To thine own self be true! As you continue to succeed in acting, it is so crucial that you decide what type of mentor you one day wish to be. What influence as a leader would you like to have? Which of your directors would you want to emulate? Which ones would you not want to be? As you develop your on-stage brand in the acting industry, it is important to delve deep and ask the right questions.
What kind of versatile actresses and actors would you want to be considered like as you age? What sort of roles do you respect? Look at the versatility of Benedict Cumberbatch and Meryl Streep. They do not allow themselves to be pigeonholed into only acting one type of role but develop a multitude of skills to give them the ability to conquer within the industry.
What sort of demographics do you tend to gravitate to? Who are your stage and screen target audiences? You may think that you’re just starting your acting journey, but asking deliberate questions, in the beginning, can save you a lot of frustration in the middle. You should also reassess your progress and growth as you add more diverse roles to your acting toolbox.
And though these questions are challenging to answer, they present much motivation into what sort of characters you create on stage and what kind of character you are offstage. what emotions you gravitate to presenting on stage, and which ones you want to get more confident with.
Just as an artist paints with very broad strokes of a brush in the beginning, you need to be able to know how to start creating your artwork on the stage. As you spend more time in the industry you want to deliberately create the masterpiece that is you.
So who would you like to be? And what feedback have you been given to help you grow, stand out, self-assess, and acknowledge your weaknesses so you can develop them…. and your strengths? This is vital to your success on stage, and in life.