Tag: actors

Why Training Is Important

Chasing The George

It keeps you sharp.

It keeps you fluid.

Stay ready so that you don’t have to get ready.

There’s always more to learn.

There’s always something to learn.

Dancers train. They go to class consistently and work out on the dance floor. The best ones make it look so effortless because they train.

Athletes train. Athletes train. Athletes train. They train so that they can compete and perform at the highest level possible. Optimum. They make it look so easy too.

As an actor, I always want to stay sharp so that I’m not relying solely on my persona or tricks. I never want to feel like I’m rusty or catching up. Training allows me to have a system in place to get the job done. And then to repeat the work over and over again. No guessing work.

Training is also important because as we get older, our casting changes. So we need to start understanding those new characters and how to now play them. We have to step into the shoes of these new characters and understand who they are. How they behave. Training will help us to do that.

Training is fun!

Training gets you to a place where you don’t have to think so hard or work so hard. It’s in you and you work more efficiently.

Training keeps you on the artistic path when the bullshit of life and the naysayers of life want to take you off of it. This is a fucking tough business. No mother-effing bullshit. When I come into class every Thursday night or every Friday morning, I’m re-charged and re-inspired to keep going.

Training allows you to make mistakes and figure out the answers to them. Make the mistakes in class. Fail forward in class. Now, mistakes happen in the outside world too. However, with training, you can manage those mistakes like a pro! And they’ll appreciate you very much for it!

My ideal situation is to be a working, professional artist (actor and writer) working on set and then coming back to class whenever the project is wrapped or whenever we have a break in the shooting schedule. Come back to class. Come back to ground zero. Come back to where it all started. Re-energize and then head back to set.

Train.

Find a class that speaks to you, that challenges you and that has a great, supportive community. Train and take your craft to a higher level of creation, output and experience.

Train.

Cool true story: I was at a small focus group recently and they asked us if we wanted to make an extra hundred dollars. We all raised our hands immediately. The moderator said, “Great! I just need one volunteer to sing a full pop song in front of the group.” Everyone put their hands down except for me. I quickly said, “I’ll do it!” Because of my training, I jumped in and was on “go”. Because of my training, I didn’t question myself or judge myself or be self-conscious any step of the way because I followed my first impression with good-humored inflexibility. I’m a genius unti proven otherwise. Because I work hard and put many hours into everything that I do, I was able to deliver on the spot. Cold. No preparation given. I didn’t have to warm up or make excuses. I started singing “Like a Virgin” by Madonna. That was the first song that popped into my head and I didn’t judge it. Everyone was impressed as soon as I started singing. I connected with each person and sang to them. After I sang only the first verse and chorus, the moderator stopped me and gave me the extra hundred dollars. He jokingly hated the fact that I could actually sing.

Training paid off in this situation-which had nothing to do with acting or an audition…this was a focus group. Training put me on go and I sang really well and I connected with each person. I delivered at a high level and impinged every person in the room.

I’m The Artist Of The Month!

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Happy Sunday! Hope you’re all well and having a great weekend.

Just wanted to let you know that I have been selected as the artist of the month. Honored and pleased to be part of a wonderful community of artists at my school, the Richard Lawson Studios. Read my interview to find out how and why I received this distinction:

http://studio.richardlawson.net/featured-rls-student-jorge-ortiz/

Chasing The George

I’m taking a quick break from:

My feature film re-writes, the pre-production work I’m doing for the new headshots I’m taking on February 25th and the work I’m doing with my team to get me a pitch meeting with Netflix to say:

CONGRATS to all the 2017 SAG Awards nominees! I’ll be tuning in today, January 29th, to root for all of you. It was an honor to be able to cast my vote in every single category and to be a part of the process. It won’t be long until I am sitting there with the rest of you.

I love awards season and I am totally in my element (Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Producers Guild Awards, Writers Guild Awards, Directors Guild Awards and the Academy Awards)

Week 2 Status Report!

