Workshop report--

• April 11, 1992
  

• Super Power Blowout Intensive Weekend
  
• One-on-One Studios
  
• Ken Schwarz

I had very innocently wandered into One-On-One Studios on Wednesday. I just wanted to see what casting directors would be coming by. I walked out of there 155 dollars poorer and looking at 20 hours of planned seminar for the weekend. 20 hours! Luckily my show would pull me away after 9 hours on Day 2. But whatever happened, I was promised, by Mr. John Otrin himself, that it would turn me into a new man.

10 a.m. Saturday morning. Let us begin. Introductions were the first order of business. Our fearless leader went first: Ken Schwarz, manager for 14 years; all his people are leads in movies & TV, no characters, no co-stars; he's in movie production now, an officer, director, producer for a film company. Before coming to Hollywood, he worked in finance on Wall Street.

Next, he introduced the seminar: a quick encapsulated overview and game-plan. Basically, "You're all doing something wrong." How can we fix it? "On Sunday night, you will leave with a mission...your own new purpose...your own re-shuffled approach...a laundry list of stuff." He also touched on the factor he felt was most likely to head most people's problems-list: Fear. "Insecurity is the single most detrimental factor. You have the least to lose. Minimize your fear. Bring that into the room with you. Fear is rampant. Your security will ease their fear." And finally, "I guarantee this: You will feel better about yourselves and your careers."

The people: 17 total, counting John Otrin. 9 women, 8 men. Wide range of ages from 23, me, to Jule, probably 65 or so. They were:

Jon - 27 Kansas-man, model, baseball cap Bill - 30, Dark hair, hidden video camera guy, quiet B.K. - 40, NYC, chip on shoulder, hates ass-holes in the business Gavin - 35, looks 25, did 3 commercials last year, struggling Vince - 29, Yalie, takes muchos classes, bouncing around the U.S. Paul - 35, played rock-n-roll records as a kid, wrote a gold record John - 47, been around a looonnnnng time Wendy - 27, Studied theater at Howard, hates cold weather Julie - 27, CA native, CS Long Beach, Hispanic national comm. Rebecca - 27, Perf. Arts high school, goes to edge & jumps, land? Wants a mature Sonya - 30, Texan, nurse, part Native American, red boots Pamela - 40, masseuse, in Navy 72-76, psychiatric aid, Tessa - 35, many commercials, did the marriage thing, pretty Cynthia - 40, Pennsylvanian, singer, husband is screenwriter Lindy - 45, found the new her w/o make-up, Australian, cut from 21 Jump Jule - 65, 50's stage actress, to LA in 55, bad marriage caused trouble

Wendy, Julie, Ducey, Lindy, Tessa

As the introductions were going on, issues would arise and Ken would address them. These are the notes from that stuff:

• We have access to oodles of supportive information. Get to it! Use it! Immerse yourself in it! If you don't, you're not committing yourself. Daily Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Create a base of knowledge. Read, read, read! No question that the craft is crucial, but this is a business.

• This seminar is a matter of combining the art & business to create an offense - we attack.

• You can create a more positive context for your career to progress. The business isn't even the same today as 1 year ago. It's more business than ever. "Least-Risky Lists" - 24 Male Blond, 27 Female Studious, etc. They'll go to these lists to be safe. The casting director is nothing. They can't hire you. They have lots to lose. Get past them.

• Acting is not enough. Do other things that bring you satisfaction & stimulation.

• Casting Directors / Prods / Dirs hate to have their time wasted. Make sure with your agent that you're going out for the right thing. You perform better when there's an accuracy for what you're being sent out for.

• You need to focus. If you're too diverse when you start out, there's no consensus about what you're right for. The focus is not necessarily physical. It's how you work. It's what you create.

• Who's working? The people who tapped into something that someone wanted.

• Leading good guys have accessibility.

• This is not a secure business. It's fluke. It's strange. You see less-talented people than you getting jobs.

