Like many of you (I would imagine), I always look forward to summer. I love sunshine and hot weather. I love to be outside. I love baseball—and my team (the Chicago Cubs!) has actually been worth watching the last couple of years. Plus, my birthday is in July. So in summer I get to do a lot of my favorite things.
I also look forward to summer because it allows me the time to do the things that get put off during the school year when I'm too busy. Over the last 3+ months I did a lot of reading, I took a voice science class, I did plenty of writing, and I attended three out-of-state voice conferences. These have all given me more tools to bring into another full year of teaching.
One of the things I learned came from a workshop led by Matthew Edwards, who is a voice pedagogy professor, author, and blogger. He advised us to help our students set goals but, in doing so, to make a distinction between goals and dreams.
For instance, for most of you "I want to be on Broadway" would be considered a dream and not a goal, at least for now. If you have never performed in a national tour, if you have no off-Broadway experience, or if you have no major credits at regional houses, then performing on Broadway is not the "next step," like a goal should be. That doesn't mean you shouldn't aspire to perform on Broadway. It just means that there are lots of steps between here and there that will likely occur first. Those steps can serve as a series of goals that can help lead you to your dream.
Let me be clear, this does not mean to aim low. You should definitely have both goals AND dreams. But goals are for short-term progress and can be constantly adjusted. If you set a small goal and then achieve it in two weeks, that's great! Then set a new goal and keep moving forward. That will often lead to more specific, tangible progress than if you are working toward a far-off dream with no achievable benchmarks along the way.
In addition, there is also a mental and emotional payoff for setting small goals. If you are constantly achieving your goals (however small) and then challenging yourself with new goals, you will feel more successful, which feeds your ambition and keeps you working hard. If all you have is dreams, then everyday is just another day that you did not achieve your dream. This can be frustrating and make you feel like you are making no progress at all.
For this first blog, let's discuss what your dreams are and what goals can help you reach those dreams. Consider dividing your goals into short-term (two weeks), mid-term (by fall break), and longer-term (by the end of the semester).
I'm really excited to be back in the studio and classroom working with you all again. As much as I love my free time in the summer, I love working with all of you even more. Let's have a great year!
Now go practice.
EDIT: One day after I posted this blog, Matt Edwards discussed many of these same ideas in his own blog. I encourage you to check them out here.
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| Goals are the benchmarks that set you on the path to achieving your dreams. |
Loved this blog post I've always found setting small goals to almost work as a self motivator as well. When you have small goals and feel like you are getting things done its that much easier to set goals and keep achieving things when you have the motivation from your last accomplishments. For me the dream is to be able to work and sustain a lofe while working in the theatre industry I think coming to college in general for this is a major step in that direction. I personally do my best to improve throughout the week and then look back to see what all I was able to accomplish and the think about why i did or didn't get a lot done within that week and what I can do in the upcoming week to improve on the past week.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a positive mindset and I love trying to set realistic goals for myself throughout the week or even throughout the day. My short term goal is probably just to not let myself get overwhelmed by school. By that I mean to not let myself procrastinate and wait until the last minute to do assignments. A mid-term goal for me would be to have pushed myself into trying something out of my comfort zone, acting wise. I am not a very physical actor so I would love to do a scene or monologue that pushes me and is physically demanding. A more long term goal is to keep my priorities straight and make sure that I am not letting myself get carried away with things that are not as important as school or work. I hope that I can make acting a career for myself, but I also know that it is a difficult task to accomplish. So I am currently studying theatre at the university level to help make this goal more accessible. I believe that taking concrete steps, such as studying acting and pursuing my interest in it, will help make my dream a reality. I might not end up on Broadway, but I will be happy. Ultimately, that is all I can ask for.
ReplyDeleteDreams: Be an agile singer.
ReplyDeleteGoals:
Two weeks- Establish a wonderful pattern of practicing
Midterm- Have all songs memorized
Jury- Be able to flawlessly navigate the text.
Those are my vocal goals.
Another dream of mine is to have a career in the world of Musical Theatre. I have always thought I wanted to be a performer, but in recent months have grown to really enjoy a more administrative and clerical approach to the work. My goal is to work as a production supervisor someday. For that.... I don't really know at this time what goals to set other than to continue staying on top of all of my obligations. In juggling school, two jobs, and the musical this semester, I will develop the skills I need to handle a stressful work load and be ready for anything that comes my way as a production supervisor. I will think more into specific goals for that. Right now the main goal is to simply complete homework, assignments, and tasks on time.
