Are we friends or competitors?

There are two ways musicians can think of other musicians. Either as friends or as competitors.

In The Happiness Project, author Gretchen Rubin talks about that dilemma.

"As a TV writer in Los Angeles, my sister works in a notoriously competitive, jealous industry. When a friend of hers cowrote the screenplay of a movie that was a box-office hit, I asked her, "Does it give you the funny feeling that your pal had such a huge success?"

She answered, "Well, maybe a bit, but I remind myself that 'People succeed in groups.' It's great for him to have a big success, and his success is also likely to help me be successful."

By contrast, I have a friend who described her brother as having a zero sum attitude toward good fortune: if something good happens to someone else, he feels as if something good is less likely to happen to him. As a result, he's never happy for anyone else. "

Which camp are you on?



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4 money situations where you need to think twice before saying yes to the gig

As freelance musicians, we want to say yes to as many gigs as possible. However, here are the four money situations where you may want to think twice before saying yes.

1. How much does it pay? It's not a good idea to accept a gig without knowing how much you'll be paid. You'll expect to be paid more than you'll be paid in the end, and it'll be too late to ask for more.
   
   
2. Does it even pay? There are so many reasons playing for free is wrong, I had to dedicate an entire post to the issue, which you can find here. The only times you can play for free are for friends, as long as you follow these guidelines.
    
3. Is there more to it? If a gig pays a fair price but comes with a major commute, terrible hours, or any other big difference from your regular gigs, think twice before taking it. You might end up resentful, exhausted, or both, and that wouldn't be to either yours or your employer's best advantage.
   
   
4. Does it have a set amount of hours? When you're paid with a stipend, make sure that your contract includes a set amount of rehearsal times and performances in it.
   
   You don't want to end up in a situation where all of a sudden you have to cancel other paying gigs, because major hours are being added on to your load without making up financially for your lost hours.

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4 mistakes to avoid when promoting yourself

The Internet is only an amazing tool to make yourself known as long as you avoid these four common mistakes.

1. Act as if it's a new thing: Don't say "these days, it's all about social media." Social media isn't that new anymore, and your audience won't care to follow you if they think it's a new discovery to you.
   
   
2. Talk about it as if you were forced into it: "So, apparently, the thing to do is to use social media, so there, you have it." If you don't want to be a part of it, why should your public?
   
   
3. Use quotes signs: If you emphasize a word with a quote sign, as in "you can be our "friend" on facebook," your audience won't want to because you just made the whole thing sound like a joke.
   
   
4. Use the wrong terminology: People don't "join" your facebook page, they "like" it. And there is no such thing as a twitter friend. Do your research!

Only once you commit fully to social media you'll realize why people urged you to use it.



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How to ask for your money

What to do when it's time to get paid and you're not seeing any sign of your money?

The most graceful way to deal with the situation is by asking an indirect question. Make sure to use your most neutral tone of voice when using the following examples.

• Were you planning on paying me today or next time?
• I can't remember, did you pay for this week last week?
• Will you need cash back today?
• Will you want me to send you an invoice?
• Did you need my address to send me the check?

Most people genuinely forget that it's time for payment, so they'll be grateful when you kindly help them come through for you.

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What should you be paid for a 5 min gig?

A gig where all you have to do is play for five minutes sounds like an easy gig, but besides the actual difficulty of what you're playing, there is more to a five-minute gig than five minutes.

You are usually part of a longer performance, so you have to be there before it starts and stay until it's done. If the gig is for church, you may have to stay and play for multiple services. If you have to be somewhere for two hours hours to play five minutes in the middle, you can't accept another gig during the entire two hours. You can't practice during that time either, neither is it free time for you to relax. So you can't reasonably be paid just for the five minutes, but should you be paid as much as if you did play for two hours? Would a split in the middle be enough?



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How do you do in the compliment category?

Here are two true stories to illustrate the rules of compliments.

I was 20 and I had been in the US for just a little over three months, when my conducting teacher gave me a free ticket to the local symphony of which he was the concertmaster.

At the end of the concert he introduced me to the conductor. What went through my mind was: "I barely speak English, and anyways, who am I, this young student, to compliment him, this great performer?" So I said hi shyly, and off I went.

