The Great Acting Blog: “Dealing With Rejection”
They say actors face rejection all the time, but the reality is that actors reject themselves.
It’s about the things we tell ourselves about the things which happen to us. Didn’t hear anything after that audition? The amount of torture we endure depends on what we tell ourselves about why we haven’t heard anything. We can tell ourselves something positive or we can tell ourselves something cruel or we can tell ourselves anything in between. The point is, it has an enormous impact on what we undertake in the future because what we tell ourselves determines the intensity of our fear of failure. If we slam ourselves after we make a mistake then it’s going to be that much harder to progress. If however, we view everything as part of a learning curve, then we are more likely to have another go, only this time stronger.
Perhaps then, this helps to explain the massive drop-out rate in acting, that too many actors tell themselves the wrong things, and eventually this wears them down until they can no longer continue.
The key is intent and preparation. Before that audition, before that meeting, before that telephone call, be determined to use it as an opportunity to improve. Afterwards, we will have something positive, concrete and constructive to focus our minds on, rather than destructive and pointless anxieties.
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