Latest / Mommywood / RECUT: Audrey Moore on Self Tape May, Parenthood & the Cost of “Doing It All
Transcript
- 0:00Mom. Welcome to Mommy Wood, the
- 0:04podcast where motherhood meets Hollywood.
- 0:07Real moms, real talk, no scripts.
- 0:10I'm your host Emily Bolt and we are talking about the messy,
- 0:14funny and unfiltered side of being a mom in the entertainment
- 0:18industry. This episode of Mommy Wood is
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- 0:50travel, Donder Stain helps parents feel confident and
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- 1:01www.donderstainco.com. Use discount code Emily 10 to
- 1:08save 10% off your entire order this week.
- 1:11On Mommy Wood, I'm bringing you a special recut episode.
- 1:15This is one of my favorite conversations.
- 1:18I am talking with the incredibly honest, very no BS Audrey Moore.
- 1:22She's an actor. She's the host of Audrey Helps
- 1:26Actors podcast. She is the creator of Self Tape
- 1:29May, but more than that, she's someone who actually tells the
- 1:32truth about this industry and about life.
- 1:35In this conversation, we talk about the part no one explains
- 1:39clearly what it actually costs to pursue acting, what happens
- 1:44when you add parenting into the mix, and why so many of us feel
- 1:49like we're failing when. Really, the math.
- 1:51Just isn't adding up. The truth is time, energy and
- 1:54money are finite. And if you're trying to build a
- 1:58career and raise a human and at the same time, something has to
- 2:01give, we also get into friendship.
- 2:04Shifts we get into. The lack of transparency around
- 2:07how people are actually making this life work and why comparing
- 2:11yourself to someone elses version of quote UN quote doing
- 2:15it all is basically a losing game.
- 2:19And I really. Loved getting Audrey's
- 2:21perspective as someone who has chosen not to have kids, how she
- 2:25shows up for her friends who are parents, and what she sees from
- 2:30the outside that maybe we're too in it to notice.
- 2:34This episode feels like a reality check, but in the best
- 2:38way, like someone finally saying the quiet part out loud.
- 2:42So if you've ever felt stretch too thin behind or like you're
- 2:49somehow doing this wrong, you're going to feel very seen in this
- 2:54episode. So please enjoy.
- 2:56I know you will. This conversation with Audrey
- 3:00Moore. Circa 2000 and like 5 from what
- 3:08was it that sell the Sam French shop or drama book?
- 3:11Shop. That sounds right.
- 3:14I love that cute look. Forgot me this one.
- 3:19Lazy. Oh, that's hilarious.
- 3:22It's the, it's a dumpling restaurant.
- 3:26But I was like, isn't really, Yeah, in Connecticut.
- 3:29So I was like, I was like, are you trying to tell me something?
- 3:34I mean, but does your sister think that you're lazy?
- 3:37No. I imagine not.
- 3:40I mean, I just didn't know anything forever, you know, I
- 3:43just like, I mean, the theme song is I don't know anything.
- 3:47I just truly, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't know anything.
- 3:50I just, you know, I'm horrified by all the things that I didn't
- 3:55know. And even to this day, you know,
- 3:58I, I will talk to people who are maybe a little bit ahead of me
- 4:01in their careers or maybe have a different professional
- 4:05perspective. And we talked to each other and
- 4:08I am always learning stuff. I'm like, that's what's
- 4:11happening. Is that what people are doing?
- 4:14Like, no. So it's a continual unfolding
- 4:19because also the business changes so rapidly and the
- 4:22expectations on everyone changes so rapidly.
- 4:25So I'm also in that loop as well.
- 4:28I wish that I had understood more of the other side of the
- 4:34business. I think I spent the first eight
- 4:37years, 10 years, 15 years thinking that things were
- 4:40personal and that it was about how talented I was or was not.
- 4:46And now I see it much more as a discipline as much as an art
- 4:53form, and also storytelling and being a part of someone else's
- 5:00story rather than an actress being outstanding or being a
- 5:07disaster, which was mostly my point of view.
- 5:10I was just so scared of being a disaster and so desperate to be
- 5:15outstanding. And now I have a much fuller
- 5:18understanding of what is happening here.