My teacher caught up to me and said in a stern voice: "talking to a performer after a concert, you always want to find at least one thing you liked, whether it was something throughout the concert, or one small passage, to compliment them on. Talking about something specific from the concert will always mean more to a performer than if you say "good job," or worse yet, nothing."

The other lesson comes from my dad, who taught me to never tun down a compliment, and to never change its meaning, such as changing "you look great today" into "oh, do I look like crap the rest of the time?" If you do, people will learn quickly to stop giving you compliments and you'll stop receiving them, even when you do deserve them.

As a performer, the world gets divided into two groups: the people who do what you do and to whom you want to be nice, if not for networking, at least for good human behavior; and your audience, who you better be nice to you if you want them to stick by your side.

Remember the two rules of compliments: give them, and take them.



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How to have your own theater-Part 2

Lindsay Eure is the big boss of The New Theatre of Chesapeake. In the first part of her interview she told us about her process to open her theatre. In this part, she opens up about how her experience as a performer influences her decisions as a theatre owner, and what people need to think about before opening their own business.



How is your background as a performer influencing the decisions you make for your theater?
My experience professionally has exposed me to more theater repertoire so I have a lot to pull from. In our area, as far as musical theater goes professionally, like at Virginia Musical Theater, they do a lot more classics and less contemporary work. I want to appeal to the younger generations here too. My exposure to new stuff is helping me influence the season, and what audience will like. Some are less well-known, but that are the new classic. Eventually "Hello Dolly" is not as relevant today and that’s what art is about.

"More important than the talent is the personality

of the people you work with" 

As far as hiring in the industry, in every situation I’ve been, in any production, more important than the talent is the personality of the people you work with. You have to have the right group dynamic. I’ve seen a lot of divas, and I will never hire divas. You think you have to hire the best performer, but you have to hire people that are not jaded. I want to hire people that I see myself reflected in so that we’re all in the same place.

"You can't hire someone based on their experience"

Sometimes having more experience doesn’t necessarily mean that you are the better candidate. You can’t hire based on experience. That’s a mistake that a lot of people make. People might have been in the industry longer but they’ve  just been getting through. It doesn’t mean they’re good. You have to look beyond that. There is a lot to be said for experience and I’m not denying that, but it can’t make up for certain things: any weakness you had ten years ago you still have. It can’t just be all on paper. You have to talk to people, and see how you communicate together.

I didn’t want to base someone on the fact that they were in the industry a long time, but that they wanted to do the job and were good for it. It’s easy for me to say that when I’m young and I don’t have as much experience, so it’s easy for me to give other people like myself the chance. Maybe it’s possible if I were older I would want someone at my level in terms of years paid.  But I think if I can do it, this person can too, even if they have less experience.

Is owning your own company on the way of your performing, or does it help it?
It’s great actually! It takes up my time and everything, but I’m at a point in my life where I always said I don’t want to direct, I don’t want to teach. I had to prove something to myself as a performer. Now I know I can do a two-hour one-woman show because I did it. I’ve proved to myself I’m where I want to be as a performer. I’m still growing and learning and improving, but I don’t have to prove myself anymore. That feeling freed me up emotionally to do other things.

"I've proved to myself I'm where I want to be as a 

performer. That freed me up to do other things." 

Since then I’ve learned that I have other talents: business, producing and directing, instead of just performing. I always knew I was a good coach, but I didn’t know I could do the other things until I allowed myself to do that. With owning my company, I could do a show and cast myself! I also really enjoy cabaret work, on a small scale, and I have the channels to publicize that through the theatre.

So it’s really helped, because I’m building an audience for the theater, and I am the face of the theatre, and therefore I’m building an audience for myself. Most directors that own theatre are not performers, so that makes a difference. That’s been what’s gotten us a lot of support, is me performing after a speech to get sponsors. If I cast myself as something, because I am the face of the show, people will come for that.

"I just happen to be the right person for the job"

What should performers consider before opening their own company?
I think I could and list all the attributes and qualities that I have to do this, but it’s so much for than that. So much is circumstantial. I’m not saying you can’t climb any mountain, but in my case, there is a niche in Chesapeake, because we are the only and first theatre company. The groundwork was laid as I had a lot of connections in the area, it’s a homecoming, so people are able to welcome me that way.

