DENNIS BAKER

Say Out Loud (and Repeat)

Dennis Baker — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:23:51 +0000

In an easy and relaxed manner,
in a healthy and positive way,
In its own perfect time,
For the highest good of all.
- Catherine Ponder, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity

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From Passion to Profit: Living the Freelance Lifestyle

Dennis Baker — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:00:09 +0000

This post is part of the From Passion to Profit blog series that also features Rebecca Leigh, Thom Chambers, Laura Simms, Michelle Ward, Tara Gentile, Alexandra Franzen, and Lisa Sonora Beam.

SKILLS & TIME MANAGEMENT
To continue the freelance myth busting, started by Laura, the saying “jack of all trades, master of none” does not mean one can not have multiple passions in which profit can be made. The odds are you are reading this blog series because your passions are not paying 100% of your bills. That means you are left balancing multiple income streams from multiple projects as you start the journey of a freelance entrepreneur. If you could not tell from the website, I am actor, teacher, web designer/developer and social media/SEO specialist. These multiple income streams all contribute to my overall freelance income. All of these require me to have various different skill sets. What are your different skills sets (or passions, per the series topic) that you can create into income streams? What online classes, books, workshops can you access to build your skill set to the level that you can create income?

Once your skills are built to the level of being able to create income, time management becomes key. This can be as simple as how you keep a calendar to what are your sacrificing to get all the work done. And as soon as you have it figured out something will change. More work will come in, for me recently it has been working with a two-year old in the house. If it is your passion, you make it work. Living in Los Angeles, there are times I can commute up to an hour and half. I try to schedule phone meetings, in which I don’t need to be in from of my computer, for when I am driving. How can you structure your time to be the most productive? Once you get far enough along the journey, you will be able to set up a team, as Tara so wisely suggests. Before you have that team, you will be doing it all your self. Take that time to really assess want you enjoy doing, and what you would be willing to pass off to your future team.

NETWORKING: Sometimes You Have to Go to Wyoming
I recently presented at the annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice in Laramie, Wyoming. It was the last day of the conference, and I was not planning on attending, as I had to drive down to Denver to catch my flight. There was a morning session on the topic of using theater as a tool for social justice to empower at-risk youth and communities, presented by Los Angeles theater company. Moving back to Los Angeles in the last year, I was struggling in finding theater companies that needed teaching artists to work within communities. I was hesitant to attend the session as I was afraid of being late to my flight. I decided to risk it, and I was I was glad I did. I met the program director and quickly realized that we had worked in similar circles in the arts education community in New York and knew many of the same people. We immediately hit it off, and a connection was made. A connection that I was trying to make for eight months…I just had to go to Wyoming to do it.

Networking is a must, but how one networks is the key. There are many reasons why we might not network, fear of being needy to too busy working to get out of the office. Whatever the reason is, time needs to be scheduled to get out and meet other people in your field. Number one rule of networking: get out and meet people. This ties into the second rule: find commonalities away from the field. I consider twitter a networking tool. I follow people who are highly involved in the entertainment industry, theater, arts education, web design and social media fields. And while I tweet with them about their respective fields, and I also look to connect on other topics. There is a casting director I follow on twitter whom I have never met. She tweeted once that she just found out about the social media speaker Gary Vaynerchuck, some one that I have followed for years and have blogged and tweeted about. I knew he was coming to speak in the area the following week, so I tweeted her back letting her know and giving her the link to his speaking schedule. Did this have anything to do with acting, or me asking her to cast me in her next project? No. This was me reaching out and helping a colleague. Does she know I am an actor? Sure, my twitter profile says so, and it is clear on my website. Life is bigger than the next job you are trying to get, or about the field you work in. So look to connect, and be of genuine service, in life…just not the field you work in.

RESOURCES
These resources have helped me in finding my own journey as a freelancer. If you have more, add them in the comments.

Websites:

43 Folders
Freelance Folder
Freelance Switch
Unclutterer
Email and Productivity Tools

Books:

How to be a Rockstar Freelancer
One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success

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The Year of the Thank You

Dennis Baker — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:00:49 +0000

With a new year and a new decade I announced in my February e-newsletter this is the Year of Thanks. There is great things going on in my life, no matter the circumstances, and I want to be thankful for everything.

Being thankful is something I am hearing a lot recently. I have started listening to the Inside Acting Podcast, and their first discussion point with a listener was around the issue of sending a thank you card do a casting director, when it is their job to call you in for an audition.

The second place I am hearing about being thankful is Gary Vaynerchuck, as he is writing a new book Thank You Economy. He has made available a part of chapter one and chapter ten. The basic idea is one have to care enough about every relationship one has connected to their business. Word of mouth has a new outlet, social media.

“Social media has transformed our world into one great big small town, dominated, as all vibrant towns used to be, by the strength of relationships, the currency of caring, and the power of word of mouth.”