- 5:22I mean, I feel very fortunate that I have lots of spirals, but
- 5:28I never feel like maybe this isn't it.
- 5:33I've always felt that this is it for better, for worse.
- 5:37And that does incur a lot of peace and structure because then
- 5:44it's about figuring it out as opposed to figuring out if you
- 5:49want to quit. And then once you've decided if
- 5:52you're going to figure out whether or not you want to quit,
- 5:53then you get to figure out how to solve it if you're staying
- 5:57in. So for me it was just always
- 5:59very a lot of humiliation, a lot of ego unraveling and still to
- 6:06this day, and then a weeping probably and napping and
- 6:13sleeping and then a decision of how this is solvable, how do I
- 6:18solve it? How is that going to happen?
- 6:20And does anyone have the answers and if so who are they and can I
- 6:25get help? Yeah.
- 6:27What? What made you want to get into
- 6:31acting in the 1st place? Like, did you grow up with it?
- 6:34And like all of the. Just.
- 6:37All of your, your background, you know, Yeah.
- 6:39I did not grow up with acting in my major life.
- 6:46I would say I was in my first play when I was 7 and I always
- 6:49say that I had my mother's attention finally, and so I was
- 6:55going to sign up for that as long as that was being given.
- 6:57No, she came to see me in a play called Come Out Cat.
- 7:01I played the cat, of course, and it was written by other
- 7:06students. And my mom came to see the the
- 7:10play when I was in second grade. And she was like, you were the
- 7:13only one we could hear. And from that moment on, my
- 7:17being really loud sealed the deal.
- 7:21And an actress was born. And really from that, from that
- 7:25point on, by the time I was 11, I was in drama class, I was
- 7:31doing forensic. I don't know if you ever had
- 7:33like speech and debate stuff in your schools, but we had like
- 7:36forensics tournaments and I was doing, you know, dramatic
- 7:40interpretation and comedic interpretation and duo
- 7:43interpretation and oral interpretation, which is just
- 7:47basically acting competitions all weekend.
- 7:49And I started that maybe when I was 12, I want to say.
- 7:54So I've just been doing it pretty much all day every day
- 7:59since at least junior high and just never, never stopped.
- 8:03But I do feel fortunate in that if anything, the opposite is to
- 8:08the if. If I'm thinking about something
- 8:12else in my life, I'm actually thinking about all of the things
- 8:16that I'm not getting to share as generously with the world in
- 8:23terms of my talents or my interests or beliefs.
- 8:27And I am maybe a little restricted in time, energy, and
- 8:31money as an actress because there's only so much to go
- 8:34around. And so I'm, I'm often wondering
- 8:38like, is this the best use of Audrey?
- 8:41Is this profession, is this pursuit, is this art form the
- 8:47best use of Audrey? In addition to am I getting a
- 8:51lot of joy out of it? That's so interesting.
- 8:55I think that everyone should spend time making sure that it's
- 8:59what they want to do as often as possible.
- 9:01I really think of acting and particularly the profession of
- 9:05acting, but definitely the craft.
- 9:06It's just it's easier for people to have a relationship with the
- 9:09craft because most people, there's a sense of expression
- 9:13and passion that is separate, it seems, in the training realm
- 9:18from the professional pursuit of the craft.
- 9:21And I find that when it comes to being a professional actor, it's
- 9:26almost always not what you thought you were signing up for.
- 9:30Once you can realize that almost nothing is what you thought you
- 9:34were signing up for, and then they will go from acting as
- 9:39sales to another job of sales and to another job of sales and
- 9:42to another job of sales. And mostly because it's
- 9:46something that you can do relatively cheap, fast, and easy
- 9:49to become a part of. Getting your real estate license
- 9:53is a much cheaper, faster, easier path than going and
- 9:57getting a degree in civil engineering.
- 10:01So that's attractive to people because they already feel maybe
- 10:05behind in life and they feel tired of being broke and
- 10:09frustrated. And so there's a magic to
- 10:13salesmanship. But if the thing you hate about
- 10:15acting is sales, I would say don't go into sales period.
- 10:21Which is hard because I feel like that's like so many things,
- 10:25right? It's so many things that don't
- 10:27require an intensive degree. Yeah, and even many things that
- 10:32do require an intensive degree. Do they?
