Making Your Own Stuff

I was listening to one of my podcasts the other day, and one of the hosts, I think it might have been Kevin Pollak, said something to the effect of "if you're not creating, you're waiting". And you know, it's true. If you're a creative person, you're either waiting for someone to give you an opportunity to do something (which can take a long time as an actor) or you're making your own opportunities. Right now is the best time ever to be any kind of an amateur musician, the internet and digital technology have so throughly leveled the playing field that no matter what your vision is, you can find a way to achieve it. That's music though, and the nature modern of musicianship and today's digital recording and synth technology is you can collaborate purely with yourself and a computer and no one else to make just about anything.

Less so with acting, which is inherently both interpretive and collaborative. Generally as an actor you're pulling from some kind of material either in the literal or metaphorical sense, which you interpret through your performance into art. Usually that mean's a script. But I think it can be defined even more generally as just a medium. You need some kind of physical medium in addition to an intellectual or spiritual starting point of some kind. It used be that film making was incredibly prohibitively expensive because of the cost of film stock, to say nothing of editing and communicating all that material to the outside world. Of course no longer so with the internet and Youtube so thousands and millions of aspiring creators are as we speak slaving away at their attempt to get beyond the confines of their physical reality and touch someone far away, and maybe feel something back. And maybe make a life out of doing that, of connecting with an audience, because isn't the truest and purest nature of acting? Just connecting with another person, either on stage or on camera (or on a microphone) who's either their with you in the work or seeing it happen or what you made it into. An audience. And the internet is a giant access hub to the entire world.

So if you want to be a professionally creative person, like I do and maybe you do as well, you have to be channeling that creativity somehow right now and getting it to the outside world of you're making a big mistake and missing out on the opportunity to find out what you do and get as good as you can at it. Did how I mention how easy the internet makes it to receive criticism of your work? If it's constructive or not is completely besides the point.

I'm frustrated at myself for making that mistake every day that I don't pursue developing and sharing my own voice as an actor, by writing and performing my own stuff into a camera or a microphone and out into the world. I've been making that mistake quite frequently, exceptions being when I write this blog, or the little bit of music making I've been doing. Or my foray into video blogging, which I have to continue but am still intimidated by the naked feeling of being on camera.

What I really think could be personal medium though, might be podcasting. Ever since I was very young, and I was just a goofy little kid and then adolescent, I've liked making characters and a lot of that was always in my voice. That practice was what ultimately lead to me booking Crooked Arrows, and a number of the other creative experiences I've had in my life. One of my favorite things to do because I get to make those kinds of goofy voices, is improv comedy. Improv is great for me because it removes the pressure I feel when I try to write my own stuff to act out, and instead I just get my brain working in real time and enact all the different parts in the moment through the inherent sensibility of my own voice and mind.

All you need to put out a podcast is a microphone and an internet connection. As it so happens, left over from when in late high school I fancied myself an amateur producer and audio engineer, I have a collection of rather nice microphones and a nice 4 channel mixing board, and also a very effective USB input to my computer's sound card. And an internet connection. Everything needed to make well... a podcast. Even if it's just me talking to myself. But I would like it to be with other people.

So I posted to Facebook, I'm supposed to be meeting with someone next week, and now that I sort of have an idea that I think could work I've written some emails. Exciting, I know! I'm posting this to my blog so that I will accountability... I am starting a podcast! Look it for it in your iTunes or RSS feed in the near future!

PS This might have been the most pretentious post I've ever written DEAL WITH IT