Literature review

Currently, I am working my way through Acting theory and Sports psychology, and finding similarities in their strategies for success (by success, I mean a successful endeavour not monetary gain)
Interestingly, it appears, on the face of it, that musicians and sportsmen work harder in their alone - time than actors. Is this really the case?
I will put this to my SIG (British Actors Network) on Facebook, and observe the feedback.

The first acting strategy

Recently, an actor, friend of mine recounted a performance of his on stage in the West End of London. He described how, for a moment, he became aware of where he was performing, the history, the magnitude of it all. He snapped straight back into the performance. But, now he was thinking " did the audience notice" and "am I repeating the same line." He, of course,  continued on through, regardless of the doubt in his mind. He continued on through because the story had to be told: the show must go on.
The show must go on.
Ever since those words (some credit them to P T Barnum, others, Noel Coward) were uttered, they have become a dictum, a rallying cry to the performer. For, within those words can be found not just a simple instruction, but, a performance strategy. The show must go on : no matter what else occurs, it is your duty, in that moment, to draw strength and inspiration, to find it within yourself to rise above the circumstance, and tell the story.
Here endith the lesson. Here endith the first principal of performance : the first acting strategy.

Strategy for Acting. Strategy for Life.

Most people lead two lives. One personal, the other professional. Performers are no different. In fact I would say they juggle with a slightly more complex dynamic: the personal life, and two professional lives. The career we strive for, and the job we do to support our ambitions.
We are often faced with social and work place politics. Situations that draw on our precious time. It is at these times we need a strategy, a way of keeping us on track.
Recently, I had situations arise at work and where I am currently living. These both took up a considerable amount of my time and focus. The problem was that most of that time was not spent on dealing with said situations but obsessing about them.
In the end I employed a self reflective approach. I established my priorities and began to let go of the things that did not pertain to those priorities.
My current study is a priority. My continuing development as a professional performer is a priority. What "he said, she said" is not.
If I aim to fulfil my ambition, I must focus. A reflective process, a mental priority planner, a perspective lense. These are all parts of my strategy to maintain life as a professional performer.

Rejection Strategy

As I have mentioned before, I have written scripts for independent short films and one for BBC.
Time constraints on film production often means scenes are left out or dialogue changed, resulting in a different story interpretation to the one the writer intended.
I wanted more control over my material, and so wrote my ideas out as stories in prose.
Next step : I sent the stories off to magazines.
That's when it began: The rejection letters.
I took the rejections surprisingly well.
This began to make me think about my Inquiry (which is now concentrating,  not so much on fear, but on the coping strategies).
Did my lack of self- administered mental chastisement mean that I had triggered a coping strategy?
The broad reply would always be "well, I'm use to rejection now", as if over the years a tough outer shell had formed naturally, organically,  without cognitive intervention.
Of course, what had happened was, over those years, I had wrestled my demons with logic, with reason. For every audition I did not get, I chose not to throw myself upon the alter of self pity, but, instead, to look at other reasons why I might not have won the role. Reasons often out of my control ie wrong look, too young, too old, too tall.
If I felt I had done a particularly bad job, yes, I was introspective, but purely as a means to improve my practice. However, I would always try and see the bigger picture. Apply a balanced view. To this day, this is how I cope with rejection. This is my strategy.