Friday, September 6, 2013

003 - Please make mistakes! (Part 1)

Sunday, September 1st, 2013, Northern New Mexico



GANDOLF
“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure..., and it's very difficult to find anyone,” 
 
BILBO BAGGINS
“I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them!”



(Post 003) Week 2:  Please make mistakes! (Part 1)


      The second week of school has just ended. The school year is 1/18th over. My fellow teachers and their students have faced the onslaught of the new school year—new faces, new classrooms, new teachers, and, seemingly endless paperwork.
      In books and film, adventure stories seem glamorous. They take us on journeys that most of us would never experience. Into outer space.  To the depths of the seas. Into the microcosm of a drop of water. On a perilous ride in the belly of a whale.
      Actually living adventures is very different, however. There's dirt, sweat, pain, and discomfort to go along with the sweeping vistas.
      In life, if we're not reaching for a star, something inside us begins to die. We live day to day facing the demands of jobs, school, and home. Adventures begin to seem childish and to disappear. We learn to play it safe. Through our actions and examples, if not our words, we teach our children, “Don't make mistakes.” “Mistakes are bad.” “Mistakes cause us pain”—and often they do.
      At school, students' papers come back to them marked with corrections—often in red ink. Children see the many things they did wrong.  And then there are “grades” which are overemphasized and frequently get in the way of learning.

      Life points out our adult mistakes, as well. A bill paid late incurs a fee. A missed deadline equals a missed opportunity.  Too much time at work and too little with our loved ones and our relationships suffer.       In acting, we reach out for the audition. The gig. The job. And we make mistakes. We second guess ourselves and relive our failures in our minds.
      As teachers, we're hard on ourselves because we know that no matter how hard we we try—no matter how much of our time, energy, and ourselves we give, we can never fully meet our students' needs. Those needs are just too great.  As parents, it's the same.
      What mistakes have I made? I chuckle because they're so many—and I'm not going to list them all, here, but I will share one particularly painful experience, in Part 2, of this post. For now, I'll acknowledge the “elephant in the room”—what some people, no doubt, consider a mistake and the very basis for this blog. Taking a year sabbatical—without pay from being an established, full-time, teacher to work towards becoming a full-time professional actor? Perhaps it would make sense if I were independently wealthy. I'm not. Or, if I were retired and drawing a pension.* Not so. Or even if I'd acquired a substantial savings to live off. I haven't.
      Rather, after teaching for roughly 20 years, my family and I have still been living month to month—struggling to catch up—much less to get ahead.
      So why take this leap of faith into the unknown? Selfishness? Some would say so. Foolishness? Perhaps. But I'd like to think that it's something more. That I'm listening to and following my own inner guidance. That I'm trusting Spirit and moving in a direction that I feel led, and for which a lifetime of experiences have prepared me.
      My father-in-law respectfully asked, “[As an actor], have you experienced sufficient success up to this point to warrant taking this step?” The answer by nearly any standard would have to be “No.” And as he politely concluded, “It will be interesting to see where you are with this a year from now.”
      Yes, Sir. I agree.



Parents and Teachers,
      Please don’t teach your children and students not to make mistakes. Teach them to do their best and to do so boldly. Teach them to run and play and live with gusto.
      Teach them to have courage and to speak their truth. Teach them to stand up to bullies, and even harder, to stand up to their friends. Teach them to question everything—and everyone. Teach them to think for themselves.
      Teach them to try. Teach them to do. Teach them that mistakes are good. That mistakes mean you're trying. That you're moving forward. That you're reaching out. And most importantly, teach children that when they fall down—which they will—to get back up. And be there for them with hugs—and a hand to wipe their tears. Then take their hands in yours and walk with them a little ways until they're ready to run again.

Lesson Learned:  Dare to make mistakes.  And when you fall down, get back up—again, and again, and again.

* While it's true that I'm not drawing a pension, I am a retired Air Guardsman, having served for 20+ years in the Georgia, Oregon, and then Hawaii Air National Guard. Five years from now, when I turn 60, retirement pay and medical benefits will start. For now, I could put “Major Williams” on my mailbox if I chose to do so. I don't. That was part of a different adventure.

Want to know more?  Feel free to check out or connect with me through the following links.
IMDb - Resume: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5562316/resume
IMDb URL: http://www.imdb.me/richarddanielwilliams
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/daniel-williams/63/58a/b0
Actors Access: http://resumes.actorsaccess.com/937475-2613803
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/danielw58a

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

002 - Stepping off the Proverbial Cliff, aka "Getting Started," - Week 1, 08-21-2013

Wednesday, August 21, 2013, Northern New Mexico

Week 1: Stepping Off the Proverbial Cliff, aka “Getting Started.”

School started two days ago for students—a week ago for teachers—and yet, after roughly twenty years of teaching, I'm at home--scouring the internet, Facebook, Twitter, IMDb, and LinkedIn for possible film acting opportunities.

We had several feature films and a TV wrap in recent weeks. “Transcendence” (2014) and Longmire, Season 2 (2013), finished a few weeks ago. “A Million Ways to Die,” wrapped filming, today—at least as far as filming in NM, goes. “Night Shift” is here. Filming starts this week in Albuquerque. I'm seeing Facebook posts from other actors about auditions for "Night Shift" and for some, about their being cast on "Night Shift"—some for the premiere.

Me? I'm sitting on my couch, wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, wondering what my next paying film job will be. What I do have are skills that I've developed through the years. Project management. Determination. Persistence. Vision. These are huge. I believe that I'm a very good actor. I've also made a decision. I've chosen to take a year-long sabbatical from my position as a school teacher.

My goal? To work towards becoming a full-time professional actor.


Lessons Learned that I'd share with my students?  
1)  "Get started!"  (And if you don't know what to write, your first sentence is "I don't know what to write...."). 


P.S.  I don't know what to write.   : )   rdw

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5562316/resume

001 - Intro - An Actor's Journey: Out of the Classroom and Onto the Set, pic