- 10:35And that's its own sort of investigation.
- 10:37If you want to become a professional in another field
- 10:41and then you're thinking about signing up for grad school and
- 10:44you're thinking about another three years and God knows how
- 10:47much money that you're going to be putting towards that.
- 10:49I just say, like, talk to some people who've graduated and see,
- 10:52are they making any money? How do they have a career?
- 10:57Did are they in a new mountain of student loan debt in addition
- 11:03to their acting school student loan debt?
- 11:05And are they, did they need that degree?
- 11:09Did they decide, Oh yeah, that degree was valuable?
- 11:12Or was it just another sort of payment to a university to make
- 11:17you feel safe for a few more years until you were swooped
- 11:20back into the horrors of the real world, which is very
- 11:23expensive. One of the things I love so much
- 11:26about you having this podcast and talking about being a mom
- 11:30and an actor, performer or artist, in addition to I don't
- 11:35want to leave out the dads out there that are also dealing with
- 11:38major struggles in that transition.
- 11:42But the math has got a math and I'm pretty tired of all of us
- 11:48feeling guilty about feeling tired and overstretched when in
- 11:58general people aren't getting paid enough in any profession.
- 12:02And then on top of which there isn't support for both
- 12:10parenthood. And then we'll get into elder
- 12:12care and the things that just need a priority.
- 12:17They, they become a zone of your life.
- 12:20And I really value that you're doing this podcast and trying to
- 12:26explore and also be a sounding board and a microphone to people
- 12:32who are discovering the transition between being an
- 12:38actress, having their time and going to acting class and maybe
- 12:41getting some jobs and getting your SAG card and probably a job
- 12:47or, or a couple things like that.
- 12:48And then and then being a full time parent, that's, that's a
- 12:54huge investment in time, energy and money.
- 13:00And if we acknowledge that our time, energy and money are in
- 13:03fact finite, then we really have to look at if something else is
- 13:09going to be added to your life, something else is going to have
- 13:12to be taken away. And that could be sleep.
- 13:17That could be health, that could be friendships, that could be
- 13:21relationships with more of your family, that could be your
- 13:24acting career, that could be acting classes, whatever it is.
- 13:29But those resources of time, energy and money, if they're
- 13:33going to a living being, then that time, energy and money is
- 13:41going to have to be taken from someplace else.
- 13:43And I am so passionate about actor parents.
- 13:50And I'm so passionate about parents being able to, if they
- 13:58can continue their work as an actor.
- 14:02Because I believe the narrative and voice and perspective of
- 14:07parents is so valuable to us as a society.
- 14:12And if then the only people who can afford to continue to pursue
- 14:17storytelling are people who can either afford to have kids and
- 14:25pursue the career at such a massive level or don't have
- 14:28kids, then I don't think we're getting a very fair and
- 14:34equitable diverse perspective on our stories.
- 14:40I love that. I love everything and thank you.
- 14:45Yeah, it is. I feel like before having kids
- 14:51or for anybody who's like, if thinking of having kids, it is
- 14:56as an actor such a scary thing because you do know you have to.
- 15:00You're it's going to be a shift and especially, you know, when
- 15:03it comes to money and time, which are like 2 big things with
- 15:08kids, especially when they're younger.
- 15:12But I it doesn't have to be. And maybe by choice it will be,
- 15:20but giving up your career, maybe you, maybe that's your choice
- 15:26and you don't want to do that because yeah, it's not.
- 15:30Easy. But it doesn't have to be
- 15:33because I feel like when you're younger, especially looking at
- 15:38it from the younger, I guess I can at least say for me, the
- 15:43idea of becoming a parent and doing this seemed selfish.
- 15:49And it's like, oh, but I wouldn't say any other any I, I
- 15:55wouldn't say that to anybody else.
- 15:56Why am I saying it to myself type of thing?
- 15:59So again, just because you do become a parent, yeah, maybe I'm
- 16:06not taking class every month or maybe I'm not getting my hair
- 16:13done XY and like as many as as often or I'm not.
- 16:17You know, there are different places that you can piece
- 16:22together your money and your time if you still want to pursue
- 16:27their career. But Speaking of being a mom, I
- 16:30know you're a dog mom. I'm going to rudely ask you the
- 16:34question since this is about have you.
