This is Day 2 out of 31 in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
Actors take scene study classes to strengthen their
technique. Singers take voice lessons to keep their instrument sharp. What
about taking a class just for the fun of it or to learn something that has
nothing to do with your area of expertise?
Take your mind off booking the next job and just live a
little. Enjoy nature with a photography class, unlock hidden talents with an
art class or see the world with a travel club. The more life you live outside
of entertainment, the more you will have to contribute to this fascinating
industry.
Sometimes the new ability you gain from a class will show up
in your acting career at a later time. It gives you something new
to add to your resume under “skills”, it may help land you a job or point you
in a new direction.
I took a stand up comedy class in 1990 because it was the “thing”
at the time. The jokes heard at comedy clubs across the country were becoming
sitcom scripts for network pilots. I
tried to take the comedy stage on my own but after sitting in the back of The
Comedy Store a few times, I just didn’t have the nerve to get up there. So I
took a class that culminated in every student performing 5 minutes of comedy at
a well known Los Angeles comedy club. Since taking that class, I’ve developed
my material, found my niche, taught my own stand-up comedy classes and had the
students perform in a comedy showcase that I produced for five years and most
recently produced a film based on that very showcase.
At one point in my career, I believed what others told me
about having a “Plan B in case this acting business” didn’t work out. Nothing
else brought me as much joy but I started noticing the sign language
interpreters on stage with me during my hosting gigs at festivals. It looked
like fun so I took a beginning American Sign Language course at a local
community college. I loved knowing another language and became fascinated with
Deaf culture. I took all the ASL classes they offered and the next thing I knew
I had an A.S. degree in sign language interpreting. I tried to interpret
professionally, I tried substitute teaching for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
but there was no passion there for me. My dream would be to combine it with my
acting career but didn’t know how to make that happen so I just left it alone.
I really just wanted to continue to be able communicate with people of a
different culture. Along the way, I made
many Deaf friends, one of whom is an actress. When she performed her solo show
in sign language, she asked me to voice it for her. I was also cast opposite
Marlee Maltin in Sweet Nothing In My Ear and most recently played the role of
Principal Rose in the ABC Family show, Switched At Birth because of my signing
ability.
So you never know where taking a class will lead you. It’s a
win/win situation for business or for feeding your soul.
What is something you
always wanted to learn but have been
putting it off?
