The Aligned Actor

If you’ve ever hit submit on a self tape or left an in-person audition and immediately started tearing yourself to shreds, this is the episode for you. Hello and welcome back to The Aligned Actor Podcast. I’m Amy Schloerb your fellow actor, and mindfulness and mindset coach for actors, and this is the place where I share practical tools and mindset shifts to help you thrive in your craft and your...

Hello and welcome back to The Aligned Actor Podcast on Substack. I’m Amy Schloerb your friendly neighborhood actor and mindfulness and mindset coach for actors and creatives, offering practical ideas and inspirations to help you thrive in your full #ActorLife. All too often, auditions feel “unfinished” until we know the outcome - did we book or not? In reality, an audition is finished, complete, d...

Hello and welcome back to The Aligned Actor Substack. I’m Amy Schloerb your friendly neighborhood actor and mindfulness and mindset coach for actors and creatives, offering practical ideas and inspirations to help you thrive in your full #ActorLife. Last week we talked about letting yourself want to book the part and how acknowledging YOUR want can actually help you stay focused on what your chara...

Hello and welcome back to The Aligned Actor Substack. I’m Amy Schloerb your friendly neighborhood actor and mindfulness and mindset coach for actors, offering practical ideas and inspirations to help you thrive in your full #ActorLife. Let’s Break Some Rules! I want you to break a BIG “good little actor” rule in your next audition. Want it. I mean REALLY WANT it. Let yourself feel how much you wan...

Hello and welcome back to The Aligned Actor Substack. I’m Amy Schloerb your friendly neighborhood actor and mindfulness and mindset coach for actors and creatives, offering practical ideas and inspirations to help you thrive in your full #ActorLife. I’m writing this article from bed because I am turning this publication into an OnlyFans. JK. 🤣 In actuality, I am a little under the weather at the...

*Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy…. I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣 We’re on the messy side of my office today because the sun is being weird on that side where my backdrop is pretty, but we’re just go...

*Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy…. I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣 I’m wearing my ‘SAG-AFTRA Strong’ shirt so that I can tell you about the day I almost quit acting. It was the middle of the pandemic....

*Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy…. I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣 “I try not to let it bother me.” Have you ever said that to yourself? Some kind of situation has happened in your life, it clearly bo...

Last week we talked about why it’s important to stop asking the question, “Why didn’t I book?” That question just keeps us stuck in a cycle of shame and self-doubt, which is no way to approach future auditions or our acting career in general. The subtext of that question is usually, “ Why wasn’t I good enough? How can I be better? What do I need to fix about myself?” Instead of assuming we did som...

There’s an unhelpful question that many actors ask. “Why didn’t I book that role?” When enough time has passed that we know we didn’t book the role, our brains start to get desperate to find out why. We yearn for feedback, thinking there might be something we can fix about our craft or audition technique. But we will never know why we didn’t book. The question will never be answered. And brains HA...

We’re gonna be talking more about auditions in March so it felt appropriate to re-release this article as a jumping off point. Enjoy! *Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy…. I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣...

Last week we talked about core desired feelings and you started figuring out how you want to feel as an actor as you engage in your career, in your craft, and in your life in general. This week, we’re going to do a guided audio exercise to help you explore and embody those feelings even more deeply. This type of work is meant to be fun and inspiring. You may get new ideas of actions to take in you...

Go to episode on Substack --> https://open.substack.com/pub/thealignedactor/p/how-do-you-want-to-feel-as-an-actor Let’s talk about goals. What are your goals for yourself as an actor? Maybe you want to be on a certain show, maybe you want to work with a certain director, maybe you just want to book more work — Hey, don’t we all? Goals are great, but you know what’s even better? Exploring the feeli...

Last week, I presented the “What’s On Your Plate?” Exercise and you looked at everything you have going on in your life — all the stuff that requires energy from you and everything that’s stressing you out. Likely, you have a lot on your plate and maybe that exercise even left you feeling a little overwhelmed. Well, I have good news for you. There’s a tool we’ve been practicing here a lot and that...

Before we get into our work today, I want to pause and acknowledge the horrible situation going on in Minnesota. If you have been feeling powerless, here are a few actions you could take. Even if these feel small, every action matters and will move you out of powerlessness. * Go to the website (or download the app) 5 Calls . It will get you in touch with your representatives so that you can demand...

Last week, I presented the “What’s On Your Plate?” Exercise and you looked at everything you have going on in your life — all the stuff that requires energy from you and everything that’s stressing you out. Likely, you have a lot on your plate and maybe that exercise even left you feeling a little overwhelmed. Well, I have good news for you. There’s a tool we’ve been practicing here a lot and that...

Acting is a unique career that requires A LOT of energy. Sure, it’s fun to play characters expressing all kinds of emotions, but it’s also exhausting. Not to mention the 4:30am call times and overnight shoots. Additionally, many of us have full time jobs in addition to our full time career, and we all have general life stuff going on too. That’s a lot to juggle! We need energy for our FULL Actor L...

We’re practicing mindfulness today because mindfulness is an incredibly important tool that can help us thrive physically, mentally, and emotional in all areas and aspects of our creative lives. As a reminder, mindfulness is an incredibly simple practice — it’s a special way of paying attention to the present moment with kindness and curiosity. In the past I’ve used the term, “non-judgmental curio...

Today I want to share with you a super simple starter mindfulness practice. It’s so simple that you can do it anytime, anywhere. It’s small enough that you will think “This couldn’t possibly be doing anything for me!” but I promise you, if you do it consistently, it will deliver big results. What I like to call “10-count Mindfulness” is a great way to get started practicing mindfulness. All you do...

Happy New Year! Happy 2026! I thought it would be fun to spend some time together exploring how we want 2026 to look and feel for us. I wrote a creative, meditative visualization designed to relax you and allow your mind’s eye to just play and dream. If you found this content helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, give a one-time donation, or consider b...

‘Tis the season of Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward All, so in keeping with that theme, I thought it would be a good time for us to do a loving kindness meditation together. Loving kindness meditation is a beautiful practice where we focus on and activate feelings of love, kindness, and compassion within us, and then flow those feelings energetically out to various people and creatures we envisi...

If you’ve spent any time in my world at all, you know that one of my favorite mottos is ABC: Always Be Celebrating . I celebrate EVERYTHING. I celebrate every time I record a PodTubeStack. I celebrate every time I complete a workout. I celebrate every time I skip a glass of wine in the evening. I celebrate every time I submit a self tape. I celebrate every time I teach a workshop or coach a client...

As we approach the end of 2025, there’s a natural inclination to reflect on the year and for actors that can mean looking at our numbers. * How many auditions did I have? * How many callbacks? * How many avail checks? * How many bookings? Data holds value. But data does not tell the whole story. Personally, I had a slow year, so my 2025 numbers leave me feeling uninspired and a little down. Fortun...

‘Tis the season of joy and magic and festive good cheer. ‘Tis also the season of… …rushing to finish all the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of 2025 (or lamenting how you fell short)… …shopping for all the gifts for all the folks, including that ONE THING your kid desperately wants that is sold out EVERYWHERE… …attending all the work parties, and friend parties, and school recitals… …t...

An area of #ActorLife that is often overlooked, but crucially important when it comes to maintaining a strong, resilient mindset, is the interactions that we have with the people in our lives who are not actors and have no connection to the entertainment industry — “outsiders.” “Outsider” Thinking Can Tank Our Mindset Acting is a WEIRD profession that most people are exposed to every day, but that...