Edoardo Ballerini

It’s always a healthy practice to think about what other people are feeling. It can be particularly liberating for actors. Your audience, be it in an audition or in performance, is rooting for you. Never forget that.

This month I’ve had the good fortune to put on a producer’s hat for a film project. The reality of how much goes into a production has come into sharp focus. I highly recommend that all actors have the experience of producing.

Not only does it re-align your understanding of how many moving parts there are in a film, but you gain a perspective on the actor’s place in all of it. No film can be made without actors, of course, but the same is true of producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, and so on. Most are in service to the actors in some fashion, but everybody is in service to the project as a whole.

Sitting on the other side of the table, I’ve gained a much clearer understanding of how things fit together. These were things I thought I already understood already. Years in the business taught me well, but only to a point. It wasn’t until I saw it from the the perspective of a producer that I truly understood. The experience is invaluable. And while you may not be able to mount a production right away, you can start by thinking about what it means to be looking at things from a different perspective.

At very least, you’ll become a better actor.