Last week we were on actor HIGHS: SEVEN auditions between the two of us. Voiceover sessions. Commercial callbacks. Zoom auditions with five-minute slots. Manager calls about new agents.This week? Nada.So let's break down the MENTAL hustle of staying in the game when the momentum spikes and then fades. Cause this is what we signed up for as working actors.⸻We’re talking: • What a 5-audition week actually looks like behind the scenes • 12-hour turnaround auditions and how to handle them • Auditioning at 6am for a major Netflix show • How to approach dummy sides when you have zero context • Using coaching to shape strong first takes • Why Zoom auditions are worth saying yes to • How to ask for time in the room without panicking • Commercial agent expansion and pitching yourself strategically • Direct-to-callback commercial auditions • The emotional crash after a big audition week • Your nervous system in context to actor life⸻Timestamps00:00 – Why we hit record immediately02:00 – Manager calls and commercial agent expansion06:00 – Five auditions in one week08:00 – 6am Tyler Perry audition for Netflix11:00 – Coaching choices and finding the comedy13:00 – The crash day after momentum15:00 – Audition flow vs emotional regulation21:00 – Taking the Zoom audition that scares you24:00 – 5-minute live audition breakdown27:00 – Asking for time in the room30:00 – Direct-to-callback KFC commercial33:00 – How many times is too many auditions for one brand35:00 – Meeting reps in person and relationship building39:00 – Why this industry is emotional whiplash⸻Links & Resources:Join The MembershipSam’s InstagramGab’s Instagram

If you’re only measuring your career by bookings, you’re going to feel like you’re failing.Booking signifiers are getting rarer. Callbacks, avails, pins, chemistry tests. They don’t show up the way they used to. This episode is about the new scoreboard.We break down what actually counts as success for working actors right now and how to recognize momentum and success metrics for yourself.⸻We’re talking: • Why traditional booking signifiers like callbacks, avails, chem tests, and producer sessions are happening less frequently • How industry contraction is changing what “success” looks like for working actors • What positive signifiers are and how casting feedback and agent feedback matter more than you think • Why getting more focused auditions from your agent or manager is a huge career marker • How to interpret audition rejection without spiraling • The difference between booking signifiers, positive signifiers, and momentum markers • Why feeling strong about your self-tape is a legitimate career win • How to build confidence when you’re not booking • Why comparing bookings on Instagram is distorting your perception of success • How intuition develops over time and why experienced actors trust their work more⸻Links:Check out all things Vas + Online actor here.

Take the free Actor Type Quiz⁠⁠Join the waitlist for The Membership⁠Sam’s IGGab’s IG

Timestamps:00:00 Why booking signifiers are disappearing03:00 Why agents may not tell you about avails or producer passes06:30 Positive signifiers: feedback from agents and casting09:00 Getting more aligned auditions from your reps12:00 Why agents can’t submit you for everything15:00 Momentum markers and feeling strong about your work18:00 Letting go after auditions instead of obsessing21:00 The four stages of competence and acting growth24:30 Confidence, intuition, and why actors get better with age27:00 Social media, comparison, and the “tape vs who booked it” trap30:00 Building long-term confidence without bookings32:00 The White Lotus near-booking and “onto the next” mindset

Managing losses without letting them define you will be the thing that makes this all do-able. So let's talk about the difference between a setback and a defeat and why your response to not booking matters more than the booking itself.

We're covering:

• handling avail checks and callbacks that fall through
• managing audition rejection and disappointment
• why comparing your acting career to others keeps you stuck
• turning rejection into creative fuel
• processing casting director feedback (too young, too old, not right)
• self-care on a budget for actors between bookings
• creating your own content when the industry says no
• building resilience as a working actor
• why quitting acting might take more courage than staying

Take the free Actor Type Quiz⁠

⁠Join the waitlist for The Membership⁠

Sam’s IG

Gab’s IG

Timestamps:00:00:00 intro and why we're talking about losses00:01:05 hot take: if you can't handle small losses, bigger ones will break you00:03:04 the personalization trap and why bookings aren't about hustle00:03:32 why quitting might take more courage than staying00:05:00 Gab's January losses: avails, holds, and canceled plans00:08:03 how to tangibly process rejection and disappointment00:10:38 what to do when you're tight on funds00:14:21 Sam's losses: being too young and too old in the same week00:19:05 getting excited about a role you'll never audition for00:24:09 discovering what you're actually upset about00:27:11 two different approaches to handling losses00:30:21 being a creative who uses creativity instead of sitting on it00:31:34 Bad Bunny's Grammy win and taking your moment00:33:05 Super Bowl halftime shows and representation00:36:04 closing thoughts and what's next

How have our definitions of success have shifted over time? Trust in our reps. Financial breathing room. Free time. Staying in the work when things are quiet. And learning how to measure wins that no one else can see.

Let's get into:

• why success isn’t a single moment or milestone

• the different “buckets” that can make us feel successful at different times

• why auditions, trust, and consistency matter more than bookings

• how financial flexibility impacts creative freedom

• redefining success in an industry that no longer creates overnight stars

• the danger of waiting for one role to change everything

• the difference between being content, settling, and staying curious

• why free time used to feel lazy and now feels rich

• how to create our own victories when the industry won’t hand us any

• staying in the work without external validation

  
  

We’re talking about the acting advice we used to give, fully believed, and would absolutely change or nuance now.

We break down why blanket advice ignores actor markets, how self-tapes and demo reels have shifted, what actually works when reaching out to agents and managers, and why productivity systems can become performative instead of helpful.

Plus our real-real: audition timing strategy, lighting choices, callbacks and avails that don’t book, booking the room, and redefining success when momentum looks different than expected.