• You must have an undaunted spirit to succeed. We need to always be in touch with the core reason why we do this. "In the absence of lofty goals, we lose all desire & hope." This business is the ultimate form of communication - a beautiful exchange of ideas. That's powerful shit.

• Actors have to realize it begins with them. Our reality begins with us. We are not part of someone else's game. So, everyone has one main thing that's stopping them.

After lunch, we settled in for the goal-setting, obstacle-clearing session:

PROBLEMS & WISDOM:

These were our problems and the directions Ken encouraged us to take...

Wendy -- "Fear of rejection"
"People don't accept me; they don't care about me."

• You have to care about yourself. Do not invest them with power. You walk out of there with one person's acknowledgement: yours.

Vince -- "Perfectionist syndrome"
"It's good to have the drive, but I want to leave it at the door."

• You want to control everything. You can't! Let the power & ability flow. You are the person who will solve their problems.

Rebecca -- "Not visible enough for the right people to see"
"Really: utter lack of any organization

• You need a plan. Take charge. Implement your plan. You have to have a place in your home where you work. Don't share this area with any other function. If you just do what you're on the planet to do, the money will come.

Jon -- "I can't get myself to stay in the door."

• The key thing is ACCESSIBILITY, in headshots, auditions, meetings, lunches, always. Look into the eyes of the other. Address them. An accessible stance - I have to be able to connect with you, find out who you are. Accessibility fosters confidence in the other. Self-promotion. There are steps you can take to get management. We'll come back to it later.

Bill -- "I do mailings, but they're ineffective."

• Your mailings have not been unsuccessful. Don't underestimate "the mailing."

"I'm not getting into the doors I want to get into."

• There's a certain reality created by how we walk and talk and carry ourselves. You have to convince them they want you. You can't sell anything until you get the interest level up. Be aware of your responsibility to show enough of yourself -- to be accessible enough -- to get their interest up. Tap into yourself, but tap into THE GOOD.

Gavin -- "Unstable finances (and other monetary worries); need a balance between income and freedom."

• Money is a manageable ting. Do it. Grab it. Make commitments.
  

• It makes sense to concurrently pursue acting / writing / directing.
  
• We need to have one primary headshot, and then others for special occasions.

Cynthia -- "Fear of rejection, of not being liked; timidity because of intimidation; I don't want to turn people off me. I don't want to be considered pushy."

• There are ways of being assertive without it being distasteful. A fear mechanism of failure prevents us from taking a chance. You can do anything if you make it seem like their idea.

Tessa -- "Fear of long-term failure; don't want to give my life to this and end up with nothing."

• You really do need to manage fear. You are not effectively serving yourself & your career with fear. FEAR - False Events Appearing Real. Don't create an agenda based on failure. "Once you get shot at, it never bugs you that your Visa bill's overdue." - Ken Schwarz wisdom.

Lindy -- "Not trusting self; don't believe in own power"

Pamela -- "Fear; not allowing myself to be vulnerable"

• If you're not confident of yourself as an actor, STUDY!
  

• Make lists of possibilities, options, to do, etc.

Me -- "Ignorance; I don't know what to do next; I don't know how to get to the next level."

• Self-promotion; hit 'em over and over
  

• Showcases (Rep.: Artist Group - Nancy Moon, 20th Century - Diane Davis, Harry Gold, Epstein/Wycoff, Susan Crow, Fred Amzel) (Also: Cunningham, Comm. Unlim. - Jon Fisher, Sutton-Barth, L.A. Talent)
  
• Mailings
  
• SAG auditions (not really an option - JD)

Sonya -- "Self-confidence is lacking; fear of failure; fear that my years are passing me by"

Julie -- "Afraid to admit how badly I want this"

• You have to be afraid. You're human. You have to control it, use it, and go forward with it.

Paul -- "Afraid of how much love and affection I need"

That closed Day 1 of the super-intensive-power-blowout-business seminar. Singing coaches were actually mentioned at one point: Nate Lamb and David Craig.

My homework was to make a list of jobs I could do, as well as steps I could take to further my career. I came up with:

Go on to Day 2.

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