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For a second week in a row, I stepped up my awareness in certain areas of my personal and professional lives so that I can be in alignment with my career postulates. With this increased awareness, and by taking a set of actions, I am stepping into the light and power of my postulates. If I see and want these things for my career, then I need to behave and act in accordance with the things that I see and want. For example, one of my postulates is:

I am a household name infiltrating and conquering mainstream Hollywood through my film acting work and by creating TV and Film content that is just beyond the margin of comfortability (Daring and artistically free content that falls within the wheelhouse of HBO, Showtime, Netflix, The Weinstein Company and other powerful indie studio houses)

I see this postulate. I just have to fill in the blanks to get there. Take the actions to get there. So that when I do become a household name, it’s déjà vu because I already saw it X amount of time ago. But in order for me to get closer and closer to achieving this postulate (and other postulates), I need to have an increased awareness of how to live and operate my life in certain areas. For example, I have to be a leader. I have to be in the front. I have to speak my mind. My viewpoint must be unyielding with good-humored inflexibility. I have to ask for what I want from the people on my team, etc. I have to take actions and vibrate at the same frequency level of my postulates.

So I tackled the same list of actions again from my October 16th blog entry. Again, some of these actions are already a part of my everyday routine. A few other actions are a little more challenging and I need to lean into them more. That being said, I had a little more ease with tackling the challenging actions in the second week than I did in the first week. Moving forward, I have to continue tackling these challenging actions until they become a way of life for me, a part of my routine.

So without further delay, here are the list of actions I took again. This is not a final, comprehensive list of all the actions I take for my life and career. This is just a small sampling of my career administration, with a focus on challenging actions I need to step it up in. The asterisk (*) indicates a challenging action.

To sit in the front row. (Yes. In both of my acting classes)

**To speak my mind immediately. (Yes. Better. Improved.)

**To follow my impulses and instincts. (Yes. Better. Improved)

To lead. (Yes. Taught my ass off in the PDP 1.0 and PDP 2.0 classes.)

To dance while in the passenger seat of a car when a good song comes on or when the driver dances. (I did not ride shotgun this time.)

To spice things up. (Yes. Sunday night.)

To dance in the streets. (Yes.)

To make extra money. (Yes. Two times.)

To be myself without apology. (Yes. In terms of the way I laugh, the things I say, the jokes I say, the way I dance.)

**To hold my own space. (Yes. Much better. Improved)

To dance without consideration at the top of acting classes. (Yes.)

To continue administering my acting and writing careers. (Yes! Yes! Yes!)

To engage in conversation with a new person (Yes. I engaged with a customer at the smog check station, with the tech assistant at the smog check station and with two people at a Halloween party.)

To ask various industry people for something I want. (Yes. I reached out to two TV showrunners to be their assistant.)

To excite my agent again with a new piece of administrative evidence that will push my career forward. (Yes. I sent them my commercial headshot template.)

To be submitted on 3-5 TV series and 3-5 feature films. See below:

TV Series: The Fosters, Silicon Valley, Counterpart, Grey’s Anatomy.

Feature Films: Happy Anniversary, Willie and Me.

To impinge! (Yes. I stood by my Halloween costume concept and didn’t yield from it at the Halloween party. Also posted my concept on Facebook. I also impinged when I taught PDP 1.0 and PDP 2.0. I impinged with an audition I did. Etc. Etc. Etc.)

Here’s What Happened!!!

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So last Sunday, October 16th, I made a commitment to tackle a small list of actions that would help and push me into being the living embodiment of my postulates (The blog entry was titled, “This Week, I Commit Myself”: http://wp.me/p8uI5M-1u)

A postulate is something I see for myself and claim. A prediction. A proposition that requires no proof. Being self-evident. You see something, you work towards it and when you achieve it, it becomes déjà vu. A postulate is a way of life. I have to live my postulates and be them. Currently, I do a pretty good job of living and operating within the realm of my postulates, but I know I can step it up even more.

In other words, if I want to achieve certain things in my life and career, then I need to start living them even more so. Behave as such. Behave as if I already have them and achieved them. So I created this small list of actions to start moving faster towards the completion of my postulates. I already execute some of the actions on this list on a daily basis, while other actions on this list need more awareness and attack.

I committed to doing these actions for a week, and man, what an experience. Many of the actions on this list were easy to complete, but a couple gave me a challenge and I found myself flinching from them.