I love this! I think it makes a lot of sense to divide 'dreams' and 'goals'. The goals are there to help you get to your dream. Personally, I do dream about performing on Broadway. On a smaller scale, I dream of becoming a singer that can portray the truth in the piece while also making it look easy. My short term goal for this week is to learn my Italian piece and figure out the pronunciation. My two week goal is to figure out the dynamics and figure out the phrasing and all that fun, artsy stuff. And then by midterm, I would like to have a firm, basic grasp on all my songs so then I can really delve into the details and make the songs 'live'. And for my vocal jury, my goal is to feel comfortable with all the songs so that I can perform them with ease and less stress. And there are obviously many many many more goals that I want to accomplish, but those are just a handful of them. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to grow as a performer this semester! -Levi
My biggest dream would probably be to act in a successful movie or TV show. This is something that requires dedication and discipline. I tend to put things off until the last minute when I have a lot on my plate and I just end up hurting my chances of completing those things even more. A short term goal that I would have for the next two weeks would be to implement my practice times into my schedule and to commit to them. I usually don't follow through with my set schedules so I am going to try harder to make this one work. Another goal that I would have for fall break would be to stay up on all of my assignments up until then. And for the end of the semester, I would like to finish with at least a 3.8 GPA.
ReplyDeleteI think setting goals and really dividing and stating what those goals and dreams are is what will cause you to be the best vocal athlete you can be. Each week I set a goal for each area of performing. For voice, its normally around the lines of, go over the rhythm to this one song everyday, or go over the notes every day, or singing through all the songs four times a week. I have also set the goal and have bought a second binder and printed out extra copies of music now with all of my songs to go through and write in my count singing with one color, the notes for the song in another color, the breath marks in another, and terms and dynamic markings in another. It is super helpful. For the semester, my goal is to have 5 new songs in my book that I can sing comfortably and anytime I need them. For mid term, by fall break I would to have memorized and down 3 of the 5. For a short term goal of two weeks, my goal is to go through and master my rhythms and notes for the 3 songs. After I have achieved the goals, I will set more goals. Its just a process of setting one after another that will make you rich your dreams.
ReplyDeleteREACH**
DeleteI am very much a goal oriented person so I really like this way of thinking. I set small goals for myself all the time and it's probably the only way I get all of my work done on time. I think currently my biggest goal is to graduate, as that seems to be around the corner now. Thinking smaller, I think my goal for this semester is to be able to not sell myself short. Being able to just present a song/monologue to the best of my abilities and be happy with it instead of putting myself down afterwards. And thinking even smaller, week to week I would like to stay on top of all of the course work and make sure I am putting in a full effort into everything. This includes making sure I memorize songs on time and making sure I practice singing everyday. Hopefully all of this can help me reach my dream of being able to act full-time as a career later on.
ReplyDeleteI love love LOVE goals, and I think they are Uber important to your growth as a performer, of course, but also as a human in general. They help create positive habits, and can be very beneficial in aiding you in becoming The best version of yourself there is. While I love goals, I often fall short of reaching them. Usually not the expensive long-term ones, rather the occasional myriad day to day ones. I feel this week I should focus On setting a goal and following through with achieving it every day. Once I get into the routine of something it is really easy for me to stick to it but it is hard to get into the groove of things. In the next couple weeks my goal is to really nail down the pronunciation and melody of my Italian song. In doing this I’ll have a more solid foundation so I will be able to add the grace notes or trills that are optional to kind of give my performance a little bit more nuance so to speak. Semester wise my goal is to sing more officially. During my first singing lesson I was amazed at how simply just moving the head side to side at the joint can help so much with placement and also ease of vibration and movement of the vocal chords. Long-term I simply just want to sing with less strain on my voice and use that leftover/extra energy to make my performance more believable and intense. As far as long term far away goals yes of course it is my dream to perform on Broadway. However, as Brian stated, you need some steppingstones to get there. I’m Just going to take things day by day and focus on positive growth and a ton of hard work.