So it’s circumstantial and psychological. It’s the right time, and I just happen to be the right person for the job. But it’s not me. If it weren’t the right circumstances, I probably wouldn’t even had the idea. It can be done, but you’ll start smaller and work harder. We’re moving really fast. We’re needed so we’ve gotten a lot of support.

"It's an exciting time"

Any last thought?
On a personal note, it’s just so nice to feel that you’ re finally doing what you are called to do. I was called to perform and I’ll continue to do that, but it was never everything. There were road blocks, and signs that were pointing me in a different direction. It’s nice to know that I am on the right path now. It’s exciting to be at the beginning of a journey this way. I’m at such a good spot in my life. I’m taking note and just go: “remember this.” Once the company grows, we’ll go back and remember this. It’s an exciting time.

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How to create your own theatre- Part 1

Lindsay is the kind of woman who you would easily be intimated by if she weren't so incredibly down-to-earth. She has an unlimited amount of energy, and her confidence gives you no doubt that whatever she puts her mind to she can make work at its highest level possible. You guessed it, I am a fan of the woman, which is why I wanted to share her process of creating her own theater, the New Theatre of Chesapeake, with all of you.

What made you want to create your own theater?
Wanting to do something beyond myself, beyond performing a role and being done. I came back here to do a one-woman show at the Wells theater, and I was back and forth between New York and Virginia. My family is right here and I am very family oriented. When I was here I couldn’t help but notice that the art community in Chesapeake was still as non-existent as it was when I had left many many years ago. It seems like a shame because we have many art patrons, and we are the third largest city in our state. Aside from having no venue and no theater company, we don’t have an arts organization that teaches theatre to kids. People have to drive to Norfolk and Virginia Beach, which is hard for people to do. I lived here, and I had to travel all around. It was a lot.

"You can't get people excited twice"

I was thinking about doing more directing and producing, and nobody had the experience that I had. My grand mother had a lot of experience locally in the arts, she was the city council woman. She lives in Chesapeake now but she lived 30 years in Virginia beach, and she was in politics there. She helped to get the Sandler Center built in Virginia Beach when she was on council, and she helped to establish the foundation for the Governor’s school for the arts. She was all about business, but she was asked to do a lot of things for the arts.

"It seemed like everything was already in place"

She has a lot of great contacts in Chesapeake, so it seemed like the perfect line up of expertise for the theatre. I am learning a lot of the business and politics from her. Together we’ve been able to create a line up of great board members. We’ve been recruiting a board of directors since January, and we already have a show this September. You can’t get people excited twice, our season had to start in the fall and fast. It seemed like everything was already in place, and doors were opening, and I couldn’t ignore them. I believe that God has a plan for you, even if you think you know what you’re suppose to do. This was nothing I ever thought of doing before.

What were the practical steps you had to take to get there?
Incorporating, applying for non-profit status, that’s a lot of work. A lot of phone calls and paperwork. Establishing a board of directors. Speaking and presenting ourselves to different organizations, to business people in the city, the chamber of commerce, different groups; people that get things done and people that facilitate and have money or who help to get money; people that have a mind for service, or for getting their name out. Typical business and politics.

"My training as a performer is my ability to 

demand focus and to manipulate energy" 

How did being a performer helped you in the process of creating your company?
I didn’t know that I could do public speaking and I have spoken at a lot of different engagements. My training as a performer is my ability to demand focus and to manipulate energy. Unless you have a knack for public speaking you might not make as much an impact as you should, so my background helps me get through to people. My credentials back up what I’m doing. People don’t wonder how I could pull it off because I have the background to show for it.

"We're still facing challenges"

What were some of the challenges you had to face?
We’re still facing challenges. Fundraising is a challenge and will  continue to be a challenge throughout the life of the theater, especially now and the times we are in. Getting the word out is a challenge. You really have to work on getting free press, and we’ve been really blessed in that area, because we have a lot o free press for different events we’ve done, and some local TV stuff.

A specific challenge is venue. Our city doesn’t have a venue so we are creating a venue by bringing in staging, mounting lighting, and putting up pipe and draping curtains. We have to prove that we have a real theater company and that will help build a real theater. It’s more financially draining to create a theater than to work in an already existing space.

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Should you apply to this job?

I've been looking every week for the past few years for jobs on the same web sites, and what struck me lately is that some companies seem to be hiring over and over again for the same positions.

