The Aligned Actor

Being an actor is not for the faint of heart.

The delicious high of booking your first co-star!

The agonizing low of being left on the cutting room floor after you’ve told all your friends and family “your episode” is airing tonight!

The delightful twist of getting a straight-offer because you’re a recommendation of a casting director who loves your work.

The devastating turn of being told hours before your call time that your role has been cut and you can kiss that pay check goodbye.

Choosing an acting career is like getting on a roller coaster that’s being built as you ride it.

Strap in. Hold on. Enjoy the ride?

Yeah, right…

Who can “enjoy” getting released from two pins in the same week?

How do you say “weeeeeee” when a certified letter arrives in the mail saying your agent has dropped you?

Then again, there’s nothing like the feeling of locking in with your scene partner and immersing yourself so deeply in the world of your character that hearing the word “cut” catches you completely off guard.

I don’t know about you, but I’m never getting off the roller coaster.

But I’m done feeling sick to my stomach.

And this is where mindfulness comes in.

Mindfulness is like dramamine for The Actor Roller Coaster. Let's get into it...

-----

I’m hosting two mindfulness and mindset workshops in December!

The December Double Feature!

It’s two AWESOME Zoom workshops in ONE bundled offer, so you can feel calm and confident going into The New Year!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

Once again we’re exploring a letter I wrote a few years ago to Young Actor Amy who had just arrive in LA. This is A Letter to Young Actor Amy: Part 4 and our topic today is Create, Because No One Cares. Technically we’re combining two topics from my letter, but they go hand-in-hand, so this is perfect.

Let’s read what I wrote to myself back then and see how this all holds up today.

Create!

Don’t wait for permission or perfection to create stuff and put it out into the world. Just do it! Lean into your inspirations and follow them full out. Play, explore, throw stuff up online, and again, rinse and repeat. Some of it might be crap, or maybe only a handful of people will ever see it, but what you will learn in the process will be invaluable. Oh, and fun. Tons of fun!

Rolling right into the second bit of advice…

No one cares.

If you think someone is judging you, chances are good you’re really just projecting your own self-judgement onto them. Abandon judgment altogether and remember that while you’re busy worrying about “what they think” they are probably just as worried about “what YOU think” and you’re both so caught up in this stupid game of self-obsession that no one has stopped to realize, ta-da, no one cares what anyone else is doing! Or maybe we all care, but only in the “oh that’s cool!” sense rather than the “why would you do that?!” sense. Does that make sense? I hope it does, because reminding myself of this fact on a regular basis is freeing.

Surprise, surprise, I still love both of these pieces of advice that I wrote to myself. And I have some updated reflections to share on each of these points and how they fit together very nicely.

Let’s start with Create!

The reason that I encourage myself and all actors to create — content, funny reels, visual art, crafts, join a choir, start an improv team, etc — is that we need to be feeding our creative souls.

For many years, I created a comedy web series called, SchloerBITS. It was the ultimate DIY “one woman show.” I literally did everything myself — writing, filming, editing. It didn’t get many views, but it won some festival awards, got me a few acting jobs, and I learned a ton about the creative process, which really helped my overall mindset as an actor.

The absolute best part was that it fed my creative soul. Instead of sitting around waiting for someone to cast me, I cast myself in funny roles and scenarios I wanted to explore. I got to express my creativity through writing, filming, acting, and even editing, which was a whole new creative challenge that I really enjoyed. Looking back on the series, I’m still really proud of my work as both an actress and a DIY filmmaker.

My one rule was to make myself laugh. If I found an idea funny, hopefully the audience would also find it funny. And if they didn’t, at least I had fun and was brave enough to put my work out into the world anyway.

Which is a great segue into the second half of today’s advice — No One Cares.

Sharing your creative endeavors with the world is vulnerable and scary AF. There were plenty of times on SchloerBITS that I worried that people would be critical of my work. “Oh, here’s Amy and her BITS again. Does she really think she’s funny? These are embarrassing.”

When my comments weren’t flooded with haters and trolls, I started to lean into the idea that people really just didn’t care one way or the other what I was doing — certainly not enough to take the time to throw shade my way. In fact, despite all my worries and fears — “What will they think?” — most comments were incredibly supportive.

Additionally, whenever I have caught myself thinking, “Who do they think they are, all proud of their short film or web series or funny viral video?” most of the time it’s my own jealousy speaking. I want to be doing what they are doing, but it’s up to me — not them — to recognize that and adjust my actions accordingly.

If someone slides into your DMs (are we still saying that?) or leaves a nasty comment on your post, that’s likely a them issue. If witnessing your creativity triggers something within them, that is not your fault or your problem. Let it go and keep creating! Maybe you’ll end up inspiring them to do the same.

So create things, have fun, be yourself, live your life, don’t worry what others will think, and let others do the same!

The Aligned Actor is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Paid subscribers get Zoom “office hours” with me!

NEW! Community Zooms for Paid-Subscribers! 💻

I’m now offering exclusive Zoom sessions for paid subscribers. Support my on-going work and enjoy “office hours” with yours truly! Drop into a Zoom session to experience guided mindfulness and supportive, community-based mindset coaching.

Let’s chat! ☕️

If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, so you can enjoy the roller coaster of a creative career (instead of wanting to hurl), let’s connect in a complimentary session.

Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳

This is a chance for us to connect and for you to walk away with some specific, actionable ideas that you can start applying right away to shift and strengthen your actor mindset.

