent Susan Nathe said he could set up a meeting. Not only was she super-cool, she was willing to rep me across the board. This move was a no-brainer. And my fingers are crossed that this new partnership for the new year will be successful.
9. I submitted myself to Actor’s Access (my main source of self-submission) every day this year. And I also began looking at the Equity auditions on their website once I joined.
10. I took a Voice Over class and am in the process of perhaps doing a Reel. This was a goal for this year that I feel will bleed into next since it isn’t quite complete.
Could use some work.
11. I took a couple voice lessons in preparation for my audition for the Jersey Boys Musical. Unfortunately I don’t have much experience with musical theatre (only one show in college) but I think I could do it well if I had a little more consistent practice. Basically it’s mostly about confidence singing in front of people. I play my guitar and sing plenty by myself. It’s just not something I am used to doing in front of people. I had to do it for 12th Night this year in a small part of the play and I felt it came off well. So I think this too will be something I could do… again it’s sort of time and energy… and how much I have to put in where.
Fantastic visions in my head.
12. I took my finished Sci-Fi action script and after a reading and endorsement of several professional writer friends, I submitted it to several screenplay competitions. While I didn’t finish in the top 10 of any of these competitions, my script got some very good coverage/feedback and finished in at least the top half (of the competitions that told me). I also submitted my web-series to a competition. I also learned a valuable lesson- I think that many of these festivals are money making schemes and I didn’t hear back from several of the competitions I entered. I think it really only matters to submit to the biggest ones where you will know you will get coverage on your writing, because otherwise you pay them money and never hear from them again if you don’t win. Additionally, I finished a draft of another feature length screenplay based on an idea I had worked on previously. I’m still refining that one.
A Baby Taylor like the one I’ve got.
13. I bought a travel sized guitar to keep at work and play on my lunch breaks so that I could keep up my musical skills. I would like to play with other people more regularly and take lessons again, but again time/money. But glad I have access to play a bit more regularly.
Cloud Atlas was a brilliant book and a great movie.
14. I read several books including the entire Game of Thrones Series (five books and about a million pages LOL), What the Dog Saw, Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, Cloud Atlas, currently reading Life of Pi. I’m pretty sure I’ve read more, but this is all I can remember at the moment.
I highly recommend Stan Kirsch for his audition technique classes.
15. Took classes at Stan Kirsch studios. This is a strictly audition technique class. Highly recommended. Walked away feeling more prepared for auditions than ever and with several scenes for my workshops Only left due to financial constraints and feeling a bit burnt out. When I head back to an acting class I am not sure where I will land. I’d like to do something that feeds my “soul” a bit acting wise as well as business. But I don’t know what that is right now. I know the importance of being in a class consistently, but I just don’t know where I want to head at the moment.
I wish I were a Fire or Water Bender.
16. I quit Kung Fu- after 5 years, a black sash, and some great skills learned. Unfortunately I decided the commute and the broken noses and that the danger of a repeat injury like that at this particular school made the benefits I got from martial arts no longer worth it. It was a sad and tough decision for me, but I think necessary, especially at my level to see what else is out there. I hope to start at a new school sometime in the new year and I am still looking, while in the meantime attending meet-up groups and seeing when I can do some informal training for free.
My last car was a hybrid. I would like my new one to be as well.
17. Was in 2 car accidents this year. One my fault, the other not. The second of which culminated in me needing to buy a new car. I am on the lookout now and excited to be adding this new addition to my base of operations which is constantly improving!
How do YOU feel you did this year?
18. I began to see a therapist this year. This is something I have wanted to do for a while to deal with any depression/discouragement and negative attitude I have carried with me. I have very good insurance and so my therapist costs very little a session for unlimited session, though it is far away on Monday mornings. But I am glad to also have this in my arsenal for the new year.
19. Started an RPG group and we met about 6-7 times. I wrote 150 or so pages of the story of the “adventure” our little group has been on. The sessions have been so much fun and I am very proud and fulfilled by the writing I have done for the group.