That leads me to wonder how much of a good company they would be to work for. I wonder why they wouldn't keep the same people for more than a few months at a time. It makes me think that they might not be keen on building healthy relationships and that they might be difficult to work with.

 

I've never applied to any of those companies so I am just making assumptions here, but I would definitely think twice before applying.

What do you guys think? Anyone ever had any experience with any of those companies? Would you be careful as well?

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Have you ever thought of piano tuning? Part 2

Actor singer Laura Jo Trexler talked in the first part of this interview about how she got into tuning pianos, what the learning process is like and what it takes to build a clientele. In this second part she gives us the reasons why performing artists should consider it for ourselves, along with the advantages and disadvantages of doing it. 

How do you make yourself known as a piano tuner? Who hires you?Your first targets are schools, colleges, churches and theaters. I do door to door marketing, putting up flyers in cities and music stores, taking my card to piano teachers and music shops, craigslist and I bought a sign that I put on my car. The best way to get yourself out there is to get all the people that you know to figure out who in their family and friends near them have pianos, and for them to give me their phone numbers and names so I can contact them.

"It takes about three years to build a clientele"

It takes about three years to build a clientele. It's not about tuning a piano once, you have to keep on getting hired. I try to call people six months after I tune their piano, and tell them that their piano is due for a tuning. Concert tuning is a complete different thing. It’s its own entity because there are some tuners that do it but many that won’t until they’re at the head of their game. They do it when it’s a steady career and they had years of practice. It’s critical because at a concert you'll have the players, other musicians and critiques, and everyone is very critical of the sound. It scares away young tuners like me because if you upset anyone you loose business.

"It is easy to make it match 
your performing career"

Would you recommend piano tuning it to anyone?
I recommended it to a few of my friends. There are only a few piano tuners that are female in my area, and I’m the only one under the age of 50. I recommend that skill to a lot of performers because it’s your own business, you can take it anywhere, you can make money if you build up your clientele. It’s really nice when I go on vacation and I can tune a piano, nice to get the extra money. It’s so much better than waiting tables. You make your own schedule and it’s easy to make it match your performing career.

Have you learned anything by being a piano tuner that translates into your work on the stage?
I have it on my resume under my special skills and people always find it interesting, and it has started conversations with auditers before. I tuned the piano at a theatre and after that they knew who I was which is always a plus if I have an audition with them later on. A lot of music directors that wouldn’t come up and talk to me will after I’ve tuned the piano. It helps getting to know people from that because people respect what I do as a piano tuner.

"I can tell if the person that tuned a piano before 
me has used an electric machine"

Any last word?
It’s really popular for most piano tuners to tune with machines now, electric tuners. I learned the old school way which is with a pitch fork, because I feel it’s much better because everytime I tune a new piano I can tell if the person that tuned it before me has used an electric machine or not. If they have the beats aren’t the same, some notes are sharp and some are flats, which is unusual because most strings fall or go sharp at the same time. Those people charge the same. Regular households will be fine with whoever but if it’s for musicians, they ask your method, and they’re happier with fork. I prefer a pitch fork.

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The ONE thing to put on your business card

You need to add one more word than just the basics on your business card.

In the book "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" authors Ries and Trout indicate that you must follow what they call the Rule of Focus,  which is "owning a word in the prospect's mind."

To do that, you have to use a specific word to describe yourself and the way you do what you do, such as reliable, funny, classy, friendly, etc.

Just make sure no one else has already taken that word in your market, and people in your area will remember you over somebody else next time they need a musician!

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Are you a victim of value attribution?

Let's imagine that you're hoping that one day someone important notices you so that your career can take off. What if it actually happened, and you didn't recognize the opportunity?

If you take in information differently depending on who delivers it, you're setting yourself up for missing a ton of opportunities. Doing so is called "value attribution," "which simply means the inclination to superimpose or imbue a thing with certain qualities or characteristics based on our initial perception."

Let's say you have a master class with a great Broadway star and his pianist. At the end of the masterclass, the pianist takes you aside and tells you that he is involved with a great project that needs someone just like you. The only thing you have to do is send an email to the producer with your resume, headshot, and a video of you.