Links:

Join The Membership

⁠⁠Sam on Instagram⁠⁠

⁠⁠Gab on Instagram⁠⁠

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro and why this episode is about being wrong

00:01:10 Why the internet struggles with nuance and growth

00:04:30 Blanket acting advice and why actor markets matter

00:08:20 The problem with one-size-fits-all career paths

00:10:00 Self-tapes vs real footage for demo reels

00:12:00 Reaching out to agents and managers in 2026

00:15:45 Productivity, scheduling, and acting career burnout

00:17:30 Performative productivity vs real progress

00:20:00 What an “ideal” actor schedule actually looks like

00:22:50 Why auditions shouldn’t define your identity as an actor

00:24:30 Letting go of systems that no longer serve you

00:28:10 Finding community and not doing this alone

00:33:00 Audition timing, lighting, and working with your real life

00:37:40 Callbacks, avails, and what booking the room means

00:41:10 Final thoughts and what’s coming next

We're back to break down the current state of the acting industry after sitting in on a closed-door TM only “state of the union” style call with casting.

We share what we expected to hear going into the call, + what actually surprised us.

Then our real-life working actor moments, including callbacks, Zoom auditions, eating on camera, voiceover marathons, and the absolute chaos of trying to plan anything in this business and/or life.

⁠Join The Membership⁠⁠

⁠⁠Sam on Instagram⁠⁠

⁠⁠Gab on Instagram⁠

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro and why we’re calling this a “state of the union”

00:02:10 What we expected to hear vs what casting actually said

00:04:45 The 400 scripted shows number and why that messed with our heads

00:08:30 Why optimism doesn’t automatically mean fast momentum

00:11:50 Feeling closer to the work even when you’re not booking

00:14:30 Callback stories and what “on first refusal” actually feels like

00:18:20 Eating on camera, SAG rules, and why some auditions have to be in person

00:22:10 Zoom auditions, casting notes, and how to keep it conversational

00:27:40 Why none of our calendars make sense and never will

00:33:15 Voiceover runs, commercial callbacks, and overlapping timelines

00:40:10 What this year requires emotionally from working actors

00:47:30 Final thoughts and what we’ll report back on next episode

starting the year in person and doing something radical: caring less. we talk about why giving fewer f*cks is not laziness but can help you get further (technically also faster).

we are building a working actor system that works with your brain, setting real time boundaries, choosing habits that support it, and letting the rest go. and cause WHY NOT: backyard digging, hobbies that stay hobbies, and a brief but passionate ode to Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.

Timestamps:

00:04:45 the pressure to monetize everything

00:08:20 creative focus vs checking boxes

00:13:45 trusting your process and redefining progress

00:18:30 time and energy management that actually works

00:23:00 setting boundaries around workdays and days off

00:27:00 hobbies that are not allowed to make money

00:30:45 digging in the yard as a metaphor (and a lifestyle)

00:34:45 reality tv, boundaries, and knowing when to log off

00:36:00 final thoughts on systems, creativity, and the year ahead

⁠Join The Membership⁠

⁠Sam on Instagram⁠

⁠Gab on Instagram⁠

Rest in an industry that rewards blurred boundaries and convinces actors they can control outcomes they absolutely cannot....is it possible? Let's discuss how to use end-of-year downtime without spiraling or trying to fix your entire career in two weeks.

We also break down why acting income alone is no longer reliable and what SAG national commercials actually pay in 2025.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 why taking time off feels so hard for actors

00:02:30 how to actually plan rest instead of accidentally working through it

00:07:15 setting boundaries without feeling like you owe everyone access to you

00:11:45 why “getting an agent” and “booking” are not real goals

00:16:00 redefining success in an industry you can’t control

00:18:10 money, stability, and why acting income alone isn’t realistic anymore

00:26:30 real SAG national commercial pay breakdown in 2025

00:34:00 why the old version of actor success is officially dead

00:36:45 final reminder before the new year

Join The Membership

Sam on Instagram

Gab on Instagram

We brought Vas back from The Online Actor, nobody breaks down auditions, industry waves, and self tape strategy like he does. And we hit on the standard of jealousy, comparison...with an email template for you. Most importantly: authenticity is actually booking more than “perfect” ever did.

what we cover:

● the truth about end of year auditions and why the landscape is shifting

● how to hear “there’s auditions” without immediately assuming you’re doing something wrong

● jealousy, comparison, and why literally all of us still go through it

● how Vas emailed his reps about roles he didn’t read for and what actors can learn from that

● the real way to do multiple takes (and why 10 percent different doesn’t cut it)

● authentic vs character-y acting in 2025 and what’s actually booking

● the Goldilocks method for self tapes

● why TM actors are suddenly taping wild, killer choices that stand out

● how to balance dynamic choices with your real essence

links:

vas's ig

the membership

sam’s ig

gab’s ig

actors panic over AI and cookies: post-holiday talk through the latest AI freakout and finally answer the question everyone DM’d us about (should you be buying your reps gifts this year or nah?)

we cover:

● the new AI update everyone spiraled about and why it’s not worth losing sleep

● real talk about rep relationships and how to know if you should even be gifting

● the gifts reps actually appreciate versus the ones they quietly donate

● why sometimes a handwritten note is more powerful than a pricey basket

● how to make your gift personal even if you barely know your rep

● the rep dinner email we drafted live and why it worked *(cause they already all responded)*

time codes:

00:00 catching up and the great nano banana AI panic

07:15 why actors reach for fear when auditions are slow

13:45 the CGI fire rant that accidentally proves our point

19:10 do reps really want holiday gifts or is this all a myth

23:30 real examples of gifts that actually landed

30:00 how to approach your reps with generosity without being weird

links:

The Membership

sam’s IG

gab’s IG