New Year, New Goals

GOALS FOR MY SECOND YEAR OF GRAD SCHOOL

1. Gain confidence in myself, my work, and my abilities as an artist.

2. Improve my ability to control my emotions during class/rehearsal when I'm stressed out.

3. Stop being afraid of my emotions.

4. Consistently land my lines.

5. Prevent my nerves from affecting me in performances, particularly in higher stress situations such as opening nights and showings.

6. Become more of a leader within my class and within the rehearsal room.

7. Have more strength to back up my passion, so that I will be just as determined of an actor when I graduate as I have been in school.

8. Stop being afraid of doing things wrong.

9. Work on memorization on a regular basis in order to prevent myself from having to try to stay up late the night before I have to do a scene trying to cram words into my head.

10. Do not add negativity into the world of the school.

11. Stop being negative about my physical capabilities.

12. Be more patient when looking for answers, particularly in Movement class.

13. Keep a straight face when things are happening in class that I have problems with.

14. Be open-minded and take all notes I get in class, no matter how vehemently I may disagree with them.

15. Send thank you notes to people when they do nice things for me.

16. Avoid gossiping behind people's backs.

17. Remember that we all made it through an arduous process to get here, and we are all clearly talented, intelligent people. They deserve to be here, and so do I.

18. Don’t let politics within the school get personal. Just because something is going on in class or in rehearsals, doesn’t mean it has to carry over into the rest of life.

19. Don't let things from OUTSIDE of class affect what's going on INSIDE of class.

20. Try to make friends outside of the program.

21. Go out, do something social, and have fun at least once a week.

22. Actually read all of the assigned reading. Don’t just skim it. Occasionally take notes.

23. Budget properly. If having trouble, begin writing down all expenditures.

24. Take all available opportunities to learn new skills.

25. Work on outside projects (such as student films) if they fit into schedule.

26. Take a trip to somewhere outside of town (even if it’s just to the next closest city) at least once a semester.

27. Go to Disney World at least once.

28. Have as close to perfect attendance as is physically possible.

29. Remember how hard it is to get to grad school. Remember how great of a program this is. Be grateful every, every minute.

30. Find something to love about every class and every professor (so that I can focus on those things on the days that classes seriously blow).

31. Swear less. Except in my kitchen, as that seems to be a swearing hellmouth. Replace swear words with exclamations such as “drat”, “shoot”, “freakin’”, “frak” (← it’s a Battlestar Galactica term), and the like when possible.

32. Cut alcohol out of diet (as much as possible).

33. Drink water for mostly everything. Milk, soy milk, and juice can be ingested in moderation. Soda pop is only allowed in bars.

34. Be supportive of classmates, not competitive with them.

35. Avoid getting too negative about myself or my potential.

36. Use days off well, because they’re few and far between.

37. Laugh as much as possible.

38. Write down all homework assignments (because I WILL forget them if I don’t).

39. Remember to step back and take time to breathe.

40. Do whatever it takes to get closer to the goal of becoming a castable, skilled, professional actor.

41. Loosen up.



If you have any other suggestions, by all means send them along.

May you reassess your goals on a regular basis.

~A~