Think of it like an audition where you are the production team. I’ll show you what I do in the role of “coach” by actually coaching you, and then you get to decide, “Does my production need a mindset coach right now, and is Amy right for this role?” Sounds fun, right?

Get my Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧

I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition.

It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — “How can I book this? What do they want?” — and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, so that you can present your best work every time.

Super Stressed? I got you! 💖

Accessing Calm is my ebook of super simple, fun mindfulness life hacks I use every day to calm down quickly when stress is high.

These are the tools that help me release tension from my body and keep my mind from spinning out of control with worry and frustration. 😭 ➡️ ☺️

They help me get through the morning rush, calm down before a big audition, and deal with all the stress of the world in general.

It’s a quick read that includes video demonstrations of all tools and some bonus mindfulness meditations — all for just $7!

Upcoming Workshops

I’m hosting online my mindfulness workshop in November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!

Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your Presence

Come learn about mindfulness and the many advantages it offers performers. Experience a guided mindfulness meditation, explore the benefits of developing a daily mindfulness practice, and learn some quick centering tools to use in auditions and on set.

If you are a member of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory, head to the calendar on the website to sign up. If you’re not a member, I encourage you to join, it’s $45 for a full year of workshops and classes.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

It’s time, once again, dear friends to practice mindfulness together.

One of my major goals with The Aligned Actor is to demystify mindfulness and make engaging in a regular practice as easy as possible for you.

Remember, mindfulness is incredibly simple.

Mindfulness is a special way of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment.

You focus on your breath and you notice whatever you notice both within you and around you — thoughts, emotions, sensations, sounds, etc.

If you notice that your mind wanders completely away from the present moment — back into the past or forward into the future — no big deal. It happens to all of us.

When your mind wanders, just kindly and gently guide your focus back to your breath, which always lives in the present moment. No need to curse yourself out or berate your wandering mind.

Just gently readjust.

Simple.

Gentle.

Rinse and repeat…over and over and over…throughout the session.

One of my favorite things about my mindfulness practice is that it has increased my self-awareness and my awareness in general. I mentioned this in a previous practice session, but it’s important enough warrant another post!

I’ve long believed that awareness is a superpower. When I am aware of my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors I can choose to continue along with the status quo or I can decided to make a change. It gives me more control in my life.

For example, not too long ago I became aware of my tendency to overly control my auditions. I obsessed about memorization. I not only had to say the correct words, but I also had to perform the words correctly based on how I thought the scene “should” go.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I was so anxious and in my head that I could not enjoy my work.

Once I noticed this uncomfortable audition state I was able to ask the question, “Is this working for me?” Sure, I’d been able to book good roles despite this tendency, but auditions, and even working on set, felt super stressful and not fun at all.

Like many, I got into acting because I love it. I love connecting with my scene partner and playing in a world of imaginary circumstances. Trying to control and perfect my auditions felt like the exact opposite of connection and play.

Thanks to my mindful awareness I was able to change my approach to auditions. I still make sure to get the words right out of respect for the writers, but the words are no longer the sole focus of my audition. They are now a small part of a whole world that exists in that scene. The work (and fun!) of the audition is to create the whole world for myself.

Let’s practice mindfulness together now, and as you engage with the session today, know that every time you notice a thought, or a sound, or that your mind has wandered, you are helping to strengthen your overall awareness in general.

See how that knowledge impacts the rest of your day after the session. Maybe you’ll notice something new about yourself or a situation in your life and be able to make adjustments if needed.

Here’s the practice for today…

As you’re enjoying the afterglow of that little mindfulness session, remember, there are so many great benefits of mindfulness beyond increasing your awareness.

Mindfulness can also help you…

* Relieve tension and stress from your body and mind.

* Calm your nerves and go to a neutral place with your instrument before filming a big scene.

* Stay more present in your craft, really listening and reacting moment to moment.

* Get out of your head in auditions and stay focused on what your character wants.

* Notice when your Inner Critic is being really mean to you, so you can practice being kinder to yourself.

* Become less judgmental of yourself and others.

* Start to gently question if some of your dominant thoughts are actually limiting beliefs holding you back in your acting career or life in general.

The benefits of mindfulness are immediate and cumulative, meaning regular practice, even just 10 minutes a day, will make all of these benefits more and more accessible to you over time.

It just takes practice, which is why we do this.

If you found this post helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, buy me a coffee, or consider becoming a paid subscriber.

NEW! Community Zooms for Paid-Subscribers! 💻

I’m now offering exclusive Zoom sessions for paid subscribers. Support my on-going work and enjoy “office hours” with yours truly! Drop into a Zoom session to experience guided mindfulness and supportive, community-based mindset coaching.

If you’re curious about mindset coaching, but saving for your next headshot session, this is a great way to get affordable access in a supportive, community environment.

Get my FREE Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧

I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition.

It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — “How can I book this? What do they want?” — and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, so that you can present your best work every time.

Super Stressed? I got you! 💖

Accessing Calm is my ebook of super simple, fun mindfulness life hacks I use every day to calm down quickly when stress is high.

These are the tools that help me release tension from my body and keep my mind from spinning out of control with worry and frustration. 😭 ➡️ ☺️

They help me get through the morning rush, calm down before a big audition, and deal with all the stress of the world in general.

It’s a quick read that includes video demonstrations of all tools and some bonus mindfulness meditations — all for just $7!

Upcoming Workshops

I’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!

Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your Presence

Come learn about mindfulness and the many advantages it offers performers. Experience a guided mindfulness meditation, explore the benefits of developing a daily mindfulness practice, and learn some quick centering tools to use in auditions and on set.

If you are a member of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory, head to the calendar on the website to sign up. If you’re not a member, I encourage you to join, it’s $45 for a full year of workshops and classes.

Let’s chat! ☕️

If you’re ready to really embrace all this mindfulness and mindset stuff, so that you can ride the roller coaster of being an actor without throwing up, let’s connect in a complimentary session.

This is a chance for us to connect and for you to walk away with some specific, actionable ideas that you can start applying right away to shift and strengthen your actor mindset.

Think of it like an audition where you are the production team. I’ll show you what I do in the role of “coach” by actually coaching you, and then you get to decide, “Does my production need a mindset coach right now, and is Amy right for this role?”

Sounds fun, right? I mean, who doesn’t love an audition?!

Bye!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

Welcome to more fun on The Aligned Actor PodTubeStack!

I’m Amy Schloerb. I’m a professional actress and a mindfulness and mindset coach helping actors ride the roller coaster — all the ups and downs, twists and turns — of being an actor without throwing up.

Once again we’re exploring a letter I wrote a few years ago to Young Actor Amy who had just arrive in LA. This is A Letter to Young Actor Amy: Part 3 about how All Acting Work is Real.

Let’s see what I wrote back then and see how this advice holds up today.

All acting work is real. Enjoy it.

Don’t treat any acting job like a stepping stone or practice session for a “real job.” THEY ARE ALL REAL JOBS. Different budget levels maybe, but your job is always the same. Know your lines, know what you want in each scene, and do your work. Rinse and repeat. Any idea that “Oh, this is good practice for when I’m REALLY working” is nonsense. You’re REALLY WORKING now! Stop missing out on the fun you’re having right now by continually telling yourself that this job doesn’t count. It counts! Enjoy it! Celebrate them all!

Yes! AND I want to expand this idea even more so that it includes ALL ACTING we do!

Paid and unpaid.

On set and in class.

Auditions and silly stuff we throw up on the internet because it’s fun.

Everything.

When we say “This isn’t real” or “This doesn’t count” or “This is just a stepping stone to the real work” in a way we’re disparaging the work we’re currently doing by comparing it to OTHER work that we deem as “better” because it’s “real” and what we’re really saying is, “This isn’t good enough compared to THAT!”

“This scene in class isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” audition.”

“This audition isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” job on set.”

“This co-star role isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” role as a guest star.”

“This guest star role isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” role as a series regular.”

Where does it end?

That “compare and despair” mindset can cause a lot of stress, self-criticism, and even shame because it’s a really slippery slope from “This isn’t good enough” to “I’m not good enough because THIS is all I have and I don’t have THAT.”

Whereas the mindset that says, “All acting work as the same, it’s all real, it all counts” can set us free to enjoy our acting career in a whole new way.

I’m guessing you got into acting because you love it — it’s fun, it’s creative, you get to express yourself, you love playing characters, you love making people laugh, you love making people cry, you love that “performance high” you get when you act — so why not give yourself permission to really love your acting work — ALL your acting work — right now.

BONUS! — I’ve seen so many videos of famous actors saying that when they stopped thinking of auditions as “something they had to do to get an acting job” and starting seeing them as “THE ACTING JOB” — “I get to act today. This acting work counts just the same as being on set” — that’s when things transformed for them. Here’s one. Here’s another. And here’s one more to complete the rule of threes.

This mindset can make our work better because we’re more committed and not half-assing anything or holding back because “Eh, it doesn’t really count.” When all acting counts, I’m motivated to show up in my acting work in a different, deeper way and my work just keeps getting better and better.

It also takes some of the pressure off booking because when we believe all acting counts the same, and therefore we can enjoy acting at anytime, we suddenly have full control over our access our craft.

There are no gatekeepers between us and our passion.

Just like a painter can pick up their brushes and access the joy of painting anytime, we can pick up a scene or a monologue and access the joy of acting anytime.

Sure, some people will say actors need an audience to witness their acting, but do we?

Maybe that’s just another example of “This acting doesn’t count because I’m just doing it for me.”

What if even acting “just for ourselves” counts?

I have a monologue which I’ve adapted from a Martha Graham quote and sometimes I do it just for myself because it speaks to my soul, and what I want to do in the world, and it affects me the same way I hope it would affect an audience.

That counts for me.

You can go as deep or not deep with this as you want, but the point is: In my book, all acting counts.

It’s all your body of work — your acting practice — like a mindfulness practice.

In fact, a mindfulness practice can help you with this mindset shift, because mindfulness is all about staying focused on the present moment — in this case, the acting work you are currently doing — and gently returning your focus to that work whenever your mind wanders off into thinking, “Eh, this doesn’t count…Oh, no wait…I’m getting to act right now, I’m getting to do what I love. Let me get present to that and enjoy it.”

Mindfulness and mindset shifts like this are my jam. This is the kind of coaching work I love to do with 1:1 clients and in my workshops. Mindfulness can help you become more present in your work, more aware of where your mindset might be holding you back, better able to gently shift those thought patterns so that you can approach your craft and your career with more confidence, have more fun, and really enjoy being an actor despite how crazy-making this profession can be at times.

The Aligned Actor is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Let’s chat! ☕️

If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session.

Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳

This is a chance for us to connect and for you to walk away with some specific, actionable ideas that you can start applying right away to shift and strengthen your actor mindset.