The areas I flinched on (flinch: to back away, to retreat) was speaking my mind immediately and listening to my impulses and instincts. This is the people-pleaser in me. This is the person who wants to run for mayor and be liked. Many years ago, I was running for mayor big time and trying to please everyone. That shit was so fucking exhausting. It was not fucking realistic. Who has time for that shit? As Bianca Del Rio says, “Not today, Satan, not today.” I’m not about that because it makes me weak and puts me at affect. I have come a long way from that person I used to be.

However, there is probably 9% of that people-pleasing aspect still in me. And that 9% held me back from speaking my mind immediately this past week. I spoke my mind in certain situations, but not in others for fear of rocking the boat and disturbing the waters. That 9% also held back my impulses and instincts in a few situations. Again, to avoid getting into “trouble”.

When I flinched, I immediately busted myself and asked, “Why did you flinch on that?” “Why did you back away?” “Why did you look the other way?” “Why didn’t you speak on that?” “What do you think is going to happen?!” Because when I do speak my mind and when I do follow my impulses and instincts, it’s fucking liberating!! So, I kept calling myself out every time I flinched.

It takes a lot of energy to be a star. To be a leader. To see and be seen. To perceive and take responsibility for what you perceive. To just be. To not fidget. To hold your head up. To be the example. But I want to achieve what I see for myself and so I have to work at it.

The more I do this, the more manageable it will be. So, I will repeat the same small list of actions this week–and beyond–so that the challenging actions become second-nature. A way of life. Again, some actions on the list were easy to complete and is a part of my everyday routine, while a couple of actions were challenging.

Below is the list of actions and my status report for each line item:

To sit in the front row (Yes. I sat in the front of my acting classes. I must always sit in the front row or be in the front of a group.)

To speak my mind immediately (Yes on certain topics and no on others.)

To follow my impulses and instincts (Yes on certain things and no on others.)

To lead (Yes on certain things and no on others.)

To dance while in the passenger seat of a car when a good song comes on or when the driver dances (Yes. This pushes me to be the fool. To be present. To loosen up.)

To spice things up (Yes.)

To dance in the streets (Yes. I danced and skipped down the streets of Sherman Oaks. I also danced while holding 5-pound weights inside of Target.)

To make extra money (Yes. I made extra money on three different occasions. The intention is to create a state of affluence and financial abundance. To know that I can always create money for myself.)

To be myself without apology (Yes. In terms of my point of view, in terms of my laugh, in terms of my reactions to things, in terms of how I dress, in terms of the stand up comedy I recently did, to dance how the fuck I want to dance, etc.)

To hold my own space (Yes and no. Yes in terms of allowing myself to hold space at Queen Mary Dark Harbor Nights, holding my space on the trains and buses, at Trader Joe’s on Sunday during peak hours when the Brooklyn in me went in and out with groceries in FIVE minutes. No in terms of fidgeting. No in terms of looking the other way when a few people looked at me throughout the week. No in terms of not speaking my mind immediately.)

To dance without consideration at the top of my acting classes (Yes.)

To continue administering my acting and writing careers (Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!)

To engage in conversation with a new person (Yes.)

To ask various industry people for something I want (Yes, yes, yes! I asked for advice and leads on self-publishing a book.)

To excite my agent again with a new piece of administrative evidence that will push my career forward (Yes. I emailed him my theatrical headshot template.)

To be submitted on 3-5 TV series and 3-5 feature films (I was submitted on several TV series including: Criminal Minds, Speechless, The Real O’Neals, Master of None, Dear White People, etc. I was submitted on 3 feature films: Skin In The Game, Patriarch, Killer Complex.)

So, here we go again for this week! Round two!

This Week, I Commit Myself:

Chasing The George

To sit in the front row.

To speak my mind immediately.

To follow my impulses and instincts.

To lead.

To dance while in the passenger seat of a car when a good song comes on or when the driver dances.

To spice things up.

To dance in the streets.

To make extra money.

To be myself without apology.

To hold my own space.

To dance without consideration at the top of acting classes.

To continue administering my acting and writing careers.

To engage in conversation with a new person.

To ask various industry people for something I want.

To excite my agent again with a new piece of administrative evidence that will push my career forward.

To be submitted on 3-5 TV series and 3-5 feature films.

To impinge!

