ACTING COACH | BACKSTAGE EXPERT

• Core Issue:
• • Whether you are auditioning for a role or have booked the job, there are many ways to get in your own way.
  • The bottom line is, when you strip out all the layers of self-sabotage, at the core of it is… You don’t feel like you are enough.
• The Cycle of Self-Doubt:
  • Has that thought ever entered your mind? I don’t feel like I’m enough.
  • This feeling of unworthiness gets reinforced over and over again.
  • You are putting yourself out there.
  • You don’t feel safe, you’re scared, and the stakes are high.
  • The “not good enough” button gets pushed, and unfortunately, you sabotage yourself.
  • The possibility of hearing “no” triggers failure, disappointment, and intensifies the feeling of being less than.
  • Your self-esteem constantly takes hits:
    • “They didn’t like me.”
    • “They didn’t want me.”
    • “I am not _____ enough.” (You fill in the blank.)
  • Because you care, you take it personally, and your heart breaks a little every time.
  • This only strengthens those conscious or unconscious thoughts that you don’t deserve it.
• The Root of the Problem:
  • The “you are not enough” feeling has nothing to do with other people making you feel that way.
  • It’s a feeling that comes from within—from your backstory.
  • The feeling of not being good enough is the tree.
  • The branches are:
    • “I am not talented, good-looking, slim, loving, deep enough, etc.”
  • The branches keep growing when you give people too much power.
• Ways You Give Up Your Power:
  • You don’t prepare enough.
  • You get too neurotic.
  • You don’t trust yourself.
  • You apologize too much.
  • You’re not able to detach from the outcome of the audition.
• The Work You Need to Do:
  • Recognize the wound that needs to be healed.
  • You can be a proficient actor, armed with all the right tools, but…
  • Until you acknowledge what is stopping you, you will continue to get in your way.
  • Identify what that feeling of inadequacy is tied to.
  • The belief that you don’t deserve it can be deep.
  • Every artist is insecure—it’s perfectly fine to feel all of the above; we are human after all.
  • But when you are negatively affected by it, it reduces your ability to perform in your work.
  • And if you don’t deal with it, it can cripple you in your career.
• How to Take Back Control:
  • Recognize exactly what you feel when you are feeling it.
  • Don’t avoid it. Be strong and embrace it.
  • Face what’s going on head-on.
  • Resist the urge to run away.
• Transforming Fear into Power:
  • By nature, actors are detectives, interested in investigating the truth.
  • Every time you are brave enough to feel your feelings, you will transform fear into powerful choices.
  • These choices will show up in your auditions, work, and life.
  • Somewhere down the line, you told yourself you are not good enough—now is the time to de-program yourself.
  • Whether through:
    • Affirmations
    • Prayers
    • Writings
    • Therapy
  • Tell yourself the new truth.
• Final Message:
  • You must trust that you are enough.
  • Say it: “I am enough.”
  • Fake that you believe it—even if you don’t right now, eventually you will.
  • Remember, you create your career.
  • You have the power to reprogram your feelings so they don’t get in the way of your dreams.
  • You do deserve it!

To meet with Michelle Danner in person and sign up for los angeles acting classes or the   Best Improv Classes in LA

please RSVP for the free informational session or call 310-392-0815 or

email us at [email protected]

The Michelle Danner Los Angeles Acting School’s philosophy is that artists can draw upon all different acting techniques from Meisner, Strasberg, Adler, Hagen, Chekhov, & the Stanislavsky Technique and form a toolbox of their own, their very own Golden Box.

She is a renowned acting coach and works with many A-List Actors privately as well as on set. These include Zooey Deschanel, James Franco, Chris Rock, Michelle Rodriguez, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek,  Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Melanie Brown, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Verne Troyer, Grant Bowler, Kate Del Castillo, Michael Pena, Catherine Bell, Gabrielle Union, Rob Estes, Rick Fox and many others.