- 16:40What are you? What is your take on like your
- 16:43choice of becoming a mom or not becoming a mom?
- 16:46How is? Yeah, I hoped you'd ask this
- 16:49question. Mostly because I don't talk
- 16:51about parenting very much on the podcast because I'm not a mom
- 16:57and I think it can be an asshole move to talk about it unless I'm
- 17:03having and then I want to have like a forum.
- 17:05I don't want to have a person come on and talk about
- 17:08motherhood or or fatherhood or parenthood and being a
- 17:13professional actor. I want, I want several.
- 17:16I want, I want a huge discussion.
- 17:19And I think there should be lots of big discussions because I'm
- 17:23such a fan of transparency and I'm such a fan of people knowing
- 17:28what they're signing up for in all realms.
- 17:30And also then being able to be as prepared as possible and
- 17:35hopefully not get scammed, not get destroyed, not have your
- 17:40entire self esteem and identity like thrown out the window
- 17:44because nobody was talking about anything.
- 17:48I feel very fortunate in again, a sense of identity that I
- 17:53always knew I wasn't going to have children and not medically
- 17:58just as me as a person. I even asked my mom when I was,
- 18:03you know, in my early 30s if she ever thought I was going to have
- 18:06kids. And my mom goes, no.
- 18:09And I was like, oh, that's really impressive.
- 18:12Cause as you know, your parents know you so well.
- 18:15Your parents just, I mean, even whatever your relationship is,
- 18:19there's just something weird and wonky about parents.
- 18:22My mom can read my mind and it drives me nuts.
- 18:26I will be home and I'll think a thought and she will say it out
- 18:30loud to the room. She'll like, you know, it's
- 18:32Audrey blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
- 18:35And I'm like, get out of my head woman stop.
- 18:39So when she said that she never thought I was going to have
- 18:43kids, I thought that was really interesting information.
- 18:48And I said, what, why? What was that?
- 18:50And she said, well, when you were younger, most little girls
- 18:54are like my baby, my baby. I have my little baby, this is
- 18:57my baby and I love my baby. And she were like my doll, her
- 19:00hair going to get a house and paint it and then we're going to
- 19:05get her lots of outfits. But it was never my baby.
- 19:09It was like my girl, like, hey, girl, what are we doing here
- 19:14today? But never a maternal desire in
- 19:19that sense. And then I was very fortunate in
- 19:23that my mom had children when I was 11, and then she had another
- 19:28child when I was 17. And I'm from New Mexico, where a
- 19:33solid percentage of my friends already had children by the time
- 19:37they were 17. And so that was a unique place
- 19:41because my friends had kids while my mom had a kid.
- 19:46And if I helped my sister, it was very much like, this is, is
- 19:51this my baby? Because that was a normal thing
- 19:54growing up. And she said when you were older
- 20:01and there are babies born in the households, it either pushes.
- 20:06The older child into parenthood or out and it was very clear
- 20:12that you were like, I'm out. Like if there was any chance,
- 20:16you know, I was like, and again, not in a negative way.
- 20:20My friends will too. I love kids.
- 20:24I love them. I love hanging out with them.
- 20:28I have a blast with them. I genuinely think kids are
- 20:31incredible and I love the kids in my life.
- 20:35One of the best parts about growing up has been my friends
- 20:40who've had kids and I love my friends so much.
- 20:43And now they have these extensions of themselves and I
- 20:47love them because of course I do, because they're so similar
- 20:51to my friends. And it's so great to have little
- 20:55mini versions of them walking around in a different experience
- 20:59and A and a different perspective, active.
- 21:02And so I have nothing but love for both, both children and also
- 21:08parenthood. I think it is an incredible
- 21:12experience and a beautiful possibility.
- 21:19And it's sort of like, well, yeah, I really love, I love
- 21:23Hawaii. I don't, I don't want to, I
- 21:26don't want to live in Hawaii for 18 years.
- 21:28I don't. I can really appreciate it and I
- 21:30can think it's magical and beautiful, and yet I love Los
- 21:34Angeles. Los Angeles feels like home.
- 21:37I love this city, I love this town.
- 21:38And it's nothing against Hawaii. It's just personal preference.