ReplyDeleteI think that any person that has achieved their dreams did it by accomplishing smaller, day to day goals that served as steps up to that eventual dream. I'll admit that this is something I need to get better at, as I tend to often focus on the big picture dream, which can be pretty damn depressing at times, because that dream is still quite far out. That's actually one of my goals this school year. I think if I can just focus on doing my best in the day to day practice of my art, then everything else (including some version of my dream) should eventually fall into place. For the next two weeks: I want to get into the groove of doing my work on time and not procrastinating, I want to nail my audition for PTC's The Lion in Winter, and I want to similarly nail my Brutus monologue for our Shakespeare class. By midterm, I want to be well on the way of helping to do my part to make Big Love the best show that it can be, and I want to have at least three new monologues in my book. By the end of the semester I would love to have been cast in something (likely outside of the department) for the spring, so that I have another project to look forward to after Big Love.
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ReplyDeleteI think there is something intimidating about setting short term goals. It is much easier to couch your desires in terms of "dreams" that are so far off that you aren't really taking much of a risk by making these "dreams" what you want. I certainly do this and I often realize that the dreams I have are disconnected from the things I pursue day to day. Short term goals can also be difficult because sometimes it is hard to decide what attainable pieces of life will help you on the way to your dream. Is it even a good idea to make short term goals part of longer process or should they be able to exist independently? For example, if ones dream is to win an Oscar, do their short term goals have to align with that dream in order to be valid? I'm not sure what the answer is to that, I think it's alright to make your short term goal reading a novel a week for the next month, even if none of the books you read have anything to do with acting or Oscars. However, I think it would be equally valid to have short term goals that do line up with a "dream". Personally, I'm not sure I can say what my dream is, however I have a few short term goals in mind. At the end of the semester I want to have: read a book a week not including texts for classes, done my meditation practice every day hopefully more than once a day, danced every day, been cast in The Lion in Winter at PTC, consistently climbed V7-V8 at the Life Center climbing gym (by the end of the semester), and learned a new song every week on guitar. Some of these may line up with a final end goal but most of them are just to nourish my spirit.
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ReplyDeleteUnknownSeptember 2, 2018 at 4:56 PM
ReplyDeleteThe big picture that is made up of a bunch of little pictures. Focusing on a little picture everyday is so much less discouraging than trying to make the whole big picture in one day. AND. Putting time and effort into each little picture will make the big picture SO MUCH MORE DETAILED. Part of my short term goals include taking time to let this concept sink in and be a part of my art rather than just letting it be a thought. Other short term goals is learning how to fix all the little cogs of my body so I can understand the whole machine. I want to work at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. That is probably my biggest dream. In order to get there I know I have a full time job of training every corner of my body to the full extent of its capability. A well rounded actor comes from versatility and durability. That goal is accomplished in small steps. Time to make the mental transition.
So, I want to professionally act in Chicago, London, New York, maybe LA (the acting industry in Los Angeles actually doesn't sound appealing to me one bit, but I still would like to give it a go. Maybe I would like like after all). I also have a dream to work as a touring musician in Austin, Nashville, New York, New Orleans, Chicago. I want to write a play. I want to be a published and known musician. These are all dreams, yeah.
ReplyDeleteTo continue my way to achieving those dreams, one of my long term goals right now is graduate college with a BFA in acting, a double minor in music and linguistics, and a certificate in social justice advocacy. Another, relatively long term goal is to get a new drum kit and a brass snare.
Before December 31st, I want to be finished with recording my album, so I can then send it to a producer to get it mixed. A way that I can see that happens is if I have all of the base music well practiced by the time of Fall Break. After it's mixed, it's a longer term goal of mine to send the album to KRCL. I have been played on the radio once this past year with a song from an album I was on, but it wasn't my music. I'd like my own music to be played on the radio. And then I'd like to gig with the album to promote it. (Kilby Court, bars/clubs, maybe get myself on the opening bands list at the Complex).
Shorter term goals would be to get my voice in better shape for the singing final. Another is to prepare for the USF audition on October 1st (that means that I want to be completely ready for it by September 26th).
I think the next step is writing all of these dreams and goals down on paper.
Thanks.