A postulate is something I see for myself and claim. A prediction. A proposition that requires no proof. Being self-evident. A postulate is what I see. It’s a way of life. I have to live it and be it. I will do these things above to live out my postulates, to be my postulates. Live them now so that when I eventually achieve them, it will be déjà vu.

On Sunday, October 23rd, I will give a full report on the above commitments.

I Sent My Business Plan To My Agent

Chasing The George

As I gear up to shoot a pilot presentation with some fierce artists, I wanted to first share with you all a great and powerful action I took on my journey as an artist. On September 12th, I signed with a new theatrical agent. A week later, I emailed my agent a copy of my DOIN’ (which stands for Declaration of Independence) A DOIN’ is a business plan, a concise road map, for your career. This powerful document is part of the training and development of every artist at the Richard Lawson Studios.

I emailed my DOIN’ to my agent so that he could see what I’m about as a whole, 360 degree artist. This is who and what I’m about. When I pulled up my DOIN’ on my computer, I read my dreams in a new unit of time and was blown away by them. I have some large dreams! And I loved reading through the specific administration plans I created to get closer and closer to achieving my dreams. I was also amazed by how much I had already achieved and I took pride in crossing things off my DOIN’. I was also very happy to see that certain administrative actions were now a routine part of my life.

I also added some new things to my DOIN’ and made a few things more specific–which is totally cool because your DOIN’ is a living document. A business plan evolves and changes as a person/business evolves and changes. Your DOIN’ should be alive, passionate, personal, specific and fluid. You grow and your DOIN’ grows as well.

I emailed my DOIN’ to my agent with such a tremendous sense of pride. My subtext was, “Wait till you get a load of this!” By sending him this document, we are starting off on the right foot. There are no guessing games. This is it. It’s all laid out and transparent.

Within a few days, he responded and said what a great job I did. He was really impressed with my DOIN’!

Onward and forward!

 

Creating The Evidence Equals Power

Chasing The George

Creating the evidence seems to have been the recurring theme this past week! I must have told several people that there is no greater joy than creating your own evidence. Yes, I love having representation in the form of an agent and a manager, but there is something really special and powerful about creating evidence for yourself. Evidence that is a direct extension and expression of who you are.

Several times this past week, I said to various people that when you create your own work, people look at you differently. They pay more attention. They take you more seriously as someone who is really about something. They are more interested. You’re standing face-to-face and toe-to-toe with other industry professionals with quality product that you’ve created. You’re in the arena with other industry professionals.

Two days ago, a film that I executive produced, co-wrote and co-starred in, “Human Revolution”, was submitted to Sundance! How freaking cool is that?! We also submitted to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival! How freaking cool is that?! And we have several other film festivals that we are targeting in the near future. How freaking cool is that?! It’s so exciting to get my work out there!

To be able to send people your evidence, your product, is amazing. Whether it be a short film, a pilot script, a sizzle reel for a film, a demo reel, a feature film script, etc. It’s incredibly empowering, satisfying and rewarding. At the end of the day, this product is yours. No one can ever take that away from you. You can stand firmly behind it with pride and joy.

People take me more seriously when they see how involved I am in the 360 degrees of my career. They see that I’m not just a devastatingly handsome face 🙂

My agent, who I just signed with, was thrilled that I write and create my own work. He believes that actors should create their own work in addition to the hustle that an agency provides when they go through the breakdowns, pitch their clients and negotiate contracts. I can create my own work and empower my representatives on our journey together.

A classmate of mine recently printed up a new script she wrote and held it with beaming pride. That’s what I’m talking about! That script is a direct extension of who she is and what she’s about as an artist.

Two classmates recently screened their pilot presentation and they talked about it afterwards with tremendous pride. Hell yeah!

This week, I’m going to push and shock myself with two powerful actions towards the advancement of the script I have written for James Franco (and for MYSELF!) By pushing and shocking myself, I am staying in alignment with the concept of “Chasing The George”. In this way, we can see the week-to-week progression and construction of my journey as an artist.

From Dead Last to Top 3!

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Am I talking about being dead last on RuPaul’s Drag Race (You know, the wildly-addictive, funny and touching reality show that looks for America’s next drag superstar)? Am I talking about the drag queens who get eliminated on the first episode of every season like Porkchop, Shangela, Penny Tration, Kelly Mantle, Magnolia Crawford, Tempest DuJour, etc.?