- 21:52OK, if you have ever tried to travel with a toddler, you know
- 21:56it is not for the faint of heart.
- 21:58Which is why I'm obsessed with this brand Donderstain.
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- 22:45Com I will. Be linking those both in the
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- 22:53set today. Trust me, your future self will
- 22:57thank you. Use discount code Emily 10 to
- 23:01save 10% off your entire order. And many of them don't have
- 23:14their families nearby and their parental support.
- 23:16And I'm a huge believer in community and community for the
- 23:19artists, and if I don't want my friends to go move back home and
- 23:23have their family support, then they're going to need the family
- 23:26support of their chosen family here in Los Angeles.
- 23:30And so I've made an intentional decision to show up as often as
- 23:34possible and as much as possible to whatever is needed in
- 23:40whatever way that is. And I feel it's been an absolute
- 23:46pleasure watching, watching both my friends become the parents
- 23:51they're becoming. And because it's always evolving
- 23:54and watching the kids continue to grow and, and change and, you
- 24:00know, really distress their parents out.
- 24:02It's just a real, it's a blasphemy.
- 24:04Yeah. It's a real treat.
- 24:06Well then it's a. Treat.
- 24:08They say, well your friends are very lucky to have you.
- 24:14What do you see as as I don't want to say the word outsider,
- 24:20but as an outsider viewing your the the parents that are that
- 24:26are acting as well. What do you view as like the
- 24:32things that you're just like? How does this how does this
- 24:38work? Or just like things that that
- 24:43you feel maybe aren't talked about for parents that you view
- 24:49that maybe you would be like, well, how do you do this?
- 24:52Or how do you XY? I think the thing that makes me
- 24:58the most frustrated is just the absolute lack of transparency
- 25:05about time, energy and money because there is a real fear on
- 25:11the part of the person who is thinking of family planning.
- 25:15And then what I see for that stage when you are are like, do
- 25:19I don't I do I don't, I do I don't I.
- 25:22And you've had a passionate pursuit as an actor, and you
- 25:25know how hard that already is and how time consuming and
- 25:28financially consuming, and it just takes all of your energy,
- 25:32right? And so it's this sort of break
- 25:36gas, break gas, break gas, break gas, break gas, break gas that
- 25:39happens. I find in a lot of actors first,
- 25:44maybe 10 years, somewhere between college and having their
- 25:50first child because they have enough awareness to know that
- 25:57there's going to be a real change in availability once they
- 26:01have children. And I think the people it
- 26:04surprises the most is, is the actor.
- 26:06Dad's out there, but definitely the actor because it just seems
- 26:11like the ACT, like men in general have been so poorly in
- 26:16in enmeshed and educated and welcomed into the parenthood
- 26:23sphere. And I think it's a real
- 26:26disservice to everyone, including and especially them.
- 26:30And so there is this lack of lack of preparation in terms of
- 26:36just the math of time. And so then I think that has a
- 26:40truly impactful, it has a, it has a impact on the way that
- 26:52then they pursuit their their pursue their career for those
- 26:56first ten years because the whole time they're a little bit
- 26:59afraid that they'll do all this. And then that'll do something
- 27:05about their other dream, which is to be a parent.
- 27:09Let me know if you need anything.
- 27:10But instead to say, I was going to drop off groceries.
- 27:16I can either just go to the store and bring you groceries if
- 27:21there's anything specific that you want, or if you already have
- 27:24a grocery list, just send it to me.
- 27:26But essentially, you don't want to overwhelm the person who's
- 27:29already overwhelmed with more choices and decisions.
- 27:32So you make the decisions for them and they can either like it
- 27:36or not. And it's not your business, it's
- 27:37not your problem. But going to the store and
- 27:40saying, I've got, I've got this stuff here have groceries or I'm
- 27:45hiring you a cleaner to come in this month and clean your house.
- 27:51Is there a time that works for you?
- 27:53Do you do you prefer to be home or not?
- 27:56Would you like me to be home? Like what sort of what
- 27:59parameters? But you don't go, do you need a
- 28:01cleaner? Do you want somebody to clean
- 28:03your house? You just sort of go, I'm getting
- 28:06you somebody to clean. Now the person can say, no, now
- 28:09it's not a good time. But instead of consider being
- 28:13like, is that that? Because people are already like,
- 28:16no, I don't, I'm fine. It's just everything's OK
- 28:18because you're you. You're overwhelmed.