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ReplyDeleteI feel that all my life I have been working towards my dream and never really payed attention to the short term goals. I had a dream of going to college and it has happened but now looking back I realize I am lucky to be here and would feel more secure knowing I accomplished goals on the way here. To start off I would say having a healthy intake of water each day would be a good start and putting strict discipline on my time per day singing would suffice as well. Another goal which would prove helpful over all is improving in my musical skills. Read rhythyms, music, work on my trumpet and do more with music can only prove helpful to my aspirations. Yes we all have different voices and perhaps even different dreams but one thing is for certain we want to get better. Music is wonderful and doing what we can including the small stuff weekly brings us closer to the the musical passion in which we have. It also brings us closer to our instrument and our sound. The sound only we as different individuals can make.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always felt that setting and accomplishing goals is not something I’m good at. That’s not to say that I don’t get things done or complete the things that need to be completed, but the task of laying out a goal and then working to accomplish it has never come overly naturally to me. I do make a lot of lists, though, and I guess that in a way, those are a form of goal setting. I just write down what I need to do and get it done by order of importance. The difference is, I think, that to-do lists have a stronger sense of immediacy and necessity while a “goal” seem like a much loftier and distant concept. For someone as easily distractible as I, that perceived commitment takes some getting used to. That being said, I do have some over-arching goals that I use to influence my day to day behavior. The largest of these is that I want to be a kinder, more considerate, more compassionate person. I’m a firm believer that if you’re not working to better the lives of yourself and those around you, you’re wasting your time. In order to achieve this, I’ve started reflecting more on my actions and if there’s an interaction that I feel needlessly affected the other person(s) negatively, I apologize and then think about why it happened and how I can avoid making that mistake in the future. I also dream about using theatre and performance as a way to positively affect people’s lives. I hope that’s what my time at the U can help me accomplish.
ReplyDelete-Fynn White
For me, "goals" surround my whole life. Pretty much everyday I am creating a new list of them and the are always being added and/or changed. But I guess I never really thought about the separation between long term goals, short term goals and dreams. But I do believe that my dreams are strong. Though I dream of the end destination being BROADWAY! I mostly dream about being able to work and let my career in theatre support guide me through life and all my endevors. I guess one of my more long term goals (within a year) is achieving academic success as well as personal growth my first year at the University. To assist my current long term goal I set little goals each day and week to try to make for an easier week and to not lt myself get to stressed out.
ReplyDeleteSome of those goals:
I hope to continue to become more comfortable with letting my guard down.
I hope to be able to fix my corrections in dance to become stronger.
I hope to continue practicing everyday to figure out music theory.
I set aside time each day to work and practice on all of these goals. When it comes to the end of the night and I look at my todo list and realize how much I did that day I truly feels so accomplished, which in return makes me sleep better and quite frankly a happier person.
Can you tell me who wrote this? I want to give you credit!
DeleteCaden Tudor
DeleteI am a list person. I like to-do lists, which I would consider to be sort of like really short term goals. These keep me from feeling too overwhelmed and on some sort of track, even if it isn't a track to some greater thing. I am not as good at setting long-term goals or even coming up with what my dreams are specifically. I was recently discussing this with family and how in some ways it helps me to focus on living in the moment and really enjoying where I am at presently. However, I think that having dreams and long term goals is important to give life direction and purpose. My goals right now focus a lot around making patterns for myself that stick. Patterns of self-care, good time management, etc. and then maintaining that long-term. Some goals for my semester include reading books from the ATP list, finding and working on a solid audition monologue, successfully case binding a book, leading a climb, and learning new songs on the ukulele. Most of these are about finding time for the things which keep me positive. I think that ultimately this semester keeping an overall positive attitude will allow me to stay curious and excited about my classes and this in turn puts me on a path to reach those longer term goals and dreams, even if I don't always have a solid idea of what that is for me.
