BWW Blog: Christopher Panella -Be Who You Want and Be Independent

Destiny's Child pushed for women to be independent in 2001 with Independent Woman, and I am pushing for actors to be independent today with this blog. Independence is a quality few people possess, a quality I am thankful enough to have, and a quality I hope to instill upon people. This quality is useful in almost any situation. But truthfully, I think it can be most useful to actors.

As actors, we spend so much time spilling our thoughts and feelings to other people, most of the time other actors. We are emotional people with emotional needs. I totally get that. But as emotional people we should keep the emotion to ourselves. Stop blabbering to others about your fears and thoughts and for advice and give yourself the advice. I see this dependency on others all the time in my own theatre environment. Every audition, I see kids running around and discussing their pieces, performing for peer review, and spilling their fears about auditioning. Stop! Don't depend on others to help you get over your fears or tell you your piece is good. Depend on yourself. I learned this advice about a year ago when I auditioned for Ft. Lauderdale High School's production of Aladdin Jr. I found that in auditions before that, I had always called and texted and talked to other drama club members who were also auditioning for help and review and discussion. It got to the point where every pointer I had been given made me nervous and fearful, and I ended up not performing my best. Aladdin Jr. was different. I sought out no help, only the help of my voice teacher, and worked daily with myself on the audition piece. Anytime I felt fearful or scared about the audition, I simply supported myself. This tactic of independence gave me one of the best auditions I have ever had and allowed me to secure my first high school musical theatre lead role as Jafar.

I understand that many people need emotional dependence during the stress of auditions, but keep that dependence to a minimum. In the career theatre world, there is no support system of friends who have classes with you and can calm you down and give you pointers on your pieces. There is simply you, an audition room, and casting directors. You have to be the one to watch your own piece and critique it, and you have to be the one to emotionally support yourself. Tough love. But trust me, being independent can be the most rewarding experience in theatre. Take what you want, do what you want, and allow yourself to not be humble. Being independent can lead to better character and better audition seasons. Since last year, I have spent every moment while rehearsing, auditioning, or performing as an independent person sought on bettering myself and not worrying about others. Stop worrying about others and how they will perform. When you perform your best, others will have a bar to reach and will push themselves to reach it. So set the bar as high as you can and focus on your own growth. Does this sound selfish? It shouldn't. It should sound independent.

Of course, peer review and help can be great. One of my favorite people, Esther Reyes, is amazing with peer review and edit on pieces. But there is a line between peer review and over-dependence. When given advice about pieces, recognize the advice, but do not take it unless you feel it is valid and understandable. A lot of times too much peer advice can either be incorrect or overwhelming. So listen to advice, but have selective hearing.

Being independent is the most rewarding thing. It allows for growth, for better pieces, and for better emotional well-being. Now, this blog obviously isn't suggesting that you drop all people around you and live in the woods like Thoreau. No. But put yourself first, support yourself first. Once you enter the career theatre world, that's the only thing you can do.

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