- 28:21And then also, yeah, the dishes thing.
- 28:23I can't tell you how many times they've showed up and done
- 28:25dishes at my friend's house. And they will be like, you don't
- 28:27have to. I'm like, it's fine.
- 28:29You have a baby on your boob. Let me do the dishes.
- 28:33Let me, please. I'm not going to leave here and
- 28:37be like, I mean, she had a baby, but you should have seen the
- 28:40dishes in the sink. I mean, come on, girl, get a
- 28:44tail. Like what are we talking about?
- 28:46So those sorts of things, also walking dogs, things like that.
- 28:52Because often in a caretaking position, those things get
- 28:56neglected. Loving an animal to having them
- 29:00feel loved and valued. And that's something that
- 29:03caretakers can start to feel guilty about.
- 29:06Yeah, always ordering food is great.
- 29:08Asking this is a big one for my friends who had kids is making
- 29:12sure if they have any allergies for breastfeeding because maybe
- 29:16the baby is sensitive to certain foods.
- 29:18And so I don't want to get them something with like a bunch of
- 29:21milk in it if then the baby is going to be called.
- 29:24Cabbage. Exactly.
- 29:27Onions and cabbage for the baby, you know, And so it's like those
- 29:30sorts of things, maybe not great.
- 29:32And and also just, yeah, offering anything going and
- 29:42seeing a movie. Anything is better than nothing.
- 29:47Well, true. True, but I would also say that
- 29:51like don't just assume that they don't that a mom doesn't want to
- 29:59do something because they are like, Oh, I'm not going to
- 30:02invite her because she has because she has the baby.
- 30:05It's like they half of the time or most of the time, whatever.
- 30:09There's another partner that can also watch the like maybe I want
- 30:13to go out and like because my husband, God bless him, does 50
- 30:18if not more percent of the parenting is great and as it
- 30:23should because he's of. The of the parent.
- 30:26Yeah, exactly right. Yeah.
- 30:28So for me to be able to like, yeah, go to a movie with a
- 30:33friend or if somebody asks, yeah, and have those friend, the
- 30:39friendships that you can be like, no, I'm just tired.
- 30:43Like the friendships where you can be honest and be like like
- 30:49no, I just don't want to but please keep inviting me.
- 30:53Like, yeah, yeah, you know, we are middle class in Los Angeles.
- 30:59We're one of like 3 people that we know that are and you know,
- 31:05we don't have children and so that expense is not put upon us.
- 31:10We don't have student loan debts.
- 31:14We just got very lucky in that. And we don't own a home, so we
- 31:20don't have house debt and we don't have a carpet.
- 31:25We own our cars, so we don't have that.
- 31:27But so that's what we're always like.
- 31:30What, what is everyone doing? Like where, where, where is your
- 31:33money? Who is paying for your things?
- 31:35Where, what is happening? Because it does feel it feels
- 31:42insurmountable to even just maintain middle class.
- 31:49And that's not just Los Angeles. I mean, the, the whole country
- 31:54is expensive now with very few exceptions.
- 31:58And so I don't, I don't know how how people are are juggling all
- 32:05of it. But more than anything, I just
- 32:07want people to understand and feel a lot of empathy for
- 32:11themselves and compassion for each other that whatever
- 32:18anyone's math is, is, you know, likely not your business.
- 32:22And also you're probably not being a jerk.
- 32:27You know, it's like you're not earning more because there's
- 32:29something wrong with you. It's like, well, that person has
- 32:31a house, mostly likely because their parents put the down
- 32:35payment on the House and now they're due, they're paying rent
- 32:40essentially for the house. And what?
- 32:43But you don't have $150,000 to throw in to the down payment on
- 32:50a house, which is what it costs in Los Angeles, which is
- 32:52different than other markets. Yeah, We'll have friends that
- 32:55are like, you just have to get in the market.
- 32:57And I'm like with what? Girl, I know and I'm like put.
- 33:03Pay $12.00. In the bag like.
- 33:05I know exactly. Like exactly.
