Hi Actor,
We've spoken about igniting ourselves by Priming. This allows us to be clear with our work and assist us in using our time intentionally. We've also spoken about daily Practice. The act of "doing" each and every day.
Now; I want to talk about the kind of practice we need to aim for. The kind that saves us time, keeps us improving and has us experimenting.
Let me be clear, some practice is effective. Some is not. Let's make sure we aren't wasting our time.
So, what kind is ineffective? There are two types of time wasting zones of practices.
Two Types of Ineffective Practice
Comfort Zone:
It's comfortable, we don't make errors. We confidently sit and marvel at our current ability. We practice when we want to and only to our strengths without challenging ourselves. We lack direction because we refuse to move, staying uncompromised in every way we can. Our human instinct loves to pull us to this place of automaticity. We can go on auto pilot and think about other stuff. It's also non-reflective because we are allergic to criticism and feedback.
Survival Zone:
Incredibly uncomfortable work. It's a lot of guessing. A lot of stumbling. Mostly missing our mark. We sometimes get it right but only out of luck. It's overwhelming & totally unproductive. Exhausting in all the wrong places. Anxieties take over and we fumble most times. This practice also lacks direction but this time it's out of desperation. We thrash around in the dark and don't get anywhere. We miss consistently and also run the risk of injuring ourselves. The practice is unreflective because we are overly critical of every little thing we do.
Effective Practice
The Sweet Spot/ Optimal Zone of Discomfort:
It's uncomfortable. Irritating. Scary. It's targeted. Specific to a problem we are trying to solve. We strive to push ourselves past our current ability. We reach "beyond", sometime succeeding, sometimes missing. Failure is an important part. We are often left looking stupid. We notice our mistakes, alter accordingly and work to strengthening our weak points. In addition we continue to push our strengths to new heights. It's reflective. Honestly, specifically reflective. The goal here is to progress towards a destination. It is a good balance of the capable and the incapable.
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Note: I'd highly recommend getting yourself a copy of 'The Little Book Of Talent' by Daniel Coyle for further reading. It's an invaluable resource for any actor wanting to get better at what they do.
Your practice will likely take you through all of these zones at some point or another. Don't stress out too much if your work is becoming easy for you, just change it up and make it harder. In fact, if you are discovering that a skill you once found difficult, is now really easy, it's is a great sign that you have been working effectively. Remember though, this feeling of ease means "change it up now!". Make it more challenging for yourself in some way. Often plateaus come from the fact that we have reached some sort of autopilot in our practice.
Be creative with challenging yourself. Change things around, slow it down, speed it up, flip it on its head, turn it inside out, do it back to front. Just, whatever you do, don't keep it the same. Conversely, if you're finding yourself struggling with the work and with progress, make it a little easier on yourself and pull back the difficulty.
I would love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment or reach out directly. Talk soon.
Lachlan is an Australian Actor who has been working within the industry nearing a decade. He’s worked in Film & Theatre.
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