Wardrobe is one of those things no one thinks about until an audition comes in... And then we obsess over it. We stand in our underwear in front of our closets and stress. We judge other actors' wardrobe in the waiting room. We worry that we look too different or too similar to everyone else. We wonder, if we'd worn something different, if we would have booked the part.

Here's the thing about wardrobe; it can't get you the part, but it can lose you the part. Put another way, wardrobe totally doesn't matter -- except when it does. Allow me to explain.

Things are going really well for me right now. The theater production I'm doing is getting great reviews and I'm having a fantastic time doing it, I've got a recurring role on a tv show I've wanted to work on for years, and my husband just landed his dream job. There's been lots of toasting and celebrating and gratitude... 

And there's a little voice in the back of my head whispering, "Don't get used to it. Stop talking about it. It's obnoxious. You're making people uncomfortable. It's not that big a deal anyway." And on and on.

I can't believe it's been a year, but here we are... Working Actor Wisdom is celebrating its first anniversary! 

I'm a big believer in stopping every so often to look back at the progress you've made. In the past year, Working Actor Wisdom clients have done some amazing things. You've signed with fantastic new agents and managers of all kinds, from boutiques to the big guns; you've booked a huge variety of roles in television, film, voiceover, and new media; and most importantly, you've gained a new sense of confidence and control in your creative lives and careers. 

This week, I'm allowing myself a quick break from regular Working Actor Wisdom posts to invite you to something I'm really proud of that's been part of my creative life for a long time.

When it rains, it pours. It's true of rain in Los Angeles (insert rain dance here) and it's true for actors. It's our own version of Murphy's Law... The surest way to book a job is to buy non-refundable plane tickets - or book another job first.

The musical I'm working on opens September 12. Last week, I got an audition for a huge national commercial involving a photo shoot in New York followed by the commercial shoot in Europe -- both of which directly conflict with final rehearsals and opening weekend of my show.

This is gonna be a short post. Because I'm TIRED. I'm tired because I'm in rehearsal for a musical. It doesn't pay, it's a huge time commitment, I have no idea if anyone in the industry will see it... So why am I doing it? (That's a rhetorical question. Though I've asked it aloud in my car a few times in recent weeks while driving home dirty and sweat-covered at midnight on a Tuesday.)

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about a recurring guest star role I booked recently, digging into the long history of my relationship with the casting office and showrunner, as a concrete example of the role long-term relationships play in our careers.

I was able to write that post because of my Audition Log. It's where I've noted almost every audition I've had since 2002. I say "almost" because it's nowhere near perfect -- I only started it a few years ago, so a lot of the older information was put together from email searches and scraps of paper. But perfect isn't the point, and today I want to talk about what the point IS... 

What's the value of keeping an Audition Log?

I recently booked a recurring guest star role. (YAY!) The show has been on my target list for years. The role fits my deep type perfectly. It's no accident that I went in on this role, and it's a GREAT feeling to have accomplished this goal. So I want to tell you exactly how it happened. I don't mean the audition, though that stuff - navigating the waiting room, going in with the right attitude, etc. - obviously matters. I mean the relationship. Let's go backwards, step by step, through the non-glamorous part of the answer to the question:

How do you get called in for the projects and roles you want to work on?

I was recently privileged to participate in the table read for the first episode of the new season of a fantastic show that's been kicking butt for several seasons, and is led by a showrunner who has won 22 Emmy Awards. Before the reading began, one of the executive producers made an announcement, reminding everyone of two rules:

1. No sides on set
2. No cell phones on set

Those rules are unusual and a little inconvenient... And I intend to follow them on every set I work on from here on out. Here's why:

This week's post is inspired by friend and client Di K., who pointed me to a blog post written by a guy who broke through his fitness stagnancy and got into the best shape of his life by doing one pushup a day. 

Sounds like something from a 3 am infomercial, right? Ok, it's not quite that simple. What he really did was bust through the obstacles that were standing between him and all the good stuff he knew he'd get from exercise by doing one pushup a day. Which is pretty impressive.

What does this have to do with being a working actor? Everything.

Fair warning, I'm about to get a little ranty.