Bring it!
20. Exercise. I completed the P90X2 program and then a subsequent hybrid with Insanity the Asylum. I then did the Insanity program, and the Insanity Asylum program 2x’s. All in all I worked out intensely around 320 days this year. The other 40 days I attribute to weeks I took off in between programs to let my body recover. Hopefully I can continue the trend in the new year injury/illness free. Looking forward to starting some new Programs.
21. I began to watch a lot of the Dallas Travers stuff and break my big goals down into 6-8 week plans where I accomplished smaller tasks on a more consistent and regular basis.
22. I did this all while maintaining my 40 a week day job. I also did this while bringing my tardies down considerably (moving closer to work helped a lot in this regard. Especially since I was in danger of losing my job due to not being able to get to work on time). This is what pays my bills right now and I would really like to transition away from it, I haven’t found anything better to do as a day job without returning to school and pursuing a degree in something else. I am always on the lookout for something better and will be actively looking a little more I think in the new year simply because customer service is a grind, but I think it is important to acknowledge my achievements while working hours that most people work for a single job. I have tried to pursue a career/life in the arts while holding this down.
Here are some things I did NOT accomplish this year that I outlined for myself. If you notice, most of these are results I could not control rather than something I could do for myself:
1. Watch an episode of each show on TV to know what’s on and where I fit- I am a terrible actor this way. And while whenever I got an audition for something I watched the show, I did not really keep up with TV. I no longer get cable so I only watch on my computer and Netflix streaming, and I suppose entertainment was something where I wanted to watch what I wanted rather what I SHOULD watch. Additionally, I don’t have that much time to sit and watch. I am out doing more often than not.
2. Once a week reach out to someone in the industry I’d like to work with- This was a good suggestion that a friend made to me. And I sort of took as writing to really big folks I wanted to work with. But I think an easier thing would just be to go down my list of friends and touch base with people I know already a bit more.
3. Take a commercial acting class. I really want my career to start making some substantial money so that I can transition away form my day job. Commercial auditions are the only thing (or seemingly so) on the table that have the potential to allow me to do this. Unfortunately I have never booked a commercial, and my call back ratio isn’t even that good! And on top of it, I wasn’t too fond of commercials before and my lack of success has made me like them even less. I don’t know how I feel about not doing this goal. Even when I have had a positive attitude about commercial auditions, it hasn’t really helped me book. It’s hard not to be results oriented in this category because as positive as I have been about the auditioning experience, it’s still hard to find standing around and grinning fulfilling.
4. Book a national commercial. See above. Didn’t happen.
5. Book Co-Star on Major TV show. I got more auditions for these this year than before (like 4-5), but still an incredibly hard ratio to book. 10-12 guys saying “Hey Ben what’s up?”- hard to be the guy that’s the number 1 choice unless you have more opportunity for that.
6. I wanted to book a bigger lead in a feature. Technically I achieved this. But it was low budget horror film. Not exactly what I envisioned.
7. Make enough money to not work at day job full time. While I made more money acting this year than before, it certainly wasn’t enough to drop my day job.
8. Start a 3rd script by summer’s end. Still was working on script number 2 and blogging and writing for my RPG group has taken up most of the time.
9. Write a 20 minute short to showcase my acting, film it, and submit to festival. I’m not sure I am super interested in this goal other than the result that I would hope to get from it (IE- recognition notoriety). And so I am not sure it is such a goal to pursue for next year unless I feel creatively spurred to write a short.
10. Get together with others to play music once a month, look into music lessons/songwriting lessons. This fell by the wayside just due to time and money. Folks I asked to play together kind suggested they were busy as well. So while it may happen, I am not the only factor in the equation and other peoples’ schedules etc. are at work here and I can’t control that. Lessons- again time and money.
