Blog

  Go all in. That’s what filmmaker Steve McQueen, director of 12 Years A Slave, says actors should be doing all the time. Always. But we don’t. Why? Mostly, because we have a number of defaults to keep us from really committing fully, 100%. In our lives. In our work. In our auditioning. This isRead more

  I had a sort-of meltdown at the Vancouver Airport’s Air Canada check-in counter this week. I missed my flight. No big deal. I’ve missed flights before. But for some reason – no not some reason – a specific reason – I was triggered. The trigger: We can’t control anything in life. We may deludeRead more

  Okay all you football fans. When one of America’s most popular football players talks about “being in the present” and observing how children play; which is all about playing in the moment, we know we’ve turned a corner on the Art & Science of Presence. Science calls it being in the flow. Sociologist AbrahamRead more

Because it seems to be all the rage these days (thank you Miley Cyrus!) we’re going to do our own version of “Twerking” it. But we’re going to learn how to “twerk” something emotionally and physiologically to increase our chances of getting what we want in life. It’s called Amplifying your frequency. If you thinkRead more

Now you can train your mind to do the impossible. That’s a catchy title I saw recently in the Huffington Post. But was I surprised by what this mind-training tool is? Not really. Meditation. It seems neuroscientists have proven that meditation actively rewires our brains over long periods of time and creates neuroplasticity to makeRead more

In the HBO documentary, Casting By, the late casting director Marion Dougherty, talks about how it didn’t really matter to her if actors bombed auditions. Or sucked. Or weren’t great all the time. What mattered is that she saw something in them and knew that eventually there would be a role that would come alongRead more

  There are a lot of scientific benefits to having an active sex life. It decreases stress. Boosts immunity. Increases self-esteem. So what does this have to do with our acting and our life? Well, everything it seems. The qualities that are induced when we engage in intimacy – we feel alive, connected, our self-esteemRead more

  Human beings do a lot of cool things. We attempt to run marathons (and complete them!). We create new technology and solve problems. We raise a family while holding down a job and taking care of our elderly parents. We push through our fears. We write poetry. We sing arias. We sign up forRead more

We’re all 7’s Looking for 11’s. Get over it. In fact, the sooner you make the realization that the “perfect” fill-in-the-blank doesn’t exist, not only will you be much happier, but ironically, you’ll find perfection in what is. Huh? An 11 is a false perception of what we think perfection looks like. We’ve all seenRead more

  The moment – meaning this moment we’re living right now and each subsequent moment we are given – has the power to evoke our greatness. The possibility for us to realize our potential in each moment is always available to us. But we’re scared of our greatness. We’re scared to embrace who we knowRead more