ReplyDelete~Jessica Graham
DeleteI really value the distinction between goals and dreams. I think too often, people only focus on the grand scheme. I was that way for a long time. However, if you really want that dream to happen, you have to have stepping stones. Within the next two years I want to be cast in a show that pays. I understand that I need to build my resume before that happens. I think that many of the goals I have set within the ATP can help me reach that dream. My goals right now include- Reading a new play each week, building two strong audition monologues, reading more books that my professors recommend, auditioning as much as I can, and seeing as many shows as I possibly can. I am the type of person that can easily fall into the lazy grave, and once I do I have a difficult time getting out. I hope to remain as motivated as I am right now. My other big dream is to study abroad in London this upcoming summer. In order to reach this goal I must plan immensely. I have made a goal to only spend a certain amount each month in order to save my money. I also have set a goal to research immensely on the area, airports, and how to travel safely. I am very excited for the future and what these goals and dreams could lead me to. --Shelice Warr
ReplyDeleteThis may be weird, but I actually really don’t care for goal setting. This doesn’t mean I’m not a motivated person or have things I wish to accomplish, it just seems that when I actually set a goal for myself it causes things to go awry and I completely miss the goal by a long shot. I’ve always struggled with this through school and life- let me tell you a lot of projects in middle school about goals were just a mess. I just don’t think I like limiting myself. It frustrates me. Sure deadlines, those are great, but I don’t know why I struggle with goals so much. It could also be that I’m the type of person who goes with whatever is thrown at me and what happens is meant to happen. It’s a strange dilemma I deal with constantly, and yes, if you’re wondering, it does lead to procrastination. Maybe that should be my goal? To actually set and attempt a goal. Dreams however, I guess you could say I have those, but I’m also very realistic when it comes to that. Which is good and bad, because I tend to not push myself enough in the direction of something that could be incredible. This is just a strange topic for me to try and discuss for some reason. And this kind of just turned into a stream of consciousness, so that’s interesting. Hopefully though, I’ll open up to the idea of goal setting more and not sell my dreams short. I suppose we will see!
ReplyDeleteI have found that it's hard to set far-reaching dreams and short term goals for myself because I feel such intense transformation occurring in my life. My opinions and ideas about the world are constantly shifting and changing as I receive new information during these transitional years of my life. Like far off stars that remain fixed in our perception of them because of their incredible distance away from us, I have concepts of dreams that I want to achieve much later on in my life; including, but not limited to, having a family and contributing in some way to the evolution of thought in human beings. How I will realize those dreams remains a mystery to me, whether it will be through art, politics, science, spirituality, or idealogy. The best thing that I can do for myself in this situation, where at times I feel like I have no purpose, is give myself purpose in every moment that I encounter. I have come to realize that the only thing in my life that I have complete control over is how I react and act in every present moment that I am given. If I am using that moment to fulfill something for myself, complete a task, or awaken my mind to the world around me, I have to trust that as I progress through my life, the culmination of these mindful present moments will manifest a future that I can be proud of. I seem to be happier with myself when I do this, because I set a small goal in a moment, complete it in the next couple of moments, and move on to the next goal. Keeping this in mind, as long as I am being truthful to my needs and wants, and being conscience of others' emotions and feelings, then perhaps I can find ultimate satisfaction by simply living in a blissful present that is informed by a mindful past. If I can continue to do this, then I can not need to be constantly worrying about the future and what I can potentially bring or not bring to me.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of goals, I would love to one day earn the respects from some of the greats. Actors who have started their training through stage, and work their into film. I have always had a strong passion for film.. I grew up watching movies my entire life. Looking at body language, critiquing actors, and learning from some of the best. In order to achieve this dream, like you said in your blog, I first need to derive some stepping stones to make it possible. Short term goals would include becoming better at time management, and learning to discipline myself more. Mid term goals would be getting a 4.0 and being super successful in my upcoming show, The Wolves at SLAC. Long term goals would be continuing to get better at my work, and using that experience to go out into the big, bad world; To be confident and ready enough to face life's obstacles.
ReplyDeleteDreams: Be cast in a major movie
ReplyDeleteBe successful enough to live in NY/LA, without being in debt.
Goals: Put aside $100 a month (short term), continue auditioning for film jobs coming through SLC (short and mid term) and finish production on our movie (long term).
I think it's incredibly important to be realistic with goal setting, and equally as much so to compare yourself with another person's progress. Trying to stay present in the steps of my life, and being focused on MY life, is one of the most difficult and necessary skills to develop as an artist. This blog has been a really great reflection, and opportunity to see how far I've come through my own goals.
Dreams: I want to live abroad (Preferably London) and work in acting, and applied theatre work in the non-profit sector.
