The Actor Actually Acts: End of the Road & The Start of Another

One Year Milestone, Reflection & New Plans Looking Forward

Hi Actor,

This post is an acknowledgement of something rather big for me. A pivot, a change and the potential for a little transformation too. It has a touch of the bitter sweet & I'm sure you'll be a little excited for me. I have a couple of things to cover first.

Number One: I would like to acknowledge the milestone of hitting 52 consecutive weeks!

Thats right! A full year of blogging every week! Well, I must have gotten a little excited one week and posted twice because I have 53 posts in the bag 😂 dunno what happened there! Anyway! At this exact time (7:30am), on this same day (September 18th), 1 year ago I posted my first blog to the world wide web and shared it across socials to my immediate community. Check out that post out here . The post titled 'The Actor Begins: The Starting Point' answered the question of "If I was starting my acting journey today, what are the things I would do to give myself the best chances of success in this industry?". It was an "advice post" particularly targeted at anyone interested in pursuing a dream of acting. I received such a wonderful response from it! Since, I've been posting every week and have learnt heaps in the process. I've found this exercise very rewarding and I hope you have too.

Number Two: Lets have a look back on what we covered over the last 52 consecutive weeks!

• If I was starting from scratch, what would I do to ensure my success? (post mentioned above)

• We've looked at how and where to find meaning & purpose outside of "booking" acting work.

• We've regularly discussed skill development - and thoroughly understand how to develop our talents.

• We've considered minimalistic approaches for the days we are just too exhausted or busy to work.

• We've cultivated and followed our curiosity.

• We know that reviewing our work is a very important part of our practice.

  • And something we may have a lot of initial resistance towards.

• We know that there are 'Practice Zones' of discomfort & we've identified the helpful zone.

• We've had a look at the Actor's "Process"

• Discussed the importance of community.

• Taken a look at how to prepare for upcoming roles.

• We are aware of common obstacles that get in the way of planned goals (Happy New Year Post).

• We are aware of Initial Discomforts & their benefits.

• We've looked at 'The Little Book of Talent' By Daniel Coyle.

• We've taken a look at some correlations between behaviour therapy (DBT) and effective actor training.

• We've asked ourselves: Where should we be based? Where should we live?

• We've spoken about the benefits of Casting Workshops.

• We've considered the gifts we get for free & looked at the ones we see in others that we want to develop.

• We have watched our icons and stollen absolute gold from them.

• We've looked at how to develop our communication skills.

• We've looked at teachers and the standards we aught to hold them to.

• We had a closer look at how we contribute to class and we are now sitting forward and learning just as much from what we see in others work.

• We've tapped into the flow state.

• Developed our own Scene Library - to make practice that little bit easier.

• Created our very own DIY Acting School.

• I've spoken about an exercise I designed myself that puts the actor in a state of deep practice.

  • Deep practice exercise: Snakes and Ladders

• We understand now that actors are required to cultivate and share the "hearts and minds of giants".

• We've had a look at all our skills and broken them down into their parts.

• We practice the Hard skills like a careful carpenter. - Thanks Daniel Coyle

• We practice the Soft skills like a skateboarder. - Thanks again Daniel Coyle

• We've had a look at another one of my original concepts/ actor tools.

  • 'The Actor's Archetypes: The Artist, The Soldier & The Diplomat.'

• We've declared war on "Resistance" - as mentioned in the 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield

• We've discussed how to give effective feedback

• We've been warned of the danger of "The Shadow Career" - as mentioned in 'The Artist Way'

• We've even covered of the "Art of Letting go"

And finally, here we are, looking back. Wow!

What we've covered over the course of a year is huge and I really am proud of myself. I want to take this moment to say, it would not have happened without the support of my friends and family who seem to have this beautiful ability of recharging my battery and relighting that spark within me. I have my doubts frequently, about many things and they always seem to be able to throw me back into the creative ring. Thank you to those people, you know who you are.

Lastly to finish: the end of the blogs & what are my plans moving forward?

The other day I was watching some brilliant performers up on the stage doing their thing and absolutely nailing it on all fronts. These people are DOING it. They are working, professional actors, creating a career, show by show, tour by tour. They were up there sweating, dancing, singing & making the crowd laugh. Even flying across the stage at times. The show was amazing. It was a musical/ circus/ burlesque like experience and I wanted to be up there in my own way. I wanted to be, doing it. I am by no means a musical theatre actor, nor do I want to be (that is a skillset that I'm happy to watch and be owed by, without the desire to do it myself)... but I do want to be back up on stages and screens.

I have had the pleasure of working semi frequently over the last little while and I'm so so grateful for that. Nothing makes me happier than knowing someone wants to collaborate with me - not to mention when those same people ask me back again and again!

The last 12 months of blogging every week has brought me a huge amount of joy and I love being able to share my ideas with those who are interested. It's my way of giving back. I have, however, been finding it hard to be able to truly dive deep into the "actual" practice. I am practicing most days, don't get me wrong, but for me, not enough.

Although writing is only a part time commitment for me, when I sit down to do so, hours pass. As I finish one blog, I'm thinking of the next one, and then the next, and the next. I'm in a real flow state with it all. I get quite passionate and hyper-focused and before you know it, I have spent my entire day, not practicing, but writing about practicing. Now, writing about acting has its benefits, however its incomparable to the actual doing of it.

I've been doing this wonderful thing called Acting for a decade now. In another 10 years time, I don't want to look back and realise I hadn't really given it a (100-percent-all-in) crack and instead ran alongside/ parallel to it - doing something similar, but not really "doing it". Settling for something that is comfortable and avoiding doing the thing I really want to be paid to do. The "shadow artist" lurks around every corner is seems.

This is a wonderful realisation for me. I'm really, very excited about it.

I'm actually quite hopeful too, for the very same reason I decided to start the blog . I know how to improve my skills at an insane speed. I know how to stay on track and have longevity in this challenging & ever changing industry. I know how to back myself in my creative work and I know what needs to be done to get to where I want to be.

I need to go and do it though. Not talk about it, do it.

I am certain I will be back here discussing and sharing more further down the track, but for now I'm taking a break from the blog writing for the foreseeable future. Thank you so much to each and every one of you that have supported me by reading my writing. It's been hugely appreciated. I'm so stoked people out there want to read what I have to say and it is my hope that the posts have helped you and continue to help you.

Please feel free to come back to 'The Actor's Article' and remind yourself of it's contents if ever struggling to navigate the industry or craft - and as always, feel free to reach out directly to me via email or on ... *old person voice* "The social medias" . Feel free to share my blog with your friends or keep it as a secret for yourself - totally up to you!

Email: lachlanstuartactor@gmail.com

In the wise words of Warner Brother's Porky Pig, "Th-th-th-that's all folks" 🐷 ... for now.

Talk soon... I'm sure of it.

Lachy

Lachlan is an Australian Actor who has been working within the industry for a decade. He’s worked in Film & Theatre.

© Lachlan Stuart 2025