In this episode, I sit down with actor Michael Schaeffer to talk honestly about the modern actor’s reality: self-taping, pressure, rejection, creativity and mental resilience. This is a conversation about process — the parts no one teaches you — and how to stay grounded when the industry keeps shifting under your feet. Michael shares his evolving self-tape method (Line Learner, learning fast, “sliding into” takes), while I break down my own approach — cutting scenes, reshaping text to reveal essence, and using tools like teleprompters to free rather than freeze you. We dive into the mental health toll of the job, how to reclaim authority and agency in your tapes, and why building your own creative practice (like Michael’s 10-year poetry podcast, The Poetry Exchange) is essential to survival. 🎭 What You’ll Hear Why actors rarely talk about process openly How self-tapes became their own art form Fear, procrastination & the Friday 5 pm audition email Michael’s method: reducing friction, learning fast, Line Learner, using solo time well My approach: cutting scenes, bending text, personalising material, teleprompter freedom Reclaiming authority and playing on your terms Why perfection kills instinct — and how to avoid it Ghosting, rejection & separating self-worth from the outcome Self-taping as practice, not punishment Creativity and community as tools for survival 🔑 Key Takeaways Self-tapes are the norm — learn to own them, not resent them Your method only matters if it releases behaviour and aliveness You are allowed to adjust material to serve your essence Casting directors want something real, not perfect Editing should feel like play, not punishment Resilience is a skill: mindset, preparation, perspective A private creative practice helps support your mental health Community reduces isolation and pressure Self-taping can become meaningful artistic work ⏱️ Chapters (Approx.) 00:00 – Welcome 02:00

Hi TRAs! Hope you’ve all been doing well. Thought I’d start some proper community chat! It’s been an interesting week — I’m back in the rehearsal room with Rebecca Frecknall (Cabaret, Streetcar Named Desire) on a new musical. Great company, brilliant singers, and an incredible MD, Tom Deering (Olivier winner for Standing at the Sky’s Edge). I’m part of the non-singing, story-telling ensemble, swinging between characters and accents with no pressure to be perfect. It’s a bit like self-taping — dance like nobody’s watching. Perfection is the enemy of productivity. That said, there’ve been the usual obstacles: late tubes, flat tyres, dying iPhones … but I’ve kept showing up and giving my best when I am there. Meanwhile, I’ve been listening to a course coach who says: before you make a course, find out exactly what your people need. And I think I know who “my people” are — actors like you who’ve been around the block, who can ride the waves of this job but find self-taping exhausting, demoralising, and often fruitless. So yes — a course about self-tapes. But not just about lighting and sound. It’s about mindset, joy, and rediscovering the spark that got buried somewhere between “Slate, please” and “Upload by noon.” This coach suggests a 4-week course: four one-hour modules with instruction, guidance, and homework — each week shaped by your feedback. As my first TRAs, I wanted to ask: how does that sound? Would you find value in something like this — if it was well-presented, full of insight, and built on the experience (and slightly radical honesty) that informs my Kooky Loopy Method? It would go beyond the technical prep and setup into mindset and creative resilience — how we show up, how we recover, how we keep the joy alive. You’ve already been so helpful answering the Self-Tapesteem Quiz — I hope it sharpened some of your thoughts about how you approach self-taping. So tell me — from that place, how do you want to evolve? What would most help you next?(Or maybe I should devise another questionnaire!)