ReplyDeleteGoals: put together a solid audition book of monologues/ songs (short and mid term), build a strong character in "Big Love" (mid term), finish writing a goddamn play (long term)
I think I tend to think a little bit too loftily when it comes to my future and I'm worried that it's going to run away without me steering it in the direction I want and that I'm already too far behind to get where I want to be. I also feel like I've semi-wasted the first two years of college being too invested in and preoccupied with my personal life. Hopefully, (and I think this semester is starting off better) I can stay more focused on myself and my work and not get trampled over or preoccupied with other people's needs.
Go Cubs!
For me, my dream is to be a working actor capable of living comfortably and having the opportunity to be able to travel and experience what the world has to offer. A short-term goal that would help me attain this dream is to make sure that I am staying on top of all of my work and showing up to every single class prepared to work. Another part of that goal is to not only be ready to work in class, but also being ready to take risks and fail over and over again in the interest of growing instead of playing it safe and doing what feels comfortable, which I find is sometimes what I am more inclined to do. For a mid-term goal, I want to be comfortable in reading a scene and being able to understand what it is that my character wants and the different tactics that can be used to get what they want so that I can then play within those bounds and take calculated risks that could result in a new layer of the piece I may not have otherwise discovered. While I currently am able to break down a scene in such a manner, I still have room to grow and with that confidence to gain in my decisions rather than wondering if there was possibly a better choice that could have been made. To achieve this I need to not only do this work with scenes for class but also take a scene from a play I am reading on my own and do it as a sort of exercise so that I can get more experience in the whole process and, as a result, become more confident in my process. Finally my goal for the semester is to develop my scene and character work so that when I am performing a scene I am able to play more of the subtleties to the character that really help them come to life on the stage. I feel that if I achieve these goals that I have set for myself this semester it will put me one step closer to achieving my dream of being a working actor.
ReplyDelete- Liam Johnson
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ReplyDeleteI loved reading this blogpost, because the idea of setting progressing goals aligned intersectionally with one of the ideas we had discussed in directing class - having an end vision and the appropriate steps along the way to get to the ends effectively and efficiently.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of exciting opportunities ahead of me in the next semester and year, and the only I way I will achieve my long term goals is the work along the way. A goal I would like to set for the next two weeks would be to learn material. I have a lot of music to learn for shows, juries, classes, etc; and if I can have it all down in the next few weeks (especially with tech) that’s be great! Over the first half of the semester I’d love to build a stronger portfolio. There is so much in my book that hasn’t left a lesson or jury, and with the access to the one button studio I’m not sure why I don’t have more recorded. By the end of the semester I’d like to have booked a show for the spring semester. I know with dedication to practice and hard work in auditions I can assure myself the opportunity to perform.
This is going to be a great semester and year!
-Jacob Weitlauf
My main overarching dream is to eventually have the ability to support myself with acting so that it can be my main focus and where I spend most of my time. That way, I can still enrich my knowledge regarding my world sense and also my self-knowledge including who I am as an artist through travel, outdoor activities, attending cultural events, etc.
ReplyDeleteWithin the next two weeks, I will have a solid schedule that I will not deviate from any more than 20%. I am still working out my schedule with class time, homework, my job, and (of course) my practice schedule with singing, and last but not least my self-care. This will be the basis for the rest of my semester. I also will have read the 9 plays I checked out this last week at the library and have a few in the queue. Lastly, I will have learned the three songs I'll be working on the semester in voice lessons.
By the mid-term of this semester, I will have 4 solid monologues ready to go at the drop of a hat. I will have read two of my own outside books regarding artistry, acting, voice work, etc.
At the end of the semester, I will complete my finals and singing jury with ultimate preparedness and a strong sense of confidence. I will not be doing any last minute memorizing or preparing due to procrastination. Therefore, throughout the semester I will be studying consistently and seriously whipping my time management into punctual shape.
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ReplyDeleteI’ve always dreamed of being a full-time actor and artist that can be self-sustaining on the art I produce. As time goes by, the way in which that manifests itself in my life has changed. I currently see my future leading me towards experimental theatre, producing new works with a company. However, that kind of freedom takes time to earn. My current goals include taking more risks in my work as I head into Big Love and Men On Boats, studying Wing Chun every week, going to at least 2-3 dance classes a week, making connections and potentially getting cast in a regional theatre for the upcoming summer, and studying abroad in Greece to improve my connection to where theatre got its start.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure if I’m a goal-oriented person necessarily. I have pretty intense anxiety so at times it feels like goals overwhelm me to the point where I feel I can’t do anything but I also love checking off a task or goal. My biggest goal is a day to day one; remain grounded, do not waste time justifying your existence. This is possibly the toughest thing for me to do every day but it’s a great goal nonetheless.
