The Audacity of Truth and Honesty

Posted by Sean Pratt Jun 19, 2009

Okay. So I took the title for this blog from Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, but just as he ran his campaign on the concept that people were tired of divineness and fear, we're trying to work from the premise that actors are tired of being misled by much of the information, or the way it is taught, that gets passed off as knowledge about The Business of the Biz.

We performers not only have to struggle to find work and stay positive about our careers, we also have to navigate the murky waters of trying to find classes and teachers who will level with us about what the industry is really like and not just cynically take our money; those teachers who approach the Biz in a systematic way and give actors a real foundation in running their careers as a business. I can recall more then once in NYC signing up and paying for some “Expert” to teach a master class on auditioning, marketing, etc., only to realize when it was over that I’d just paid someone $150 to ramble on about this and that; telling us funny stories about the Biz and perhaps giving us a few nuggets of information we could use.

There was no structure to what they taught. It was just whatever happened to come into their heads at the moment. I wanted my money back! I felt my time had been wasted and I was left to struggle twice as hard to stay positive about my career possibilities. I thought, “Is this the kind of master class or seminar that passes as being acceptable or even good…or great?” There had to be a better way to do this.

I made a promise to myself when I started teaching my classes on the Biz back in 1996; in order to inspire and motivate my students I would always tell them the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. I wanted to honestly talk about their prospects for work, the challenges they would have to overcome and the kind knowledge they were going to need. Also, if I couldn’t answer their questions, I told them so; this wasn’t about me being, “Mister Know-it-all”. The fact that they had a question I couldn’t answer inspired me to be a better teacher by finding it out.

I have a favor to ask of you. If you like the articles you read here in "Acting & Directing", then please tell your actor friends about them. Perhaps you know of other capable and conscientious teachers and directors out there who have something contribute. Invite them to submit their material to suite101.com. We always welcome a fresh prespective. - Sean