I just got an email from a coaching company that made steam come out of my ears. The subject was, "Good Actor? So What? Are You Working?"

That's right friends. There are people out there who believe there's no value in being a good actor unless someone gives you a job. For them, none of your hard work means anything unless it's validated by other people in one very specific way. I guess the senders of that email figure such a statement is a good way to convince actors to come to the free seminar at which the senders will offer to sell you back the self-worth they just took away in exchange for a few thousand dollars. But it's also a terrible thing to say, and completely, totally, utterly false.

I recently got a barrage of email and social media posts from a big casting-director-slash-coach asking something like 'what if you didn't have to dread auditioning?'

My first thought was, 'Are there really actors who dread auditioning?' My second thought was, 'You know there are, Rebecca. You just hate to think about it because you know it doesn't have to be that way.' I clicked the link in the email, hoping it would lead to a post about why actors dread auditioning and how to love it instead... but it didn't. So I decided to write one.

Disclaimer: If you've got money to burn, feel free to disregard this post.

Disclaimer 2: These are my opinions. They're based on a lot of experience and observation, but they're still opinions, so it's totally ok to disagree.

Being an actor is expensive. Headshots. Classes. Subscriptions to industry websites. Agent and manager commissions. Wardrobe for every profession, character, and time period imaginable. There's so much we need to spend money on, it's helpful to point out a few things you DON'T have to shell it out for. Here are a few of the biggies:

You know what actors want. Solid representation who work for us and gets us auditions. A resume that impresses decision-makers. A quick ascent past tiny co-star roles into bigger, meatier work. 

In the beginning of your career, what's standing between you and all of those things? Those first few credits. The jobs that get you from being an untested risk to being an up-and-comer who people want to know. We've talked before about how to market yourself in order to generate audition opportunities early in your career, using things like postcards and workshops. But what happens when you get an audition, and it's time to seal the deal?

Actor and friend Christy recently asked if I'd talk a bit about side jobs. Here's some of what she said:

"… there is such a stigma attached to waiting tables, but there aren't many options that will cut it with flexibility for auditions and commitment to the work. A well known actor (I recognized him immediately) waited on us yesterday and it really made me realize how so many of us who appear successful, really have to pay bills and it's not easy… at times, it can be degrading and deflating to your ego and also depressing. I am not sure if you have a side job now or have ever, but I was thinking you could share your wisdom and advice regarding what kind of work to keep us afloat while in between gigs."

I just had a pretty amazing day. I got a juicy commercial residual check. I booked a Guest Star on a one-hour drama pilot. I got an audition from my new voice over agent. And a casting director friend asked me to read a role at the network table read for a single-camera half-hour comedy pilot. All in one day.

Yesterday? I was commiserating with a bunch of actor friends about how horribly slow it's been.

It reminded me of a 100% true thing that happened to me that helps me keep perspective through the ups and downs of being a working actor. (I say 100% true because it sounds unbelievable. You'll see.) I've gotten in the habit of calling it the safari story, and I want to share it with you in the hope that you might find it helpful too.

One of the biggest things I hear from my career coaching clients is, "I know I should be using social media for my career, but…" And then they sigh, roll their eyes, or scrunch up their faces and make a noise like they would rather eat a worm than learn how to do what they just said they know they should be doing.

I sometimes help businesses with social media marketing strategies to help them better connect with their customers. Some time ago, I realized actors could steal those same strategies to connect with our 'customers' - industry decision-makers. Once you know what you're doing, you can use social media to skip the gatekeepers and middlemen and instantly connect with almost anyone. To help you get there, I'm now offering Social Media Coaching for actors! Whether you've been hiding in a proverbial technological cave or just need some help tweaking your personal online presence to make it work for your career, we'll make it fun and painless. And worm-free.

And because you're a blog reader, you get a big ol' free sample. If you like it, I hope you'll share it on Facebook and Twitter (where else?) and schedule a session!

If you stick with professional acting, sooner or later you're going to have the unpleasant experience of being dropped by your agent or manager. It can happen for all kinds of reasons, and you may never know what the reason is. It feels as horrible as getting dumped by someone you're dating, plus the extra suckage of panicking that no one is sending you out professionally anymore. And it happened to me a few weeks ago.