Think of it like an audition where you are the production team. I’ll show you what I do in the role of “coach” by actually coaching you, and then you get to decide, “Does my production need a mindset coach right now, and is Amy right for this role?” Sounds fun, right?

Get my Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧

I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition.

It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — “How can I book this? What do they want?” — and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, so that you can present your best work every time.

And speaking of calming your nerves…

Accessing Calm is my ebook of super simple, fun mindfulness life hacks I use every day to calm down quickly when stress is high.

These are the tools that help me release tension from my body and keep my mind from spinning out of control with worry and frustration. 😭 ➡️ ☺️

They help me get through the morning rush, calm down before a big audition, and deal with all the stress of the world in general.

It’s a quick read that includes video demonstrations of all tools and some bonus mindfulness meditations — all for just $7!

Upcoming Workshops

I’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in October and November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!

Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your Presence

Come learn about mindfulness and the many advantages it offers performers. Experience a guided mindfulness meditation, explore the benefits of developing a daily mindfulness practice, and learn some quick centering tools to use in auditions and on set.

If you are a member of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory, head to the calendar on the website to sign up. If you’re not a member, I encourage you to join, it’s $45 for a full year of workshops and classes.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

Hello friends!

It’s time to practice mindfulness, again. I want to demystify mindfulness and make engaging in a regular practice as easy as possible for you.

As a reminder, my definition of mindfulness is incredibly simple:

Mindfulness is a special way of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment.

You tune into your breath and just notice whatever you notice both within you and around you — thoughts, emotions, sensations, sounds, etc.

If you notice that your mind wanders completely away from the present moment — back into the past or forward into the future — no big deal. It happens to all of us. Just kindly and gently guide your focus back to your breath. No need to curse yourself out or berate your wandering mind. Just gently guide your focus to the present moment.

Simple. Gentle. Rinse and repeat as many times as needed in the session.

One of my favorite things about mindfulness is that it lays a beautiful foundation for any personal development or mindset work we want to do.

At its core, mindfulness is awareness, and awareness equals choices.

The more we practice becoming aware of our thoughts and emotions during mindfulness meditation, the easier it becomes to notice them throughout our day and adjust our focus as needed.

We can choose to keep replaying “that audition” and questioning the performance we were so proud of only hours before, or we can choose to kindly and gently guide our focus back to our initial positive thoughts and feelings about our work. We can even choose to affirm for ourselves, “I did my work. My work is done. I’m moving on with my day.”

The mindful awareness of our unhelpful, self-critical thoughts about the audition is the first step to deciding to make new choices that serve us and our mindset much better. If we don’t notice, “Hey, I’m torturing myself over this audition. Do I want to keep doing this?” we stay stuck in the icky angst of self-tape self-doubt.

Let’s go ahead and practice together now. If you are driving or doing something that requires your full attention in order to be safe, please come back to this at a later time.

This is the mindfulness practice…

As we’re all enjoying the afterglow of that little mindfulness session, remember:

There are so many great benefits of mindfulness. I gave the example earlier about becoming more aware of thoughts and emotions throughout your day and how that can give you the choice to adjust as you see fit.

Practicing mindfulness, observing the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment while you breathe, can also help you…

* Relieve tension and stress from your body and mind.

* Calm your nerves and go to a neutral place with your instrument before filming that big scene.

* Stay more present in your craft, really listening and reacting moment to moment.

* Get out of your head in auditions and stay focused on what your character wants.

* Notice when your Inner Critic is being really mean to you, so you can practice being kinder to yourself.

* Become less judgmental of yourself and others.

* Start to gently question if some of your dominant thoughts are actually limiting beliefs holding you back in your acting career or life in general.

The benefits of mindfulness are immediate and cumulative, meaning regular practice, even just 10 minutes a day, will make all of these benefits more and more accessible to you over time.

It just takes practice, which is why we do this.

Speaking of Mindfulness! Get my Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧

I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition.

It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — “How can I book this? What do they want?” — and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, so that you can present your best work every time.

Let’s chat! ☕️

If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session.

Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳

This is a chance for us to connect and for you to walk away with some specific, actionable ideas that you can start applying right away to shift and strengthen your actor mindset.

Think of it like an audition where you are the production team. I’ll show you what I do in the role of “coach” by actually coaching you, and then you get to decide, “Does my production need a mindset coach right now, and is Amy right for this role?” Sounds fun, right?

Super Stressed? I got you! 💖

Accessing Calm is my ebook of super simple, fun mindfulness life hacks I use every day to calm down quickly when stress is high.

These are the tools that help me release tension from my body and keep my mind from spinning out of control with worry and frustration. 😭 ➡️ ☺️

They help me get through the morning rush, calm down before a big audition, and deal with all the stress of the world in general.

It’s a quick read that includes video demonstrations of all tools and some bonus mindfulness meditations — all for just $7!

Upcoming Workshops

I’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in October and November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!

Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your Presence

Come learn about mindfulness and the many advantages it offers performers. Experience a guided mindfulness meditation, explore the benefits of developing a daily mindfulness practice, and learn some quick centering tools to use in auditions and on set.

If you are a member of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory, head to the calendar on the website to sign up. If you’re not a member, I encourage you to join, it’s $45 for a full year of workshops and classes.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

Here’s your moment of mindfulness — right up top — so you can find it easily!

Hello and welcome back to the Aligned Actor PodTubeStack.

