Setting Goals

Getting Organized Column
BackStage, May 2006
topic: setting goals

Goal Tending
By Kristine Oller

You’ve been lying in bed staring at the ceiling, mulling things over. It’s been exactly two years since you moved to town. Though you finally have a commercial agent and a few student films under your belt, you still feel like you are drifting along with only a vague notion of what you want to do. Remaining under the covers just seems a lot less stressful than getting up and attempting to figure out where to go from here. What now?

The good news, and the bad news, is that there is no single, well-worn road to success as an actor. There is no job placement program, nor is there any temp-to-hire agency to help one get into the workforce. The options of how to pursue work are as diverse as the options of what work to pursue: on-camera commercials, animation voiceover, one-hour dramas, indie films, looping, soaps, and on and on. Your acting teacher and your career coach will tell you the same thing: The work is about making choices.

Organizing your thoughts is as important as organizing your environment, if not more so. When you constantly delay making necessary decisions—perhaps because of fear or uncertainty—your mind can get cluttered and depressed. Goal setting is the organizational tool that helps you make choices and make progress.

For many actors, the process of 1) defining your passion, 2) choosing a focus, 3) setting goals, 4) creating a plan, and 5) taking individual actions can seem overwhelming. Others think “setting career goals” equals “setting career limits.” I hope the following guidance will provide a new perspective.

Step One: Define Your Passion

You will have the most fun and the best chance at success if you are pursuing a career based on your personal passions—rather than on someone else’s ideal or expectations. Take a moment to remind yourself of what compelled you to enter this business in the first place. Was it to write and perform your own material? Do you live to make people laugh? Is your dream to work with the actors and directors you admire? Be honest about what lights your fire.

Step Two: Choose a Focus

After all your other commitments are met, there might be only a few hours left in each week to devote to your acting career. You can spend this time grazing at the buffet—simultaneously trying to “get into” voiceovers and TV and films. Or you can sink your teeth into a meal by concentrating your efforts toward an area of the industry you enjoy and which suits your talents and type. If comedy is your passion, your focus could be sitcoms or TV sketch shows or studio films. Each of these areas is a world unto itself, with its own players, terminology, craft, and protocol to learn about. Once this depth of knowledge is acquired, you can proactively create strategic opportunities for yourself instead of relying solely on whatever opportunities happen to come your way.

Step Three: Set Goals

Kevin E. West, founder of The Actors’ Network, advocates “5-3-1 goal-setting.” For example: If your passion is comedy and your focus is sitcoms, then your main goal for yourself five years from now might be to be a series regular on a sitcom. With that in mind, your goals for three years from now might be to have several guest-star/recurring credits on your résumé and to have an agent who has guided other sitcom stars. Then your goals for the first year—starting today—might be to meet 10 top sitcom casting directors, book at least two co-star roles on sitcoms, and perform regularly with an improv group.

Step Four: Create a Plan

The following is one plan of action for achieving the goal of “meeting 10 top sitcom casting directors”: Find the names and contact info of those who have cast your favorite sitcoms. Research these CDs via written articles and your personal network. Drop off your info at their offices. Get generals or auditions with them. Attend industry events at which they are speaking. Send them postcards when you book work.

Step Five: Take Individual Actions

With a detailed plan in place, you can now get out of bed and get to work. Break your plans down into little actions—a call here, a drop-off there–that you can tackle, week by week, whenever you have time.

As you evolve, your goals, focus, and passions will evolve, too. You can redefine your goals and set a new course of action anytime you want. This process will give you a place to begin.

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