But social media is just a tool to foster relationships, and all relationships need care that only real life interactions can provide. So while my year is about being thankful, my life/work is about relationships.

Teaching Artist Interview

Dennis Baker — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:34:50 +0000

Recently interviewed by Michael Wiggins (@teachingartist) for the Association of Teaching Artists blog. Here is a quote to get your curious, “Teaching artists are the migrant workers of the arts education field.”

Praxis Theatre’s Exit Interview Series

Dennis Baker — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:00:54 +0000

Simon Rice starts the Exit Interviews series with the idea that, “Theatre schools are indeed strange places, seemingly full of contradiction.” I am a big fan of Praxis Theatre’s blog, and would probably be a fan of their work if I was living in Canada. One can dream. I thought the series was appropriate for my readers, as many are hear trying to figure out of if BFA/MFA programs is what they need or want.

Some quotes from Horne interview:
“I spent three out for the fours years being really terrified of fucking up and getting kicked out. What you should be doing is fucking up.”
“There is the competition of who can cry the most.”
“I think there are three people still from my class that are acting.”

“You can’t get lower than a B without getting kicked out. Then it becomes a scare tactic if half way through the term when they show you your marks and its a C+ and your like fuck, I have to, but I don’t know how you get better. How did you come up with this number? It is not because I got a certain number of math questions wrong. Those numbers I understand. I am just not as interesting as this other person?

Exit Interviews Part I: Theatre schools are strange places
Exit Interviews: Christine Horne

#NewPlay #LAThtr Meetup Summary

Dennis Baker — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:00:47 +0000

You read the #NewPlay #LAThtr Meetup Summary over at 2amtheatre.com.

I did not add the next meetup dates since it is a national website. You can view all upcoming #LAThtr meetups at the 2amt Los Angeles Meetup page. for quick reference the next three meetups are:

Sunday, February 20th at Celebration Theatre
Sunday, March 27th at Boston Court
Sunday, April 17th Location: TBD

List of 2011 Los Angeles Theater

Dennis Baker — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 01:46:15 +0000

I am a day late on my weekly Tuesday post, but here it is none the less.

I was tossing away some back issues of American Theatre magazine when I came across the 2010-2011 season preview article. I ripped out the pages and started highlighting theater companies and shows I am interested in seeing. There are various reasons for the below list ranging from from wanting to meet the director of a specific show to curious about the theater company as a whole. In light of the #NewPlay Los Angeles (#LAThtr) Meetup (more meetups are scheduled) last Saturday, I want to get out and see more work.

I would love to hear what shows are you wanting to see this year?

Theater Companies:
Watts Village Theater Company
Coeurage Theater Company
Theater Unleashed
Rogue Machine
Need Theater

Productions:
The Comedy of Errors at A Noise Within, directed by Michael Michetti
King Lear at Actors Co-Op, directed by Marianne Savell
The Watts Project at Cornerstone Theater Company, dir. Guillermo Avilez-Rodriguez
A House Not Meant To Stand at Fountain Theater, dir. Simon Levy

Clarification of Comment on Creating New Theater Company

Dennis Baker — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:00:27 +0000

A link was shared on twitter about Rebecca Novick’s chapter in the book titled 20Under40. The linked inspired Mark Petrie, blog writer for Knightsbridge Theatre, here in Los Angeles. I wrote a comment, see below if you do not want to jump over to the post, though I do recommend it.

I don’t think self-producing theater artists is the same as creating a new theater company. In light of all the facts laid out in Outrageous Fortune, it is clear that one needs to create their own work, but how that is done needs to be the main thrust of the exploration. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, there are hundreds and hundreds of theater companies, and we need deeply examined reasons for creating a new theater company. Clear reasons that make sense to audience members. Producing the same popular play that was produced by another theater company last season, or Shakespeare set in a different time period, is not standing out of the crowd. What are some models of creating theater that are not being done as much? Is there something to learn from theaters like Sojourn that are focused on creating work specific to communities, or site specific theater that interact with its audience members outside of the normal theater building? Regional theaters seem to be taking notice as Alabama Shakespeare Festival is producing plays about specific communities within the state. Another model to look at is Stolen Chair’s Community Supported Theater. Or instead of using other models, what is a model your theater company can come up with the no one else is doing? Maybe the question should be, what is the thing that your theater company is doing that no other theater company is doing? Be the first at something, and not the fifth company in your area to produce the current popular play.

———–

I am glad you brought up the topic.

The first question I would ask, is what does the author mean by the “same old model”. I think that has to be addressed before a full critique can be had.

If the assumption is made that she means what would be considered 99-seat theater in Los Angeles, or small theater companies in New York, the second part of the sentence that needs to be examined is “unexamined multiplication of companies .”

