Lockdown 3.0 for you (and where I’ve been)

lockdown is still here and it ain’t going anywhere

Oh aren’t we all busy humans. Once lockdown 1.0 finished, London and the UK started to open like a flower. Suddenly sitting in a cafe felt like the coolest thing I had ever done. But alas, we are now in Lockdown 3.0 and things are grim again and I, like so many others, are just hanging for normal. Sadly, it’s likely to be another few months until we get back inside our favourite cafes, or get called into a real-life audition in person. So, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for you, actors. Freebies too!!

Firstly, did you farewell 2020 in the right way?

First things first. Did you say bye-bye 2020 with rude finger signals (not a great idea haha. It’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth)? Or, did you sit down and properly say goodbye to the year that was? It’s so important to have a ritual of closing off what has passed and letting the new year wash over you in a good way.

As I mentioned in my recent email out to my B.A.B.E. subscribers, Denise DT wrote a brilliant post about saying goodbye to 2020 and I highly recommended it. I loved her idea so much I created a proudest moment’s PDF for you to complete. Once downloaded, you write down all the things you’re proud of from last year, what you’ve learned, and what you’re grateful for. Think of it as a time capsule. You write it all up, then you save it somewhere and come back to it in many moons. Once covid is done and dusted, you can open your proudest moments PDF from your virtual time capsule, and delight at all you accomplished in 2020 while the world was falling apart.

DOWNLOAD ME

Download your freebie and get typing or drawing or writing. Trust me, getting it all out on paper feels genuinely amazing.

 

Work out how you can prepare your mind for 2021

Even in a pandemic, especially in places like the UK where I have a lot of my audience, you can still work on your craft. You can prepare. Soon it will be easier to throw yourself back into acting. Soon! Where there is a will there’s a way. If anything showed me that, it was the sheer volume of lockdown shorts entered into TweetFest last year, as well as the Lockdown Shorts Film Festival. Humans are creative malleable beings. When things go wrong, we are clever and able to adapt. We can move and change course, we can sail in a new direction. We aren’t trees, we aren’t rooted in the ground!

And on that note, it’s time to be that malleable clever creature that you are and look at what you can manifest for 2021. Take some time to process a few really simple ideas for creating some acting magic. Even if we aren’t going to be roaming free until potentially April, May or even summer, doesn’t mean you can’t be doing things….

• Headshots – yes, people like the wonderful Jennie Scott Photography are still taking bookings for headshot sessions and are allowed to serve you
• Showreels – can still be edited and updated in a pandemic
• Acting lessons – can happen online rather than in person (ask me for some great recommendations)
• Lines can be learnt and practiced – WeAudition is always there to help you out (and some actors make great money helping other actors out on the platform too)
• Community still exists – Shooting People, Mandy and Facebook groups amongst others, all boast wonderful platforms to share, support and create.

 

Get that mini planner you need to succeed

And on that note, here’s your FREE MINI GOAL PLANNER. Don’t let overwhelm smack you in the face. Don’t set 50 massive goals.

Instead, use this planner to set your intentions on one or two small brilliant wins that can keep you focused and excited for the forthcoming months. And it’s so easy you can fill it out in your morning tea break… trust me, I just filled it out myself and it was easy peasy (15-20 minutes max).

You can always set bigger and better ones later. Set goals all throughout the year. You don’t have to do them all on the first days of a new year.

 

And meanwhile, where did I go?

And on that note, I know you barely heard from me in 2020 and that didn’t go unnoticed at my end either. I really struggled with lockdown, kids at home, worrying for myself and others that acting is very much frozen in its tracks and that actors everywhere were unsure if they would ever work again. I’m sorry if you didn’t hear from me, but I am back and I’m still here to help.

I am not the pushy salesman type. I won’t ever push a course on you, hustle you about one-to-one sessions or ram a book down your throat. And the way I read the room in 2020 was that no one needed endless emails offering life-changing things. We are in a pandemic after all.

If you do want me for any of those things, you know where I am. But hand on my heart, what I want for you – is happiness, health, kindness and prosperity. I hope wherever you are hiding right now, that you are as safe as possible, and you are surrounded by people who love you, and people who lift you up. I know that’s what helped me get through one of the toughest years of my life last year.

If you need support or you find yourself in an absolute mental pickle, don’t hide. Reach out. I’m here, Samaritans is here, CoFuddle is here. So many wonderful organisations.

REACH OUT. And let’s look after one another.