Ready for ACTION!

I remember one of my first acting teachers telling me, "a relaxed actor can do anything."  I agree.  Well, I'm currently performing in a staged reading and I'm finding the many tools I practiced to remain "relaxed" are not as close to me as they once were.  In other words, taking time off from theatre acting while raising a child, now 3 years old, has had an impact.

The role I'm currently playing demands emotional commitment.  What that means is in my moments of expressing big emotions, I'm finding I have tension that doesn't leave after the performance.  What I used to do was practice yoga, stretching, and walking all the time.  Now I'm lucky to take a walk around my neighborhood.

Being well - and taking that a step further being fit - is not something easily practiced in my life as I know it.  Maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires time and attention, and  must become a priority.  As a point of truth, for me to be a successful and healthy person and actress, I have to prioritize attention to stretch and hone my physical state of being. 

Ways that I know work well for me are modern dance, improv dance, yoga, swimming, and walking.  What are your favorite ways to connect to your physical power and ease?

Copyright 2014 Heather Corwin

Perception is Crazy Making

There are days when I wake up and feel great, think I look great, and I walk tall (see image on right).  Then there are days when I look at my reflection and see a woman who is overweight, saggy, frizzy hair, and not attractive (see troll on left).  How can these perceptions coexist from day to day?  Maddening.

So how can I maintain my positive feelings and decrease my negative?  One very crucial way for me seems to be to maintain my active lifestyle.  Before having my child, I used to be extremely fit and practice yoga continually.  If I didn't do that, I found another avenue to remain happy.  I other words, I know that my physical activity profoundly affects my mental states.  Plus, being fit helps me feel attractive and look more attractive to myself and others.  Creating the change I wish to see in me takes time and learning.  I have to discover how to find the time to do all that I want to do in my life - including being fit.

Another point I feel I need to make is that I have the shortcoming of associating my outward appearance with sex appeal.  Though I don't often project my standards onto others, I have a deeply rooted belief that if I'm slightly overweight (not according to science which has me at my optimum weight), I am not attractive.  Thank God my husband does not adhere to my overzealous beliefs on this matter!

The bottom line here is to find balance in my life and in my mind.  I'm really hard on myself and have no patience or tolerance for areas in my life that may require time to make adjustments.  If this applies to you as well, I encourage you to practice compassion and self-care - as I am trying to do for myself.   "(We) are beautiful, no matter what they say..."

Copyright 2014 Heather Corwin

Call backs and what they Mean

Many of my acting students like to talk to me about call backs and what they mean, most especially when I'm directing a show.  Usually what it means to be called back is that the people casting believe you have the ability to do the job they're calling you for, but they need final chemistry checks with other people.  

Guidelines to land the job:

1. If you've already said you are available for some times, make sure you're available.  Unless you have another call back that is equally important, do NOT say you have other plans.  This implies you don't care about the project.
2. Be prompt and prepared.  If you're supposed to print out something and have it prepared, make sure you do so.  NOT doing so insures you NOT getting cast.
3. If you have questions about a character or the story, try to see how other people may have addressed this in other productions (if applicable) so that you have some ideas of how to address your challenge when you get to it.
4. A kind actor will get cast faster and more often than a talented undependable person.  The things you have under control should be under your control (on time, memorized, available when needed, etc.)
5. Dress the part.  If you have any idea of what the director might be going for, OR YOU have an idea of how you'd like to make a choice regarding a character - DO IT.  Choices are what you get hired for, even if they may not have originally been the director's inclination.

Bottom line: if you don't want to prepare or be at call backs or rehearsals, don't be an actor.

Copyright 2014 Heather Corwin

Stress Gets To Me

There are days that have more challenge in them than others.  Days when I might wake up with a headache that's debilitating or when I know I've over-booked myself.  Those days tend to be the ones I'd rather stay home in my most comfy PJ's and watch Netflix's best.  But I'm not in a position to be able to blow off life whenever I want to anymore.  I am a wife, mother, teacher, student, and tired.

So when do I get a break?  To minimize the stress, I try to get bodywork.  And, as cliche as it sounds, I need to do yoga or dance or some sort of physical release to maintain a semblance of wellness in my mind AND body.  They're one.  So when I wake up in the middle of the night because my neck hurts, chances are my life is over-full and I'm stressed about something.

What's odd is that there is a phenomenon that happens when I get stressed and I see this same pattern all over the place: when I'm stressed, I stop doing the very things that would make me feel better (like yoga).  That's an odd thing to do, but I think I do that because I want to believe I have control over my life (which is a myth anyway).  If I stop doing some things (which I can control), I will then feel better about my life.

This is the part where I just have to throw in the towel and say that nothing I'm doing in my life is under life and death circumstances.  I have things I enjoy to do, things I am responsible for doing, but life will go on whether or not I think I can control it.  Here's where I'd like to write a sunny solution for my problem, but I don't have one.  Sigh.  I just have to live through it and this too shall pass.

Copyright 2013 Heather Corwin

Gift Giving

Well, I would love to be one of those people that somehow intuits the perfect gift for people I love, but it's not usually my strong suit.  I don't know if that lack of insight makes me a bad friend, but I do know that truth makes me uncomfortable giving gifts sometimes.

A dear friend of mine has a policy that he doesn't give gifts to people on the occasions that most people are socially pressured to give (holidays, birthdays, etc.).  When I heard that, I thought, "now that's a cool idea."  I also felt relief.  Until I thought about the reactions of my family and friends who would give me the WTF attitude for being selfish and not reciprocating.

My adult strategy around gift giving is to purchase things throughout the year to give people I love at the designated times.  These gifts were purchased during travel usually, which made the travel more expansive and enjoyable for me.  That worked until I had a child.  I wish my perception of gifts had to do with the thought more than the thing.  My family has never been humble, charming, or kind when giving or receiving gifts. The experience is more like hazing at a brutal fraternity house.  Perhaps this is my problem.

Regardless, I'm back to knowing that I have to buy gifts on demand.  I like giving gift cards.  However, I'm usually a bargain shopper so the loot I purchase is usually worth more than a gift card; that's frustrating.  I'm an Amazon prime member, so there's that.  Oh, hell.  Most the people I know already have too much stuff and don't need anymore.

What's your strategy?

Copyright 2013 Heather Corwin

Help Others Heal

Did you know you can help someone feel better just by listening to them?  Something I've learned over the years is that I don't have all the answers and people don't necessarily value me because of what golden advice I might offer.  They come to me because I listen and try not to judge.

We all make mistakes.  Some are larger than others.  If we're lucky, we contemplate and think through the options before deciding how to proceed - which avoids mistakes.  Well, that's not always possible and sometimes thinking is what got us in trouble in the first place!

When I make a mistake, I often want to shut down or run.  Since either of those two options take me away from living and making choices that give me the results I crave, I have learned to be more forgiving of myself.  This self-compassion helps me practice compassion for others.

Which brings me to my point. I think compassion is the root of healing.  Try it on yourself and others and let me know if I'm on to something!

Copyright 2013 Heather Corwin

I Believe in Kissing

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.
Audrey Hepburn 
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_inspirational.html#GII3I7jcxCHuqdgQ.99 

There are days when I just want to curl up again and start over.  Since that's not an option, cuddling up with my husband and making out can be my alternative reset button.  Nothing can be that bad when there are hot kisses in the world.  And, yes, I do look and feel wonderful after our cuddles and kisses!

Copyright 2013 Heather Corwin