Does that mean artists that create theater companies so they can make art and “work”? Isn’t that why the 99-seat AEA contract was created, so more AEA actors could do theater in Los Angeles? Is that inherently bad? No. But when the median income of an AEA member (including Stage Managers) is $7,475, and the weekly jobless rate for AEA members is 85.2% and percentage of AEA members that don’t work at all in a year roughly 55%, that leaves a lot of actors with the time to create theater companies. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, but that is a lot of supply. Is there the demand to back it up? Hard to say? Since many 99-seat AEA theaters have to charge its members dues to pay rent as they can not afford to pay the rent and cost of productions from ticket sales alone. I think it can be said that the supply does not fit the demand. When there are more people on stage than in the audience, there is a demand/supply issue. Granted, that could be due to quality, and the Darwin argument would be that they would be weeded out. But if the rent is being paid for by the members, the company can still exist. Does this mean that theater companies should not be created? No. Does it mean that a theater should do Shakespeare when there are four or five other theaters companies doing Shakespeare? I think that would classify as “unexamined”.

What are examined ways? Still working on that. Maybe we should read Novick’s chapter as a starter. Regarding Novick creating Crowded Fire Theatre Company, what is the context behind it? The mission/history page does not mention her name. It says the theater company is in its 13th season. For all we know, she could have started it, and left after the first year. Also what she learned from that experience could be the source material for the chapter. She is available on twitter (@rebeccanovick) if your curious.

As I mentioned on twitter, would love to see you at the #NewPlay Los Angeles Theater (#LAThtr) Satellite Meetup. I don’t know if this topic will be part of the conversation, but your passion for Los Angeles Theater would be great for the conversation.

2011 Productivity Apps: Evernote

Dennis Baker — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:00:05 +0000

Now that I have been back in Los Angeles for four months, things are starting to get into a rhythm. It feels like good timing with it being a new year and new decade. As part of my post a week series, I will be sharing new activities I am undertaking for 2011 and new productivity applications that are helping me achieve these new goals.

I have joined one of the nine Power Groups offered by The Actors’ Network. These are groups of about 30 actors from TAN who get together once a month to discuss goals and progress, share resources, and ask questions. Each group is led by an experienced facilitator. These are a great way to meet other productive actors, and begin to really find a sense of community, one of the hardest things to do in this city, particularly when you first arrive.

A requirement for each participant is to come to the meeting with a laundry list of goals and activities accomplished for the previous 30 days and a list of goals and activities one wants to complete for the 30 days. The two-hour meeting is spent going through everyone’s list, along with discussing any industry-related questions.

Evernote has been the application that has helped me in preparing for my Power Group (PG) meetings. I am able through the month to cross off goals as I complete them, and make a list of new goals. This can be done on my iMac, Macbook, or iPhone and the information is saved to my account. During the meeting, I can easily type up information that I hear other group members talk about and automatically know they are saved for easy access later. I can also upload the calender of events from TAN’s website and scan any handout that I receive in the meeting into a PDF and upload it to my Evernote account.

I am always looking for great applications that would help my freelance work/life. Do you have one that you love and can not live without? Let me know what it is, and if I write about it, I will give you a free half-hour website, or social media marketing, phone consultation.

List of 2011 Los Angeles Theater

Blogging Tips

Dennis Baker — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:00:37 +0000

I am not one for new years resolutions, though I committed last week to the WordPress 2011 challenge to post at least once a week. While I plan to post more than that, depending on my availability, I am deciding to have a consistent weekly post that will arrive on Tuesdays.

Back to the Basics
Since 2011 is a new decade, and this blog will have been active for seven years this April, I am using this year to get back to the basics of blogging and consistent content. Exploring questions like, who is my audience? What am I truly passionate about writing? What am I bringing to the overall conversation?

One community that I follow, and sometimes contribute, is #2amt on twitter. A conversation started with @DaveCharest throwing out a link talking about basic blogging tips, and why someone might not be reading, or unsubscribe, to your blog. While I agree with most of the points in the blog post, and having done some myself, what got me thinking most was @TravisBedard‘s tweet.

Not That Simple
I started to think of all the blogs I read. My Google Reader is eclectic with folders labeled Acting, Arts Entrepreneur, Community Arts, Freelance, Friends, Money, SEO, Social Media, Stage Combat, Teaching Artist, Theater, Web Design and about ten blogs that don’t fit naturally into any of those categories. I subscribe to 180 blogs in total.

I do agree with Travis, in that, tech writers are writing more for attracting the most amount of hits, to attract advertisers, by giving their readers that one quick piece of information (5 steps of this or how to do this), which seemed to be the type of writer that wrote the post about not reading your post because it was too long. While niche writes, many theater bloggers for example, tend to write longer posts.

For those who are just starting a blog in 2011, or recommitting to blog consistently, know there is no right way. Write as much as you need to say what you need to say. Of course, you should have a goal to be specific, but don’t keep checking the word count. I have read many great posts that felt more like essays and quick three sentence posts that said exactly what was needed. So just keep writing, be clear what you want to say, and those that want to read it will.