That's what I'm now calling this because I think it's fun, I like combining words, and nobody can stop me.

Just as a reminder, I'm Amy Schloerb. I'm a mindfulness and mindset coach helping actors ride the rollercoaster of being an actor without throwing up — instead, gracefully moving with all those twists and turns and ups and downs and all of that stuff — so that we can have more satisfying, more fulfilling, calmer, more stable lives in general.

This is part two of A Letter to Young Actor Amy: Find Your Actor Friends.

Let’s dive in and see what I wrote to myself back in the day…

Having some actor pals is really, really helpful when you’re starting out. These people are gonna “get you” - they’re gonna be cool if you make plans and then have to cancel because an audition comes up. They are gonna be people you can share information and resources with (headshot photographers, classes, agents, workshops). They also will understand stuff about your career that your family and non-actor friends just never will.

So, for example, let’s say that you keep getting called into audition for the same casting director a dozen times, but you keep not booking. Your family might think, “what’s wrong with you? Why can’t you convert?” BUT your actor friends are gonna know that you’re really good, this casting director obviously is a HUGE fan of your work, and for whatever reason, the right role just hasn’t come up for you yet.

So, your actor pals are gonna be able to help you stay smart and optimistic about your career and your craft, where as your family might have you spiraling down, and questioning yourself — “Maybe I really suck, maybe they’re just bringing me in to make the other actors look better, maybe I need to change my look or my skills or whatever…” — when the truth is, you just need to take a breath, acknowledge that, yeah, it’s frustrating to not book, but ultimately celebrate the fact that you’ve made a pretty big fan in the industry (in this casting director) and you’re certainly on a successful journey as a professional actor (just a little callback there).

Where do you find actor friends? I found mine in an improv community and acting classes. If you’re coming out of a college or conservatory program, maybe see if there are alumni living in your market. When I was first starting out, Facebook wasn’t public yet, but now there are all kinds of groups there and you can follow casting directors and class studios and see what looks good to you. But seriously, get in a class, which is actually my next piece of advice…

But you will have to wait for that advice because first we have to talk about this advice…

This is absolutely all still true. Good actor friends are the best.

There is nothing like a group of good actor friends who understand you, who know what it's like, who can commiserate with you when things are not going so well and who can celebrate with you when things are going really, really well.

Actor friends are amazing and you need actor friends in your life.

You can still find these folks in classes, workshops, search the hashtag #SelfTapeMay to follow them on social media, you can find them in film festivals, improv shows, and sketch shows. They're out there. They're waiting for you. You need them and they need you, so find your people.

For humans in general, having social support is a huge help in terms of handling stress, which all humans deal with, and actors are humans too — newsflash!

Actors also deal with a unique form of stress that only other actors really understand:

Rejection…performance anxiety…last minute memorizing and audition prep when you're already exhausted from your day job and other stuff you have going on in life…battling traffic to get to that callback…pressure from your family like, "Well, when are you going to be on my TV next? When are you going to make it?"

The list is just endless, right? #IYKYK

There's a lot of stress when it comes to being an actor.

Your actor friends are gonna help you with that stress, and having really strong social support from peers and colleagues who get you and understand the realities of being an actor is really, really important.

You want actor friends who understand the nuance of being pinned, or on hold, or on avail, but then being released, which BOTH absolutely sucks AND is such a great sign that you are doing absolutely the right thing, and you're a fantastic actor.

But it still really sucks and it hurts like hell, and NOBODY really gets that particular, nuanced, “both/and” situation better than your actor friends.

You want actor friends who are excited to read with you for self-tapes, maybe even last minute or really late at night because that's the only time you have to get that done. You want to like working with them, feel safe working with them, and feel like you can play when you work with them, so you can put your best performance out there.

And most importantly, you want actor friends in your life who see you as a working actor and who can continually affirm that identity for you — not because you're always on TV or in films — but because you are engaged in any number of various actor actions that are the real work of being an actor.

You're in classes…you're doing workshops…you're auditioning…you're submitting yourself for things…you're in the union or you're working on getting in the union…you have headshots and you keep them updated…you're on casting sites…you're creating your own content and putting it out there for the world to see your work…you're doing Self-Tape May…and so on and so forth…

All the stuff that we do as actors that we as insiders of this occupation, profession, and career recognize as engaging in an acting career.

Because it is so easy to let your mindset slip into outsider thinking:

"Oh, well, real actors are those people that we see on TV and in movies and at award shows, and people who can pay all their bills from just their acting jobs, and everyone else is just sort of aspiring actors or wannabe actors trying to do the actor thing."

That's a mindset that you can choose to have. That's a belief system that you can subscribe to, but I do not recommend it at all.

So many of our loved ones, or even just random people that you meet, hold that outsider view and they will unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) say things that will chip away at your actor identity and make you feel really bad about yourself and bad about your career, if you let them.

One of the best things that really good actor friends can do for each other is to continually support and affirm each other in our occupational identity, because the outsiders never will and they have no idea how to anyway.

They have on their outsider glasses and those glasses are really contagious and they can really mess with an actor mindset.

My dream, my absolute, ideal world dream (aside from we fix climate change, there's world peace, and everybody's happy) my dream for actors is that every single actor ditches those outsider glasses forever and puts on insider glasses, so that we all see that what makes us actors — working actors, professional actors, whatever term lights you up the most — is the job aspects, not the results aspects.

It's auditions, not bookings.

It's classes, not red carpets.

