Aaron Marcus on what actors and models should do during the COVID shutdown: update your website, make videos, mentor online. He's not panicking but knows anxiety might come later. Focus on learning the craft and connecting with your community.
Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and this is going to be a little bit different than the other things that I normally do in my quick tip videos. This is a very different time period that we are all experiencing, something I've never lived through in my lifetime, where schools are closed, every— you know, so many things are just shut down. You can't be in large groups. They want you to be staying in your home, not have much exposure to other people. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus. and it's weird. From a business point of view, it's pretty catastrophic right now. Projects are just stopping. I know New York Broadway is shut down, TV, film. Chicago, I know about— some agents were telling me that shows just stopped. shooting. They're on hiatus. Atlanta, I know they're still doing some casting because I just auditioned for a couple of projects, but, you know, who knows whether they're going to be making decisions. And then even if you book the job, you know, when that, you know, they might start shooting. So everything is pretty much in a standstill. So here's what I wanted to share with you. Look, I would never tell someone, I would never tell you, you know, don't panic, everything's gonna be fine, it's gonna be okay, because, you know, who knows? I have no idea what's, what's going to happen in the future. I know that as a freelance actor and commercial model, it's, it's nerve-wracking just because this is how I make my living and things are shut down. And even TV commercials and commercial modeling jobs, those things, from everybody that I've spoken with, they're postponing. And so I certainly would not tell you not to panic. Everybody lives their life differently and their brains work in different ways. I know some people who do go into a panic mode and they freak out and they feel depressed And they are incredibly anxious. And, you know, if that is how you are wired and that works for you, then maybe that's where you need to be in this moment. I've never— I guess I've always had the philosophy of I'll panic when I need to. Right now, I don't feel the need to panic, and I might at some point, but right now I'm holding up Okay, mentally I feel, feel pretty good. You know, physically I'm doing okay. And so I guess what I wanted to share with you, just a couple of really quick things. And look, I'm not a, you know, I'm not a licensed therapist, so I'm not giving you mental health suggestions. I'm also not going to ask you what your insurance is and, you know, and tell you what your copay is. But I really, I just wanted to share this time period with you and just let you know, look, if— and that's a big if— if you're feeling good, if you're in good health, if you are able to surround yourself with people you care about, then that's what I would suggest focusing on. You know, we're all still pretty fortunate, and I realize there are some people out there who aren't in that situation and people who You know, have gotten sick or have tremendous issues because of what's going on. But, you know, I do believe that if you can try to focus on something good and stay with that, and even with all the hardships and all the problems right now, I think if we really try to grab something that takes us to a good place and try to really get into that mindset. I just think that's really very, very helpful. And I can tell you some of the things that I am doing while auditions, or at least in-person auditions, are not happening. I'm trying to work on my website. I'm trying to get things done. I've shot some additional quick tip videos. I'm looking at some marketing things online that are Certainly I'm doing more online mentoring with people just because people are around more. And, and I do think this is a great time to continue to learn more about the industry, to get better at your craft. And it's true, you know, you might not go to classes right now, which is why people really like doing the online mentoring with me. But, and actually, I'll send you the link in case that's something that you're interested in doing and exploring more. But, you know, I think the important thing is maybe it's cleaning your house, you know, maybe it's doing something that you've kind of put off, you didn't have the time doing. Do something productive, something that's going to make you and allow you to stand back and say, hey, I'm glad I got that done. And look, we are a big community here, and so feel free, you know, you can reach me through my website, howtoactandmodel.com. And if you have questions, if you just want to vent, you want to talk, let's do it, because we need to be united in here. We need to help each other in any way that we can. And in some ways, that might be a really special thing for all of us. Look, we're all just trying to live a good life here and be happy. And so sometimes finding people to communicate with is a great way of doing that as well. So anyhow, I just wanted to, to share my thoughts with you. I hope this is helpful, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