- 33:08I don't think we're. Living in the same reality but
- 33:14not to say yeah it you know yeah, but before we run out of
- 33:20time. I've already taken so long.
- 33:23Well, let's talk about self tape May let's do.
- 33:26How did you even? Where did that come from?
- 33:31Well. I had started my own self tape
- 33:34practice long before self tapes really were even a permanent
- 33:38thing. I started self tape practice in
- 33:402014 and I did it for two years. And I did my own self tapes on
- 33:47during the daytime. So I would learn sides for an
- 33:50hour in the evening and then Monday through Thursday I would
- 33:53learn sides for an hour in the evening.
- 33:55And then the next day I would give myself one or two takes to
- 33:59perform on Tuesday through Friday so that I was doing it
- 34:04four days a week. And I did that for two years.
- 34:08And I started working a lot. So that was nice.
- 34:11And I just sort of realized that we're all going around paying
- 34:16people to teach us how to do self tapes.
- 34:19And at that time, I had quit my serving job and was just
- 34:25pursuing acting full time. And I didn't, and I had, you
- 34:29know, I've been like I said, I've been acting forever.
- 34:31So I didn't feel that I necessarily needed to go to
- 34:34somebody to teach me how to do audition practice.
- 34:38I was like, I think I could do it by my by myself and I needed
- 34:43my husband to read with me in the morning.
- 34:44But we literally had a rule of 2 takes at Max.
- 34:48So he could just say another, just try it another way or he'd
- 34:52give me a specific direction because it was all about being
- 34:56flexible with the idea of getting one or two takes.
- 34:58Because in the time some it was like 5050 in the room and self
- 35:02tapes. And so the ones that were in the
- 35:04room felt like, and, and so I just needed to get comfortable
- 35:09with, well, you're going to get one to two chances.
- 35:11Good luck. And so I did that for two years
- 35:14and it wasn't that hard and I got a lot better and I got a lot
- 35:22more comfortable. And I am always looking for
- 35:27actors to stop spending money on shit that they don't need to
- 35:30spend money on because as we said, it's a real thing in our
- 35:34community. And so I just one year in the
- 35:38podcast, I said you guys wanted to like, I don't know.
- 35:42I was literally like this, like, I don't know sure, why not,
- 35:45Let's just do it. And people did because May is a
- 35:50notoriously slow month in the industry.
- 35:52Nothing happens in May, which is exciting for anyone looking to
- 35:57have some time to really work on the work.
- 36:00And it's just about doing the tapes.
- 36:03Make it as easy for you as possible to just start getting
- 36:07some practice in. I encourage people to do
- 36:11whatever is best. You know, if you're already in
- 36:13class, do stuff you're already doing in class, Just tape it
- 36:17again. If you're if you're doing a
- 36:19workshop, do that material. If you have old auditions, redo
- 36:24your old auditions. See about progress.
- 36:27And now that there's not pressure on you and, and it's
- 36:30free, it's it's a free movement. And I just encourage people to
- 36:37join, join hands with each other virtually or in person.
- 36:42Grab your husband slash reader, you grab your upstairs neighbor,
- 36:47you grab your friends in class, go on the Internet and grab a
- 36:53reader and just just get in the practice of having as many
- 36:59auditions as you wish that you had.
- 37:03Yeah, yeah. Which is more than we're
- 37:07probably having, right? Now really most people want 4
- 37:11auditions a week and then they have absolutely no capacity for
- 37:14four auditions a week. And so it's just like training
- 37:17for anything. If you want to have the capacity
- 37:20to run a 20 mile marathon, then you probably should practice
- 37:26running a lot because. Yeah.
- 37:29And I think, I think it's it, it makes me nervous because I want
- 37:35to be like, you know, of course, as a parent, I want to be like,
- 37:39I have a kid, I'm too busy. I'd rather you sob and practice
- 37:44so that way you're taking the pressure off when it happens.
- 37:46You have systems in place already to handle it, yeah.
- 37:51I think it's yeah, I think it scares me as a parent, but I.
- 37:56Take. I hate and like, you know,
- 37:59sometimes I'll do it to myself, but maybe it's different coming
- 38:02from my husband where he's like, well, we have kids or whatever,
- 38:05or whenever somebody says that and I'm like, so does everyone.