It's passion and engagement, not "Well, what have I seen you in lately?"

It's journey, not destination. (Just another little callback there to our previous letter to young actor Amy)

If we can all adopt this mindset, this insider perspective, then all actors will become so secure in their actor identity that there's literally nothing that an outsider could say that would rattle us.

It would be like water off a duck's back — "Oh, they don't get it. I don't care, moving on."

That's my dream.

In the meantime, I think we can do this one by one, and let it ripple out in the pond.

Find your actor friends who will help …

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

Hello friends!

I’m adding a new element to The Aligned Actor PodTubeStack. We’re going to practice mindfulness together because mindfulness is a hugely important foundation of my work — I am a mindfulness and mindset coach after all — and one of my missions is to demystify mindfulness and make engaging in a regular practice as accessible and easy as possible for people.

Mindfulness is incredibly simple — it’s a special way of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment. Typically, you focus on your breath and then just notice whatever you notice both within you and around you — the physical sensations of breathing, the thoughts in your mind, the emotions you feel within you, the noise of that plane going overhead, etc.

As you’re witnessing what’s present within you and around you, one of those things might take center stage within your mind — “Look at me! Look at me! Lalalalalalalala! Jazz hands!” — Suddenly you’re watching a solo show rehashing something from your past, forecasting into your future, or imagining what it would be like to win an Oscar. The point is, you’re no longer observing your present moment.

But that’s no big deal. It happens to all of us. Just kindly and gently guide your focus back to your breath.

“Oh, yes, I should definitely remember to thank all those folks in my acceptance speech, but right now I’m going to lovingly guide my focus back to my breath and my present moment experience.”

No need to curse yourself out or berate your wandering mind. Just let the orchestra play you off as you return your focus to the present moment.

Simple. Gentle. Rinse and repeat as many times as needed in the session.

Let’s go ahead and practice together now. If you are driving or doing something that requires your full attention in order to be safe, please come back to this at a later time.

This is the mindfulness practice…

As we’re all enjoying the afterglow of that little mindfulness session, remember:

There are so many great benefits of mindfulness for both humans in general and actors specifically. Practicing mindfulness, tuning into your breath and observing the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment, can help you…

* Relax and relieve stress from your mind and body.

* Calm your nerves before a big scene.

* Stay more present in your work, really listening and reacting moment to moment.

* Get out of your head in auditions and stay focused on what your character wants.

* Notice when your Inner Critic is being really mean to you, so you can practice being kinder to yourself.

* Become less judgmental of yourself and others.

* Start to gently question if some of your dominant thoughts are actually limiting beliefs holding you back in your acting career or life in general.

And so much more. A regular mindfulness practice, even just 10 minutes a day, will make all of these benefits more and more accessible to you. You will find it easier and easier to do all of these things.

It just takes practice, which is why we do this.

Speaking of Mindfulness! Get my Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧

I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition.

It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — “How can I book this? What do they want?” — and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, so that you can present your best work every time.

Let’s chat! ☕️

If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session.

Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳

This is a chance for us to connect and for you to walk away with some specific, actionable ideas that you can start applying right away to shift and strengthen your actor mindset.

Think of it like an audition where you are the production team. I’ll show you what I do in the role of “coach” by actually coaching you, and then you get to decide, “Does my production need a mindset coach right now, and is Amy right for this role?” Sounds fun, right?

Super Stressed? I got you! 💖

Accessing Calm is my ebook of super simple, fun mindfulness life hacks I use every day to calm down quickly when stress is high.

These are the tools that help me release tension from my body and keep my mind from spinning out of control with worry and frustration. 😭 ➡️ ☺️

They help me get through the morning rush, calm down before a big audition, and deal with all the stress of the world in general.

It’s a quick read that includes video demonstrations of all tools and some bonus mindfulness meditations — all for just $7!

Upcoming Workshops

I’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in October and November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!

Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your Presence

Come learn about mindfulness and the many advantages it offers performers. Experience a guided mindfulness meditation, explore the benefits of developing a daily mindfulness practice, and learn some quick centering tools to use in auditions and on set.

If you are a member of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory, head to the calendar on the website to sign up. If you’re not a member, I encourage you to join, it’s $45 for a full year of workshops and classes.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

Hello and welcome back to the Aligned Actor Substack, podcast, YouTube video, wherever you have found this content, I welcome you.

I'm Amy Schloerb. I am a mindfulness and mindset coach and I help actors ride the roller coaster of being an actor without throwing up.

September is my "actorversary" — the anniversary of when I became a professional actor by moving to Los Angeles and starting my acting career — and so I always like to reflect at this time and look back at how far I've come.

A number of years ago, I wrote myself a letter, to my younger self, the version of me that had just moved out to Los Angeles, offering advice.

This year I decided that I wanted to go look at that letter, see what advice I had offered myself back then, see if I still like that advice, if there's things that I would change about that advice, or if there's stuff that I would add now as extra advice to pile on top of newly-arrived-baby-actor-in-LA Amy.

I had a lot of advice, apparently, for my younger self just starting out, and so this is just part one of a series of Substack-podcast-YouTube-videos that we're going to do because I didn't want any of these to get out of control long.

This is part one, "Success is a journey, not a destination" which I still really like this advice. This is great advice.

So let's read now what younger actor Amy had to say to even younger actor Amy and then older actor Amy — more mature, more wise, finely-aged actor Amy, "now" actor Amy — will chime in with extra additional thoughts as well.