11. Look into a foreign language class. I have some Learn spanish in the car on CD. I know one of the CD’s skips so I stopped. But maybe I need to try these again.
12. Take a big vacation. Did not have the money for that this year.
Pipe Dreams/Goals-
End of the year goal- Booking roles on television. Literary agent and hooks to work in the writing industry. 10%-20% of my income generated through acting and writing. Auditioning a lot, but working on set more. Part time at day job. Lead in movies.
Some of this happened, as much as I can control. I am proud of what I achieved. I wish I could move ahead a little faster. It seems other people can.
5 year goals- Enough income to live in a house. Producing and starring in feature length movies. Knowing the heads of studios and other producers. They know me. A production company. Writing projects being turned into major motion pictures. Acting in major films. Writing a novel.
10 year goals- Living in a house. Working in an office near the beach writing with friends and partners. 3-6 months out of the year filming projects abroad (acting). Family. Vacation home in Hawaii. Author of book series and major films. Oscar buzz around a film I made.
Ayeyaeyae!
So those were goals that I wrote at the beginning of the year last year and set about accomplishing. I worked very hard to lay a foundation for some of the payoffs to happen. But one of the things that has come up in therapy is attachment to things like commodities, money, recognition, etc. And goals set with these things in mind are Results Oriented. I’m a results kind of guy. When I put work into something I want see it pay off. And this year it has. Maybe not as much as I would like, but it has. Whether it’s working out and seeing results in the mirror, or going to Casting Director workshops and getting called in to audition. However, you really can control results to a minimal extent. They are dependent upon circumstances outside of your own control for the most part. And so you can’t be too attached to them. Which is especially difficult when society (and even people who are close to you) has the notion that you are your job, your finances, what you own, and what service you can do for others.
Money makes things easier. It allows you to do things you want to do. But if you only stay results oriented, focusing on things that are out of your control, rather than on things that are fulfilling and enriching, seems like a sort of boring soulless life.
So this year with my goals, I plan to be no less ambitious, but the tasks I have put before me will be more fun. Less “hard” work. And while I can’t say I am completely devoid of this attachment (because the rub is I kind of hope that more results will come when I am less focused on them).
I’m hoping my theme for this year will be a little more go with the flow, stretch the boundaries, and doing things with a little more sense of adventure. I want to keep in place all my good/hardworking habits, but shift my focus so they are just light and breezy rather than having a lot of weight and work attached to them.
Thank you for reading and being involved in a guidance/supportive role in my life. The Renaissance in Europe which spawned the works of Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Boticelli, and later scientists like Galileo was only achieved through the patronage of wealthy donors. They provided the guidance/support that allowed artists to achieve revolutions in their creative craft and thus the whole world benefited from this cultural rebirth. I consider you folks my patrons if not my working peers!
Peace
Best to you in this new year!
-ADAM BURCH-
January has turned into a pretty productive month for me. I feel that I’ve refined my daily checklist so that I work on my acting career a little each day, I write a little each day and have now finished the second draft of my novel which I’ve submitted to my book club. I’ve attended three casting director workshops, had a few auditions, gone to a career counselor to start exploring my options outside of acting and working an hourly day-job, and am currently deep into rehearsals for the production of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE which performs at the Actor’s Co-Op in Feb. www.actorscoop.org
I feel that I have a really strong muscle of working every day on my career. However, I also maybe do it in a pretty safe and standard way. Meeting with the group is about generating ideas on how to pursue things in unique ways and perhaps break out of the patterns of what everyone else is doing, but make sure that the actions are actually possible and sustainable. It’s a way for us to get together and brag, but also humble each other because as much as each of us does, more can always be done. But we support each other and it’s also a way to affirm that we’re each on different, unique path. While we provide models for each other, it’s important not to compare.
I think this year setting timelines and instituting actual rules for accountability are important. It does drive me a little nuts when I don’t meet my own goals and I think it’s important that we set timelines on our goals and actions more concretely.
Musings of Adam Burch 