I really resonated with this blog post. I always think about how important it is to consciously set concrete goals. I set goals weekly and try and hold myself accountable and track them to show myself I’m capable of achieving them. Even if it’s as small as going for a run 4 times a week and using an app to track it. This helps me be able to feel more in control of my life and what I’m able to do.
ReplyDeleteA short term goal I have is to become more organized with my schedule and my time. I tend to have a lot of things overlap and become very overwhelming and so making a schedule and writing things down in a planner more and keeping track of when I have to do things will help me immensely especially with rehearsals starting this week at SLAC. The sooner I can get into this habit the better.
A midterm goal I have is to try and find what my next project will be after THE WOLVES closes, whether it be another show to be in or finding outside studies to help further my acting training.
My long term goal is to become more confident in my vocal abilities. I am usually too scared to audition for musicals because of how I feel about my singing abilities and so I avoid them making me miss out on opportunities. I would like to get to a point that even if I don’t get cast in musicals I at least feel okay enough to try and be in them. Which taking singing this semester will really help me be able to do that and not feel like I’m missing out anymore.
I feel like all of these goals are realistic enough to achieve and very beneficial to further my career as a professional actor. Even with my super busy schedule these are goals I can meet.
-Fina Posselli
After reading this blog post I was able to decipher goals and dreams in my life. When you think of them as two separate ideas it becomes much more clear to focus on goals in my everyday life. Lately, it has been a little hard coming back from summer vacation and refocusing my life on what is important to me and what I need to let go of. I have found that the things that might make me happier in the long run are not always the things I look forward to doing on a day to day basis. Therefore if I take the time to find things that I enjoy doing day to day and that will also benefit me in the long run then I can stay in touch better with my goals and my dreams. My 2 week goal is to be fully off book for the play that I am in and to do some character development everyday whether it is physically writing stuff down or even just thinking about it. My mid-term goal is to have a character solidified and also to be caught up on all of my school work and to not have massive fear of missing out. My long term goal is to audition for as much other outside work in SLC that is available. I also want to end this semester with a bang so that I can treat myself over Christmas break. I am so excited for this semester and cant wait to get into full swing next week .
ReplyDelete-Alison Stroud
On behalf of Tom Roche:
ReplyDeleteI find that I don’t usually think about my dreams or goals. I just kind of focus on what I’m doing in the moment. Ultimately, I want to be a working, professional actor. If we’re getting specific, I want to work with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.
One smaller goal I could work on is being more organized. I find myself getting very busy, which I love, but I get flustered when I forget to do something, which happens a lot. I think if I kept an up to date calendar I would be a lot better off.
I think another short-ish term goal I could set for myself is to put myself out into the SLC theatre community more than I have. The business is so much about who you know so I would love to get to know more people in the community.
I think both of these things are goals that I can pretty easily accomplish as well as goals that will help me to ultimately help me toward achieving my dreams.
-Tom S Roche
I really like this concept of having short term goals and long term dreams. I think it's a great model to achieve things that maybe feel very unlikely or difficult. My short term goal for now is to just get my voice back to normal, almost since school started I've been having issues with it because I've been on and off sick and getting enough sleep has been really difficult. I think my goal for fall break is just to get my Italian song to a point where I'll be really happy with my performance at my jury so I can get comfortable in that spot of having it prepared. My goal for the end of the semester is to really learn to release tension while I'm singing because I think a lot of the time I go the other direction and tighten up. I think my dream is to be able to hit a B5 cleanly, I think I can do it if I really take care of my voice for a while.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see how my voice develops in a more professional lifestyle setting.
-Michael Davies
I know Im late but, My goals for this semester is too find material I not only sing well but, material I am excited to sing and learn. I want to find a way to not overthink everything I sing. I want to work on having stronger consonants. I feel like that is one of my major downfalls currently. I want to start auditioning again. I feel like with work and school I lost the drive and thrill of auditioning, I want to rediscover that.
ReplyDelete