My New York City: Street Smart
I'm quickly learning that the phrase "If I can make it here (NYC) I'll make it anywhere" is the absolute truth! It's really cutthroat here and you need a lot of street smarts to survive. I've never been street smart....I grew up in suburbia. But I had to gain A LOT of street smarts RIGHT QUICK, you hear me? Because in the 3 months that I have been living in the city, I've already been in several [sticky] situations. Though I wish I didn't go through them, I have become all the more wiser. I don't want to be the type that something bad has to happen to me all the time in order for me to learn. I want to be able to avoid! I'm learning to pay attention to the signs and the red flags and to always listen to holy spirit about literally everything going on in my life.
One of my favorite actresses, Kerry Washington, said one of the greatest powers an actor has is the ability to say no to a project. I should've said no to the first project I did once I moved to the city, but I was so hungry to work, I overlooked all the red flags (i.e. the horribly written script, the negative reviews and the eccentric director who gave line readings during rehearsals -__-). Now, this other project was presented to me that involved an unclear contract and on top of that, the person was asking me to pay a fee before I even worked! The fee was for membership into the company that was going to produce the project. When I told the person I felt weird about that, they said ok & that they still wanted to work with me. They were willing to waive the fee for me. Ok. Great! So I asked for a revised contract and any other documentation that can be provided to me before I made a decision yes or no. Because isn't that what normal people do? I mean, if you're gonna waive a fee, shouldn't that be written in my contract? The person said they didn't want to work with me anymore because I was giving them the run around. Fine by me! Thanks for the opportunity. Even though I was leaning towards a no, the person gave me a definitive push into my no.
I'm glad I was assertive. & I'm glad I paid attention to the signs. & I'm glad I have people in my life who love me and have my best interest at heart who I can go to for advice. Not everybody has that. I am a business. I am a brand. And I refuse to sell myself short just for the sake of having an acting job. No, I'll wait. & besides when one door closes, it makes way for God to open a bigger and better door.
II.
Candyce Adkins
One of my favorite actresses, Kerry Washington, said one of the greatest powers an actor has is the ability to say no to a project. I should've said no to the first project I did once I moved to the city, but I was so hungry to work, I overlooked all the red flags (i.e. the horribly written script, the negative reviews and the eccentric director who gave line readings during rehearsals -__-). Now, this other project was presented to me that involved an unclear contract and on top of that, the person was asking me to pay a fee before I even worked! The fee was for membership into the company that was going to produce the project. When I told the person I felt weird about that, they said ok & that they still wanted to work with me. They were willing to waive the fee for me. Ok. Great! So I asked for a revised contract and any other documentation that can be provided to me before I made a decision yes or no. Because isn't that what normal people do? I mean, if you're gonna waive a fee, shouldn't that be written in my contract? The person said they didn't want to work with me anymore because I was giving them the run around. Fine by me! Thanks for the opportunity. Even though I was leaning towards a no, the person gave me a definitive push into my no.
I'm glad I was assertive. & I'm glad I paid attention to the signs. & I'm glad I have people in my life who love me and have my best interest at heart who I can go to for advice. Not everybody has that. I am a business. I am a brand. And I refuse to sell myself short just for the sake of having an acting job. No, I'll wait. & besides when one door closes, it makes way for God to open a bigger and better door.
II.
Candyce Adkins
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