Nope!

I’m talking about being dead last when my classmates and I in the Professional Development Program 3.0 class created a comprehensive points system in January 2016 to track our progression as the CEO’s of ourselves as artistic businesses. The points system covers many different categories of career administration and the value of the points varies from one category to the next. For example, putting up a scene in class is worth a certain amount of points whereas booking a guest star role on a TV series is worth a higher amount of points. Mailing out postcards is worth a certain amount of points and making an industry phone call is worth another amount of points.

What I love about the points system is that it gives me an accurate picture of where I am thriving as an artist and where I am not. Which areas I am strong in and which areas I need to put more attention on. And you have to be honest about giving yourself points in the different categories because it’s an honest look at your career administration. To cheat the points system in order to be ahead of others only hurts yourself. To cheat and add points that weren’t earned only hurts yourself in the long run. We are a business. We punch in and we punch out. The points system tracks our progress. It’s our profits and loss statements. It’s our growth statements. No point in cheating.

When we started tracking our points back in January, I was shocked to see that I was dead last in terms of points earned. Out of all my classmates, I was dead last for three or four weeks straight. I was mortified! How could I, of all people, be dead last in the areas of career administration?!?!?!?! I’m supposed to be Chasing The George every week!!!! I’m supposed to be the motherfucking man, careering gaily over the waves!!!!

Instead, I looked like the screaming man in the famous painting, “The Scream”, by expressionist artist Edvard Munch. The horrors! The horrors!

Instead of giving up, I decided to focus and study the facts. First of all, I wasn’t clear about what I wanted 2016 to be about on a professional level. That was problem number one. Public enemy number one. Without clarity, my career administration was general and uninspired. I didn’t have clearly-defined goals to work towards. So being dead last was a wake up call for me to get specific about what I wanted 2016 to be about.

Once I got specific about the professional design for 2016, I moved pretty quickly into the second to last position on the overall points earner list. I was earning more points in different categories and that excited me! The points system also forced me to administrate and take action in certain categories that were uncomfortable for me. Categories I had a flinch on. Why does this section have no points at at all? What am I scared of? Focus on this area. Confront it. Be a better artist at the end of the day because I am confronting uncomfortable categories.

As I gained momentum on my career administration, I continued to move up the overall points earner list. If I saw someone gaining up on me, I worked harder and pushed myself further. What risks could I take this week to stay ahead?

On July 8th, we assessed our six-month progress in class and it was really nice to hear the points list administrator acknowledge how cool it was to see me move up the list over the last six months. By the time we assessed our progress on July 8th, I was in the Top 3! I was positioned at #3!

In RuPaul’s Drag Race terms, I was the drag queen who made Top 3! I joined the ranks of past Top 3 Drag Race contestants like Nina Flowers, Alaska Thunderfuck, Roxxxy Andrews, Adore Delano, Courtney Act, Pearl, Ginger Minj, Kimchi, Naomi Smalls, etc. When you make Top 3 in RuPaul’s Drag Race, your career is pretty much set for life. Top 3 is still a rocking place to be even if you aren’t crowned America’s next drag superstar (the person who ultimately comes in at number one) Top 3 is an achievement. These three have shown consistency week to week on the show and also Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent. C.U.N…

Instead of being told to “Sashay away”, I was told, “Shantay, you stay”. Or, more importantly, I told myself to stay and keep fighting.

It was such a gratifying experience to see my hard work pay off.

On July 8th, the points system got revamped and became more streamlined. All our points have been reset and we’re all starting from ground zero again. I hope to be Top 3 again. I’d LOVE to be number one by the time 2016 comes to an end, but I’ll be just as happy with Top 3. Why? Because being Top 3 is still a cause for celebration. It’s still an indication that the work flow I’ve created and maintained for myself is working. It’s still an indication of how consistent my career administration is. Having a work consistency that produces results, that makes an impact and that is in alignment with what I’m about is more important to me.

And at the end of the day, I can rest assured knowing that if I make Top 3 again, I can come back for the All Stars Season…okay, okay, enough of these RuPaul’s Drag Race
references!

(By the way, RuPaul and Michelle Visage, I would LOVE to be a guest judge on a future season of Drag Race! xoxo)