In my final year of acting school, alumnus John C. Reilly guest-starred in one of our mainstage productions. While in town and hanging around our halls, he did a talk and Q&A during class hours, free for anyone to attend.

I don't pedestal celebrities… but he is pretty hilarious, and given my inclination for comedic acting, I attended.

He talked about how earning his acting BFA from our program kickstarted his career and gave advice to us blooming hopefuls.

One nugget of advice was more or less this, to paraphrase:

"A buddy of mine was big into motorcycle riding, telling me how when caught in the middle lane between two semis… if he so much as thought about one of the semis, he would unconsciously drift toward that lane a bit."

Basically why peak focus is non-negotiable for an actor.

Imposter Syndrome

No matter how many times–with earnestness and honesty–my classmates and professors told me I was extremely talented, I never believed them.

I’m a long-time sufferer of imposter syndrome – deadly for an actor. Here’s what my thought process might be while performing:

“i said that awkwardly… im not using my hands right… why am i standing here i need to do something with my hands… im good at acting but will never be great… why did i get admitted into this program if im not good… am i better than [so and so]… actually no one likes me at all they just all pretend to so i don’t get hurt… and you know what my face looks puffy from last night’s cheat meal at subway cuz i had two macadamia nut cookies after a footlong that’s like 200 grams of carbs”

If we’re going by motorcycle analogy metrics, that could cause a 20-car pileup.

I made focus a top priority

One day, the proverbial “fuck it” came and I dropped every technique, every book, and every “expert’s” advice… and stopped focusing on the left and right lanes.

Around this time, I started playing in Windy City Darters. An epiphany. Darts train focus. The same focus I can use on stage and screen. Moreover, with darts:

• There’s pressure.
• There’s an audience watching.
• The more I thought about missing, the more I missed.
• Hyper-focus is required – it’s a game of millimeter precision.
• The less I used my “active” awareness and just… “did”… the more I entered into a flow state.

And when in a flow state, my 3-dart average drastically improved.

So when I applied that flow state to auditions and performances, my imposter syndrome took more of a back seat. Of course, focus like this isn't a golden ticket to acting genius, but I do believe it’s necessary to achieve high-level performances.

For the actor, focus (and breath) is the foundation for all technique that follows.

What are you focusing on?

It doesn’t have to be darts (although my bias advocates this as a seriously fun way to practice focus).

Take any activity – painting, baking, woodworking, billiards, knitting, photography, whatever – and use it to achieve your necessary focus.