You Are Not Stuck

You may feel stuck but you aren’t

I was going to write a very different thing this week. It was going to be very
actorly, talking about things that actors have to do with text. But instead,
after a great deal of frustration, I’m writing here in the trunk of a car to illustrate a point: sometimes in life things can seem fixed, inescapable, like there’s no way to get from where we are to where we want to go.

However, it’s worth remembering that that might just be a feeling, not a fact: that sometimes things might feel stagnant, stuck, still, or otherwise intractable, but, they really aren’t. Somewhere out in the world beyond what we’re aware of the universe is conspiring in our favor. Whether you feel like it or not, whether you believe me or not, it is. You’ll just have to trust me on that.

Change is coming, you are not stuck whether or not it feels like it. Often progress in an acting career is not obvious, then one day an opportunity comes that never could have come earlier, and everything for the past weeks/months/years is revealed as having lead up to that opportunity. However, between those flashes of clarity, those outside validations, we may struggle to continue to act in faith.

The work itself, and the process of learning lines, preparing roles and auditioning are our tasks. The world may not grant us what we want, or when we want it. And even as it affects our lives, it is kind of none of our business. Nor is Luck. I’ve written before about luck, but it is worth reiterating again here: Luck is out of your control. What you do isn’t. Focus on what you do.

So take breaks, find stillness, and find a way to avoid bitterness. Our lives include our work, and nothing we do can guarantee what we want will come our way. We can work diligently to stack the deck in our favor, to run our race, but in the end: our professional lives may not be totally under our control. And that’s ok. Not only was this always true, but it would also be true in any other line of work too.

Writer and producer David Milch once said, acting in faith is how to not act in fear, and while he was speaking about life in a general sense, it applies to our work too. Fear has been called the opposite of love, and our work may benefit from loving our characters, our colleagues, and ourselves.

If you are frustrated, feel frustrated, if you are angry, feel angry, and if you are feeling down and like nothing can improve, then feel it and also remember it’s a feeling not a fact.

Keep doing what makes sense to do, take care of yourself, and those you love. Remember to have fun today, not just tomorrow. Let me know if I can help.

© Copyright October 24, 2017, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com

David August is an award-winning actor, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon Prime. He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the internet.