What would you think?
"Oh, I don't know anything about this project, it might just be a waste of time, we'll see...," or "wow, this pianist has connections, noticed me and even though I still have to audition, he will put in a good word for me which can really help me get a foot in the door."

Now imagine that it was not the pianist but the Broadway star himself that tells you about the project and suggest you audition for it.

What would you think then?
"Oh, I don't know anything about this project, it might just be a waste of time, we'll see...," or "oh my God, this super star just noticed me and will tell the producers about me. I am so in! Can't wait to audition and prove them all that I'm great! I'm so lucky! I better not screw that one up!"

Here is the thing, both the pianist and the Broadway star noticed you, and with both of them you get a leg up from anyone else auditioning. Next time you get an offer, don't judge where it comes from. If you already have something going on, be incredibly grateful and thank the person for the offer, no matter who offered it. Because next time, they might contact you again or suggest your name, unless you act like they're a nobody and you don't even have the time to say thanks and mean it. Don't make yourself a victim of value attribution.

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Who should you try to please?

Who should you try to please? The audience or the person who hired you?

As a performer, I always think of the audience as the people I want to please.
But as an accompanist hired privately by an individual, my customer is that individual. And the customer is always right. Which becomes quite problematic when that individual has a completely different idea from me as to how to please the audience. And it gets even more complicated if that individual has a teacher, who often adds a third view on how to please the audience. And when I myself had a teacher... you know where I'm going with that.

As musicians, it is often a real dilemma to figure out who our most important customer is, and many questions and doubts come directly from that dilemma.

Of course you're gonna follow your conductor even though you're not convinced of the interpretation. But how do you stay connected and interested in the music you're making when you know that the audience's response is to somebody else's decisions?

For us musicians, the importance of knowing at every gig who our customer is is one of the most important decisions we have to make. It's not just about pleasing them, but more importantly about keeping ourselves sane by accepting the fact that as much as we always want the audience to come first, many times in our lives, there is an intermediary who is our true customer. Embracing that fact will make it much easier on us than fighting in our heads for the audience's enjoyment against our true customer's opinions, whether right or wrong.

Do you have an excuse?

When we someone asks us to do something different or to correct something in our interpretation, we don't need to explain why we didn't do it in the first place.

We just need to do it differently.
That's all.

How to start a career in music- Adam Reifsteck Interview- Part 1

Adam Reifsteck  has been one of my closest friends since we met at Western Michigan University where we did our masters. He is now the membership manager at Chamber Music America, and  we often talk about the music world and what it takes for young artists to make it nowadays. Because I always find what Adam has to say very interesting and accurate, I thought you guys would too!

Geraldine: Can you tell us a little bit about you and your musical background?
Adam: I have my bachelor’s from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, in music technology, and a master’s in composition from Western Michigan University, not focused in electronic music, but more on the “traditional” writing for chamber music and choral music.

That was nice because I had the technology background and the master’s program allowed me to focus on the craft, the music behind the music if you will. Then it eventually turned into an almost full-time job when I became the director of contemporary music at Saint Catherine of Siena Church in Portage, MI, while completing my master’s degree.

Geraldine: How did your job at St Catherine relate with your background as a composer?
Adam: I had the opportunity to write music while working there, writing different psalms settings to be used in worship, and writing worship music. It helped me experiment with writing more accessible music instead of more experimental music.

Taking what I’ve learned from song writing and what I’ve learned from the craft of composition and merging the two together led to what I’m writing now which is combining popular elements with more traditional writing, as well as incorporating electronic elements.

" Be true to the art form 

while making it marketable"

My goal is to write music that is accessible to the average music enthusiast. I don’t want to alienate audiences with the avant-garde, and I don’t want to dummy down the music either, so I want to be true to the art form while making it marketable and presentable. Consumable is the word I guess, because we live in a consumerist world. It’s not just art now, it’s a product. But you don’t want to lose sight of the art form either. How you bridge the two together is the ultimate question.

Geraldine: So you’re working at St Catherine and then what happened?
Adam: I started a concert series at St Catherine, a program called Sienna Arts. The intent was to have a concert series at the church that celebrates concert music of all faiths and traditions. It was a great experience where I started to be involved with arts administration, grant writing, coming up with programming ideas and booking artists and working with contracts and rentals and that kind of things. Investigating, doing things on my own, and learning from trying things was the best way for me to discover how to be an arts administrator.