Dear Amy,

“Success is a journey, not a destination”

I know, I know, you’ve seen this on magnets and sometimes you even think you understand and believe it. But there’s still something nagging at the back of your mind saying, “yeah, but once I achieve THAT, then I’ll really be successful.” Sorry, no.

If you believe success is a destination you’ll just end up hustling, striving, and holding yourself apart from happiness and a sense of accomplishment. You have success now. High School Amy Schloerb believed that success was graduating and getting into a good college. College Amy Schloerb believed success was, again, graduating and starting a good career. Now that you’ve arrived in LA, you’re thinking success means booking bigger and better acting jobs consistently and continuously until you’re the next Reese Witherspoon. Not gonna lie, I still sometimes think that, but then I remember the truth:

Setting goals is great, but continuously moving the goal post on what it means to BE SUCCESSFUL is soul crushing.

If you keep thinking, “yeah I did that, good for me, but now REAL success is up there” guess what? “Real success” will always be “up there.” Wherever the F either of those things are….

Instead, put the goal post of success inside you. What?! What the heck does that mean?! It means enjoy the process and the journey because, spoiler alert, that’s all there is: Journey. And then more journey, some more journey, a quick detour journey to a foreign country (oops! I’ve said too much!), followed by, you guessed it, more journey! It’s quite a trip! Bahahahahaha! Oh, stop rolling your eyes, you know that was funny!

There’s gonna be ups and downs, highs and lows, abundance and “slow times” - and the sooner you recognize that that’s just what this career IS, the happier you’re gonna be overall. You’re “in the arena” (look up the Roosevelt quote, it’s good) and that means you’re already successful.

I still really love this advice because it basically means we get to define success. I've talked about this before on Substack pretty recently and on YouTube.

It's a really important thing to think about, about how we define success.

The way that Google, and some kind of dictionary online where I looked this up before for a different content offering, the way that they define success is...

Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

I want us all to find a definition of success that allows us to feel good about ourselves. That's what I really think is important when it comes to our mindset about ourselves and how we're going to approach ourselves and the world.

If you define success as engaging in the journey of being an actor, then ta-da! Success!

Anything that you do that's you engaging in the life of an actor — auditions, taking headshots, submitting yourself for roles, meeting with your agent, getting a new agent if you need one, going on commercial auditions, networking — literally anything that you do that furthers your acting career all of a sudden becomes an act of success because you're just doing it, you're just being an actor and doing the things that actors do.

On the flip side though, if you choose destination-based success, then things get a lot trickier.

For the longest time I've had the goal of playing a recurring character on a fun tv show and that hasn't happened yet. I would really like to achieve that success.

But if I choose to define success overall for myself as "recurring role" then everything else that I've achieved in my career starts to kind of look like a failure, and I start to feel like I'm failing.

“I haven't achieved that, so therefore I'm not successful. I'm a failure.”

Why would I do that to myself?

Why would I view it like that?

It's a lot smarter to define success based on what I can control.

"Yes, I did that self tape. I played that character the way that I wanted to play them. I hit all the beats that I wanted to hit. I connected with my reader really well. I felt really present and in the moment, I really went after what I wanted in that scene."

Defining success that way, deciding that THAT'S the measure of success based on what I did, rather than success being based on what others do, the stuff that I can't control — how casting sees the video, what casting thinks of the video, which videos they choose to pass on to production, how production sees the video, what they actually need out of this role, the heights of the other actors and how I line up in terms of all of that.

I can't control that stuff.

I can't control what auditions come my way. I can't control what types of roles are casting. Maybe they're just not casting anything that works for me at the moment, and that's just how it is.

I have no control over that.

I can't control how casting responds to my work. I can't control how production responds to my work.

What I can control is how I show up in my work and all the actions that I take as an actor.

I can control how I show up in my self tapes.

I can control how I engage in my career as an actor.

This next little bit that I'm going to read to you, I found with the letter, and I think it was when I did a version of this on the podcast years and years and years ago, so I'm talking about the letter that I had written, but it's still really good stuff, so I wanted to share it with you now, but I wanted to clarify that this is also probably younger Amy as well.

So, the take-away here is that YOU get to decide what success means and I would encourage you to define success as the entirety of the journey of your career, rather than some destination - co-star, guest star, series regular, three-picture deal, paying all your bills from acting work, Oscar, Emmy, EGOT, whatever. Holding THE JOURNEY as your marker of success is so liberating and rewarding. Please, don’t hold yourself apart from happiness, fulfillment, and achievement. You can have it now.

The idea here is just engaging in your career, all of it — the highs, the lows, the twists, the turns, "staying at the table" as I once heard Henry Winkler say — that's the success.

"Success is a journey, not a destination" means success is what you do.

The journey — you walking your path, you taking all of the actions that you take as an actor — not where you end up.

And this is definitely a mindset shift because, oh boy, do we have a lot of messaging that we receive from society that says basically the exact opposite.

But I think this is a really important mindset shift and it really can help with your o…

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

My mind tends to wander when I meditate and I bet yours does too.

And really that's not a problem because it's just part of your present moment experience.

Welcome to my Substack! I'm Amy Schloerb. I am a mindfulness and mindset coach.

And, like I said, my mind likes to wander when I meditate.

Sometimes it goes off into the future.

Sometimes it goes wandering and rummaging around in my past.

Sometimes it tries to offer solutions to problems I'm currently facing in my life.

Look, a mind is going to do what a mind is going to do.

