Start Again — Michael Sheasby

Alrighty

Start again…

Something I'm pondering:

I was at Flickerfest on the weekend

Ive never been before

I got to sit under the stars in the warm summer Bondi breeze and watch the future of Australian Screen

It made me think of a clip I watched back in 2015

About doors, and where they open

It made me think about how much time I’ve spent wanting certain things to happen

Trying to control when and where they happen

Some food for thought

An interview with Daniel Craig (around the 1:40 mark)

Q&A of the week

“Mike, can you please give a specific example of how to incorporate energy management into your career?” - Kate

Sure thang

So we want to increase what we find energising, and decrease what we find de-energising.

Ill start wide and coil inwards, getting more specific as we go

You’ll need something to scribble on

Ruminate on 2020.

What were the most energising moments your body experienced (the times you felt most alive, free, light, proud, “fuck yeah”, etc)?
Next, what were the most de-energising moments your body experienced (the times you felt stuck, low, icky, heavy)?
Now, the trick is to replace the de-energising moments, experiences or people with the energising ones… how? Book it in now, pay for it now, schedule it now, send the message now.

Ruminate on the last 2 weeks you had & make a table with four columns.

Activity - what did you actually do?
Time - how much time was allocated towards it?
Energy - How energising or de-energising was it for your body? (Make up whatever scale works for you)
Notes - Any observations or thoughts that may pop up
Again, I want to be replacing the de-energising with the energising… how? Book it in now, pay for it now, schedule it now, send the message now.

Finally, Ruminate of the most energising acting experiences you’ve had.

First column - list the experiences you’ve had which made you feel the most passionate, alive, proud, light, free etc etc
Next columns - What did you DO before or during that experience? Take note of anything that may interest you (Things Ive noted: Who was the director? What was the location? Which coach did I have? Were there rehearsals? Did I know my lines well? Did I run my lines before with someone? Was there an accent? How long did I have to prep the job? What did I do with that prep time? What did I do the night before? How did I warm up? Did I have private space on set? Did I have music? What did I do in-between takes? How was my health at this time? How was my mindset at this time? Anything else? Etc etc)
Now… What is this exercise telling you? What are the things which are consistent across the experiences?
And yes… I’ve purposely screen-shotted my table in low res :) Make it your own

What did it tell me?

Well some stuff is actually not as important as I initially thought, and some stuff is way more important than I initially thought.

I found 6 doable things which resulted in having energising experiences on set (for me).

Lines - write out my lines my way.
Prep with External Accountability - doesn’t actually seem to matter if its a $500ph coach or just 20 minutes with a friend (interesting!)
Prep questions for each scene - answer my 10 favourite questions so I’ve got a strong spine (so I can go play but still always serve the story)
Warm Up - some kind of warm up before set, doesn’t seem to matter what it is (bath, dance, breathing, exercise, cold water, stretching etc etc)
Headphones & Music - iPod (not phone!) in my pocket at all times
Ritual - Before my scene, go find a private space for 5 minutes to acknowledge and concentrate on what I’m about to do, why Im here etc etc, just acknowledge to myself that I’m about to go give everything. Taking a private moment to check my attitude before I step onto set.

Hold Up… Okay, why bother doing all this?

Because…

Measuring = Awareness
Awareness = Choice

And I want to be in a place where I am the one making a conscious choice on how I live my life and and how to handle my career

Hope this helps?

Let me know

M

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START AGAIN MONDAY