So...What are you up to? (Aka The Dreaded Question)

Imagine this:

You're walking down the streets of NYC on a sticky July afternoon. 

You're in between acting gigs.

Your Instagram feed is filled with selfies of friends snapping laughing backstage pictures in the most fabulous show wigs. 

What fun they are having!! 

You're so busy scrolling through these DELIGHTFUL pictures, that you walk directly into another pedestrian. 

That pedestrian turns out to be an old acquaintance from some class you took freshman year of college.  Was is "Intro to Theatre Studies"? "Writing the Essay"? "Theoretical Zumba in the Feminist Age"?!

Before you can figure it out, they do the unthinkable... 

They ask you, THE DREADED QUESTION.  

"So, what are you up to?" 

What do you do?!

You're not in a show right now! This feels like a trap...

Think, think, think!

Oozing casualness, you respond, 

"Oh, you know, this and that. Auditioning a lot. I recently closed 'Mamma Mia!' at Agrabah Rep. Bob Loblaw was directing, so that was pretty cool. And now, you know, just living the dream! How bout you? What are you up to?"

Ha! That'll show them for trying to trick you into saying you're out of work. Let them respond to THAT!!!

For some reason they're looking at you funny.

With caution in their eyes and a little concern in their voice they respond,

"That's awesome! Good for you. I'm actually headed to Penn Station. My partner and I are spending the 4th of July with her family in Jersey. We've both been meaning to get to the beach, so...yeah, should be fun! Anyway, take care! Happy 4th!" 

Annnnnnnd scene. 

Why do we do this?!

Why doesn't occur to us that "What are you up to?" does not necessarily equal "What show are you in?"

It is sooooooooo damn easy to hang our self-worth on whether or not we landed the contract.

And I for one, am sick to death of playing out that scene. 

I think it's time to write a new one.  

If you agree, then you NEED to subscribe to amazing actor/human being Lili Torre's new podcast The Dreaded Question. 

Here's the description in Lili's own words:

"All artists have experienced it: the dread of being asked the simple question, “So, what are you up to?”

The truth is, we all have an answer, but so few of us feel like we have the right answer.

On this podcast, we’ll ask some brave artists this dreaded question, and we’ll unpack the different ways they find fulfillment inside and outside of their artistic field." 

And guess who her guest is this week...

That's right! It's me!!

Catch my episode, "CEO-ing your Artistic Life with Sara Glancy" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.

And make sure to like and subscribe!

Lili is an AMAZING interviewer and you're going to want to listen to her whole backlog of other interviewees.

The list includes some of my absolute favorite folks from the Audition Rep Matchmaker community. Just to name a few... 

• Melissa Robinette of Biz of Show fame
• Korra O'Neill of Bloom Health Coaching 
• Jeremy Greenbaum of the Huggable Cactus
• Alie B. Gorrie co-creator of Able: A webseries     

And let's talk about Lili Torre....

She's brilliant, funny, down-to-earth, and will help get you out of the the emotional tail-spin that so often follows the dreaded question. 

So smash that subscribe button and let's get into it!

Happy fourth, y'all!

Best,

Sara

Sara Glancy is an NYC actor and the founder of Audition Rep Matchmaker, a service that helps match actors with the audition materials that will book them jobs.

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Photo by Jessica Osber.