But the good news is that when I practice mindfulness meditation...

I am not my wandering mind.

I am the observer of my wandering mind.

It's kind of like a parent watching a toddler on the playground.

Pretend for a minute that you're a parent and you're sitting on the bench in a shady area and you're watching your toddler on the playground.

They're wandering over to the slide and then they wander over to the swings and then they wander over to the sandbox.

You don't care where your toddler goes on the playground.

You don't judge their choice of activity.

You just observe them.

And maybe occasionally you have to step in and redirect the toddler for whatever reason.

They've taken another kid's toy or they've left the playground altogether to chase after a ball or they wandered in front of the big kids on the swings and they're about to get knocked over.

But you just redirect them gently. It's no big deal.

And it's the same with mindfulness meditation.

I observe...my mind contemplating what I want to make for dinner.

I observe...my mind thinking about a personal problem that I'm currently dealing with and offering solutions.

I observe...my mind drawing a parallel between how my mind wanders and how toddlers wander around on playgrounds and then starts to write this Substack.

I'm just observing my mind.

I'm just watching my mind.

I'm just letting my mind do what a mind is going to do.

And as long as I stay aware that I'm watching my mind and all that it's doing in the present moment, I'm practicing mindfulness.

I stay focused on my breath, much like the parent stays present on the bench. They don't wander away from the playground. They're not like, "Later, kid! I'm going to go to Starbucks and I'll be back." They stay present on the bench and they watch their child.

And likewise, I stay present and I watch my mind.

I'm ready to gently redirect my mind back to the experience of my breath each time it wanders like completely away from the present moment.

Oh, I observe that I'm thinking about making spaghetti for dinner...and right now I'm going to gently return my focus to my breath.

Ah, I'm thinking that I could call so-and-so to get help with that problem...and right now, I'm going to gently return my focus to my breath.

Oh boy, I just had a great idea for a Substack! It's going to be about a parent and a playground and a wandering toddler and all of this stuff and how that relates to meditating...oh, no, no, no. Wait, wait, wait. Right now, I'm going to gently return my focus to my breath.

Our wandering mind is not the problem.

It's part of the present moment.

And the best thing that you can do for yourself and your mindfulness practice is to really lean into this idea of noticing and gently refocusing.

Like a parent watching their kid on the playground — Gentle, gentle, gentle.

Be gentle with your mind.

All the time, be gentle with your mind.

Be gentle with yourself while you're practicing meditation.

That's going to make your mindfulness practice so much more pleasant and enjoyable.

And then that gentleness, that caretaking of your mind is going to start to ripple out into how you caretake yourself in your life in general.

And now for your moment of mindfulness…

Let’s chat! ☕️

If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session.

This is not a “sales call.” Seriously, I couldn’t sell bread to a bread slicer.

My only intention is that you leave the session feeling deeply seen, heard, and inspired with some new insights and ideas to consider and implement.

After we've both let the experience of the session settle, maybe we'll end up entering into a more formal coaching arrangement, or maybe our time together will feel complete.

It's a win-win either way. 🎉

Super Stressed? I got you! 💖

Accessing Calm is my ebook of super simple, fun mindfulness life hacks I use every day to calm down quickly when stress is high.

These are the tools that help me release tension from my body and keep my mind from spinning out of control with worry and frustration. 😭 ➡️ ☺️

They help me get through the morning rush, calm down before a big audition, and deal with all the stress of the world in general.

It’s a quick read that includes video demonstrations of all tools and some bonus mindfulness meditations — all for just $7!

Upcoming Workshops!

I’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in October and November for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!

Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your Presence

Come learn about mindfulness and the many advantages it offers performers. Experience a guided mindfulness meditation, explore the benefits of developing a daily mindfulness practice, and learn some quick centering tools to use in auditions and on set.

If you are a member of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory, head to the calendar on the website to sign up. If you’re not a member, I encourage you to join, it’s $45 for a full year of workshops and classes.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com

How well do you know your breath?

Have you ever REALLY studied it with wonder and awe?

That’s what we’re going to do today.

So settle in and prepare to observe your experience of breathing with mindful curiosity.

Join me for weekly mindfulness!

In addition to Monday Mindful Moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.

Audio Transcription

Welcome to your mindful moment.

As always, please find a comfortable position for your body.

And go ahead and bring your attention to the contact between your body and whatever surface is supporting you today.

Whether it's a couch or a chair or a bed or the floor, really notice the contact between your body and that surface, and see if you can let your body relax even more into that surface.

Let that surface fully support you and hold you today.

And as you let your body relax, bring your attention to your breath and just notice what your experience of breathing is like right here in this present moment.

Noticing each inhale as it comes.

Noticing each exhale as it goes.

You don't have to change anything about your breathing.

You don't have to force it or manipulate it in any way.

See if you can just observe your breath.

Watch it with mindful curiosity.

Just allow it to happen.

Just notice what it feels like to breathe.

Notice what sensations you experience as you breathe.

Notice how your body moves with each inhale and each exhale.

See if you can almost study your breath like a scientist, or like a curious child.

Watch your breath with wonder.

Maybe you can notice, “Oh, this is a long breath.”

And maybe you can notice when your breath is a little shorter.

Just noticing that each breath is different and unique.

Each breath is beautiful in its own way.

So just notice each breath.

And now I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but please feel free to remain in mindful meditation, witnessing the experience of breathing for as long as you like.

Have a great day.

I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋

I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.

Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com