- 38:10So or not, but you still have to compete anyway.
- 38:12But right, that's the truth. Like it can't like yeah, you can
- 38:17use your kid for an excuse to not go to a party you don't want
- 38:22to go to use, but like we can't use them as an excuse for your
- 38:27career because then. You can, but then it's going to
- 38:31have an effect on your career, right?
- 38:33Like if you and I are auditioning for the same role
- 38:37and I don't have children, I get 48 hours and you have children
- 38:41and you get 48 hours. My 48 hours are going to be
- 38:45different than yours. Just like if I had a parent with
- 38:51Alzheimer's and you, I didn't have a parent with Alzheimer's
- 38:56and I was the full time caregiver to my parent then
- 39:00being ready for the audition, it's just, it's just going to
- 39:03look different on me than it is on you, even though you're a
- 39:08caretaker and I'm a caretaker. They're they're just different
- 39:11equations. But at the end of the day, if
- 39:13you are expected to execute at a level that is the same as
- 39:18someone else who has different circumstances than you, well,
- 39:21you're all expected to execute. And once you start getting
- 39:24competitive, everyone's good. Yeah, everyone is good,
- 39:29Everyone's good. Everyone has relationships,
- 39:32everyone, everyone has a shot. And so are you going to be able
- 39:38to show up in the way that you are capable of showing up given
- 39:46your circumstances? Yeah.
- 39:48Yeah. I well, I.
- 39:51Just tried 4. I just tell people just try to
- 39:54do 4. Don't try to do 16, just try to
- 39:57do 4. Thank you.
- 40:00Yeah, you have a toddler. Try 4, because your toddler's
- 40:04not going to be a toddler forever.
- 40:05And so if this year you do 4 and next year you do 8 and next year
- 40:09you do 12. Yeah.
- 40:11You know you'll be happy you did 4.
- 40:16Right. Yeah.
- 40:16It's like you're going to be once you, once you do it, you're
- 40:21never. Yeah.
- 40:24Yeah, well, I will. Ask you one final question which
- 40:28will be interesting from another perspective of what has been.
- 40:33What is currently your lifesaver at the moment?
- 40:38It's getting, oh God, so many things.
- 40:42I mean, probably usually therapy, you know, mostly
- 40:48therapy. I, I've been doing therapy off
- 40:53and on since I was like 6. And I, I'm always grateful for
- 41:01the perspective of people who have no stake in my life and the
- 41:09perspective that they can bring to my experience of my life and
- 41:13the choices of my life. And always my husband.
- 41:16I mean, he is such a grounded, kind, talented, supportive
- 41:25person. And, you know, he's the person
- 41:28that if I'm, you know, sitting at night and I'm like, I'm just
- 41:31not trying hard enough. And he's like, you're crazy.
- 41:35Literally not a single person on earth things Audrey Moore's not
- 41:38trying hard enough. So you need to go to sleep and,
- 41:43and I, I think that's extremely valuable.
- 41:45I feel very fortunate to not only live with somebody who is
- 41:51so lovely, but also to live with somebody and love somebody that
- 41:55I trust so much so that I can trust it.
- 41:59If I'm being crazy, if I'm acting a little weird, then
- 42:03he'll just say like, let's calm down.
- 42:05And that's really valuable. Well, it's also your
- 42:08anniversary. Right.
- 42:09It was 15 years. Yeah, that was lovely.
- 42:13Thank you. Thank you.
- 42:15So much Oh my gosh. Well this has been so, so
- 42:18lovely. Yay.
- 42:20Glad we. Thank you for having me on.
- 42:22And thank you for being so, so open and transparent about
- 42:28everything. I, I love it.
- 42:30I appreciate. It, it's my brand transparency,
- 42:32it's my brand. All right, well, thank you so
- 42:36much for having me on. I was really glad I could do it.
- 42:38And thanks for all you're doing for your community and for
- 42:40making sure that people feel less alone in their parenting
- 42:43journey. I hope so.
- 42:45Thank you so much. I appreciate.
- 42:47You, you got it. All right, I'll chat soon.
- 42:49OK, Bye. Thank you so much for listening
- 42:54to this episode of Mommy Wood. Now, before you go, if Mommy
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