Jack Plotnick has spent the last decade as a working actor in Los Angeles. In film, he has appeared opposite Ben Stiller in MEET THE FOCKERS, Ian McKellen in GODS AND MONSTERS, Renee Zelwegger in DOWN WITH LOVE, and Sally Field in SAY IT ISN’T SO. Jack was a series regular and supervising producer on the Lifetime Television comedy LOVESPRING INTERNATIONAL (12 episodes on the air), which he also occasionally directed. He was also a regular on the Comedy Central cartoon series DRAWN TOGETHER and the FOX TV show ACTION. Other television includes recurring roles on RENO 911, JOAN OF ARCADIA, ELLEN and RUDE AWAKENINGS and has guest-stars on HOUSE, EASTWICK, THE MENTALIST, and THE WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE, among others. Jack executive produced and starred in the feature film GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS, released theatrically by IFC Films, and now on video by MGM. Along with his two co-stars, he won 2003’s BEST ACTOR AWARDS from LA’s OUTFEST Film Festival and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.

The following is a chapter from his free ebook New Thoughts for Actors. He teaches regular workshops in Los Angeles (and periodically in New York) and coaches privately. Email info@jackplotnick.com to get on the mailing list for his weekly $20 drop-in cold reading workshops and monthly $5 Lecture for Charity.

I used to look at auditions as a “competition”.  This seemed to be such an obvious truth to me.  As actors, we were all “competing” to get the job.  And I wanted to “win”.  In my mind, the other actors auditioning were simply obstacles to my “winning”.

This was a deeply rooted way to see things.  I had grown up with years of kickball, baseball, and Miss America Pageants, all reinforcing the notion that winning is great and losing sucks.

One day a friend recommended to me that I wish everyone at an audition “white light”.  In other words, to hope everyone is safe and protected and able to do their absolute best.

This immediately sounded like such a good idea, and when I did it, I felt like a much nicer person.  I liked myself more.

I hadn’t even realized that I had been wishing my fellow actors ill will at auditions.  But essentially, by resenting the other actors, and not wishing for them to do their best, that was exactly what I was doing.

It doesn’t matter that the negativity only existed in my thoughts and not in action.  The thought is as real an experience to me as the action would’ve been.

In a spiritual sense, we are all the same person.  We are all one.  So when you wish ill on others you are also wishing it on yourself.

If you hope someone fails in the audition, when your turn comes you will feel as though someone is hoping you do badly.

This way of thinking has its roots in the “law of karma”, which can be described in the following ways:

“If you wish bad things upon others bad things will happen to you.”

“For every cause there is an effect.  For every action a reaction.”

“If we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil.”

But if that’s a little too ethereal for you, you can look at it like this:

When you have a destructive thought towards someone else, you will most likely feel guilty about it, at least in some small way.  Guilt is actually anger turned inwards at yourself.  Therefore, you will be mad at yourself for having the thought.  When you are mad at yourself you cannot perform to your best ability.  You will, therefore, not allow yourself to flourish, accidents will happen, and things will not go well.  So it is in your best interests to only think loving thoughts about others.

By letting other people shine, you are also giving yourself permission to shine.

We can all be winners.  After all, isn’t being happy the best way to be a “winner”.  So why base your happiness on whether or not you get this job or that, when you can’t possibly book every job.

There are plenty of jobs to go around.

Auditions are more about creating a good relationship with the casting director, so that he will call you back again and again.  If a casting director believes in you, even if you’re not quite right for this role, he will keep bringing you in until he finds the right role for you.

And remember, you don’t know that this job is what’s best for you.  Getting this job could actually keep you from getting the wonderful job you were truly meant to get.

Try to see it this way:  When you go to an audition, you are not there to get the job.  You already have the job.  Your job is to do what you love.  You are a joyful actor.  And by sharing your love of what you do with others, you inspire them by reminding of what “love” is.

A nice way to look at it is that when you go to an audition, you are an angel in disguise.  To the casting people, you just look like any another actor trying out for the role.  But you know better.  They see you in pants and a tie, but you are really wearing white flowing robes.  You were sent by the universe to experience love in front of them.  Therefore reminding them what love is.

The following is a quote from Marianne Williamson’s, “A Return To Love”:

“We were born to make manifest the glory of God (or “love”) that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”