While I was doing that I was recording my first album. I applied for a grant through the Kalamazoo Arts Council, the Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant, and I got that grant to record three of my compositions and that was released as my first commercial album.

"You have to be an entrepreneur"

 

So really, I think what it means to be a composer these days is you own your own business, you have to be an entrepreneur. You’re not just confined to writing in your studio, you’re managing projects; you’re coming up with ideas on how to collaborate with people, looking at different ways to integrate all aspects of arts. It’s more of you being connected with the performers, the founders, and the people making the project happen.  It’s more than “I write a piece and that’s it.” You’re more directly involved with the process of creation to presentation, it becomes a group effort. That’s what the most rewarding for me—to be part of a project where everybody come together to create something new and exciting.

Geraldine: You’re saying that in some ways being a composer in our days is like being an arts administrator of your own work. Is that how you ended up working at Chamber Music America?
Adam: Absolutely. I don’t want to label myself, but I sort of am a chamber music composer, that’s what I write. What better way to get to know the field and the musicians I write for than to work for a national service organization for the ensemble music profession, and learn the business side of chamber music.

"Nobody tells you how to 

make things happen"

They don’t teach that in school—they only give you the tools to create your art. You get training in theory and composition, musicianship, etc. Nobody tells you how to make things happen, you have to figure it out yourself and the way to find opportunities for me to be a composer is to be an administrator in the arts.

That’s how projects happen: you get to see what other people are doing; you get to be involved with the administration side of the arts, and see how projects are created and seen through. I felt it was a natural segue for me to be in the position where I am now at CMA, where I am helping other musicians finding the resources that they need to make their visions come true.

Geraldine: What is your job at CMA?
Adam: I’m the membership manager, which means that my primary role is to retain and acquire members for this national organization. Since it is a membership and a service organization, I try to sell membership, because it’s the membership that helps support a lot of our programs, and as a member you get benefits in return.

Geraldine: It’s helping people help themselves.
Adam: Exactly!

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Get more people to come to your degree recital

Everyone knows that people will come to your recital if not for the music, for sure because of the food at the reception after the recital. Right?


In the book Sway, authors Ori and Rom Brafman cite the following studies:

• In 1993, the Swiss government needed to find a town where to leave potential nuclear waste. Two towns were being considered. Researchers talked to a group of the community and asked them if they would accept the nuclear waste to be in their town. Of course, people weren't fan of the idea, but because they felt it was the right thing to do, 50.8 percent of people agreed to it. Then, the researchers asked another group of the community if they would accept if they were to be paid $2,175 per year and per person. That time, only 24.6 percent of people agreed, even after the money got increased to $4,350! 
• For another study, researchers asked a group of students to take a fake version of the GMAT and to do the best they could. Parallel to this, researchers asked another group of students to take the same fake test, and told the students that they would be paid 2.5 cents for every right answer. It turned out that the students being paid didn't even answer all the questions, while the other students did because they wanted to help out the researchers!

What the researchers realized is that people approach a situation in two complete different ways: either from a genuine point of view, or from a self-interest point of view. If you offer someone an incentive, it diminishes the genuine motivation of people.

So if you ask people to come to your recital and imply that they should because of the reception, you actually change their thinking from: "I really like this person and I want to support them and be there for them" to "is it worth it for me to loose two hours of my time to only get some free food in the end?"

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How to sell the most expensive tickets

I subscribe to the best mailing list ever concerning all things theater, called You've Cott Mail (the name of the writer is Cott), and that's where I saw the link to this wonderful article on 2 am theatre.

Dennis Baker offers this ground breaking idea on how a theatre can make the most money and sell the most tickets, and no it is not by offering many discounts at the end of a run. 

Baker's idea is to offer the best discounts to people who buy tickets much in advance, and to make tickets more expensive for people who buy at the door and for people who come at the end of the run.



Click here to read how that would work and why it's a great idea for everyone.

Do you think it would work or do you think that it's a terrible idea?

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8 tips to be a successful performer

In a lecture I watched on Ted.com, speaker Richard St. John explains what it takes to become successful and why people experience failure once they're successful. Here are the eight things he lists that people need to do in order to become successful, and that once people have achieved they stop doing. Let's see how they relate to performing, and which one we really need to remember.

