How To Be a TRUE Professional!


All of us like to THINK we are professionals, especially if we take voice lessons or dance lessons, or have performed in public in a play or recital or the like.  However, by definition, a professional is paid to perform his or her craft, and believe me, I’ve known some incredibly talented people who never got to call themselves professionals because they were never hired.  Sadly, it works the other way around, too.  I’ve also known a lot of “professionals” who took their jobs so for granted that they got sloppy and lazy, and lost that high privilege.  Below are some great pointers if you want to become a professional and for once you do:
·      Professionals are ALWAYS prepared!  You should be comfortably, appropriately, BUT RESPECTFULLY dressed.  This may mean simply loose-fitting clothes you are able to sing, dance, and move in; it may mean clothes you could “get dirty”, if help is needed to move a set piece or the like.
1.     PROPER CLOTHING INCLUDING DANCE OR OTHER NEEDED SHOES – for working on an actual stage, rubber-soled shoes (having character shoes soles rubberized is common in professional theater), or ballet slippers should be worn.  DANCE SHOES SHOULD NEVER BE WORN OFF-STAGE or more specifically, out of the theater.
2.     WATER
3.     TOWEL TO WIPE SWEAT
4.     SCRIPT/LYRICS/BLOCKING/SONGS AND ARRANGEMENT NOTES
5.     PENCIL(S) WITH ERASERS for marking
·      BE ON TIME!!!  (If this means leaving much earlier, and reading in the parking lot, so be it.  A TRUE professional is considerate of the time and talents of others, and arrives PREPARED and on time).
·      LISTEN AND BE RESPECTFUL TO OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE DIRECTING
·      KNOW YOUR LINES/LYRICS/BLOCKING – Talent is NOT enough!  Preparation, determination, and hard work can even beat out talent many times.
·      EXERCISES SELF-DISCIPLINE – Everyone has “bad” days, but a true professional works consistently with their craft so that even “bad days” can be balanced and consistent.
·      LEAVES PETTY EGO AT THE DOOR – This is a difficult “balance”.  Great performers will always need to be CONFIDENT!  However, attitudes of superiority are counter-productive to successful ensemble work, and in the end, will reflect poorly on you.  CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ASSURANCE are important; ego, gossip, bullying, or snobbery are amateurish, and ultimately indicate poor self-image on the actor’s part, not a reflection on others.
·      ALWAYS WORK TO IMPROVE THEIR CRAFT BY SEEKING ADVICE/INSTRUCTION/CRITICISM FROM WORTHY MENTORS – NO ONE IS PERFECT!  NO ACTOR IS PERFECT!  As in life, acting is a process of growth and learning.  Great actors are CONSTANTLY putting themselves in positions to be taught, to be coached, to improve!
·      NEVER APOLOGIZE OR MAKE EXCUSES!  Own up to mistakes – be accountable to your commitment!

Try these out and let me know what you think!   Check out my website at www.SingitForward.net.  Send me your suggestions for more blog posts or your questions, all down below!  Remember, Sing it Forward!

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