1. Passion: this is is pretty much a given in the arts, otherwise we would probably have chosen a simpler lifestyle!
2. Work: I don't know any musicians or actor that doesn't overwork. We got this one covered too.
3. Focus: This one can be tricky at times because we tend to overwork, making ourselves tired and less focused. Work is quantity and focus is quality. We have to make sure that they go hand in hand, and that one doesn't take over the other.  
4. Push: I think that we do that after every bad lesson, every bad rehearsal and every bad performance we have. We do it every time we doubt ourselves and wonder if we'll ever be good enough.
5. Ideas: We often practice for technique, but for success we always want to have our own ideas on how to be musical, how to be theatrical. This one is our art itself, and our how we express ourselves through it.
6. Improve: I think this one is a combination of all of the previous. It's maturing as an artist and a performer and learning how to balance all aspects of our jobs.
7. Serve: That's the one that I think we need to remember the most. We need to remember that everything we do is to please our audience. It's hard to remember that when you're playing in an orchestra, singing in a chorus, playing a piece you don't like, playing on a poor instrument; all of this that happen frequently to professional performers. But this one is key. We have to serve our audience, serve the conductor, serve the music. Not ourselves.
8. Persist: No need of an explanation here. Just good luck!

What are your tips for success?

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The REAL job of an actor

Actor Monica Flanagan and I had a discussion about how different it is to be auditioning as an actor v. being the person making the calls. No kidding right? But the reason why that's important to remember is that actors for sure will learn valuable and practical things about their job after spending time on the other side. Now, you can do that by being an intern in a casting agency, working as a stage manager or maybe an assistant manager, etc, but not everyone can find the opportunities to do that, or has the time and energy to do so. And that's what I'm here. To tell you what Monica learned from being on the other side. Here it is.

You are judged by your physique. Sure, you knew that, but it's even more than being a type. It's about the angles of your face, about the energy that gets through your headshot, about the actual color hair you have (no wig on tv), and definitely your weight (tv will make you look fatter for sure). It's about being cool and in style, and understanding how the clothes you wear can be in style and match the character you're auditioning for all at once, while standing out (it seems obvious, but in practice it's almost contradictory).

So, Monica's conclusion is that if average actors get parts because they look the parts, and that good actors don't always get the part because they don't quite look the part, her job as an actor is not only to act great but as importantly, to:

• Be in style: as in this month's style, not last month's. Make sure to wear clothes that fit your body, no matter how much not-average your body is (I'm short and I have to sew each pair of pants I ever buy).
• Be in shape: not only for tv,  but also for tours and Broadway. Even if you know that you're overall fine and that you could get hired for a job that requires you to get even more fit, do it before they give the gig to somebody who already has the abs. 
• Take care of yourself: clean, legs or face shaved, make up on, etc.

Let's face it, we would all love for our art to be the only thing we have to be responsible for, but if the only to get to do that is to put up with some other more annoying things, well it's up to us to make that call.

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Two tips on how to handle taxes as an artist

It's this time of the year again when taxes are due, which means that most people get money back, but for artists you consider yourself lucky if you don't have to pay anything. Here are the two most important things you need to do year round to avoid taxes freak out: use a credit card for all your job related expenses, and put 20% of each paycheck on a separate account.

1.  Use a credit card for all your job related expenses: no, it's not about building your credit or spending money you don't have. It's about easily creating a file of all the things that you can write off at taxes time. You're buying scores? It goes on the credit card. What had to repair your instrument? You'll get that counted off later. What about that fun video camera you used to tape on of your concerts? You bet, it counts too! A year is a long time, but if you use one specific credit card all year round for only your job related expenses, you'll just have to check it out come taxes and write it off. And of course, make sure you don't use that credit card for any other expense. So easy!
2.  Put 20% of each paycheck away: create a savings account or a checking account separate from your regular accounts, and put on it 20% of what you earn as soon as you get a paycheck (that didn't already take back taxes). Come taxes time, even with all the 1099, you'll already have a good idea of how much you'll need to pay, and you'll be able to pay it right away with no sweat and tears. Otherwise, if you try to save your money in your regular bank account, you'll soon forget how much money you're supposed to have aside, or you'll be tempted to use it, etc. 

Easy steps towards tax control!
Share your own tips in the comment section.

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