Briana Packen on Finding Balance and Stability in our Lives and Acting Careers - a podcast by Patrick Oliver Jones
from 2022-01-24T11:30
Sometimes the biggest obstacle standing in our way as actors is ourselves. Whether it’s self-doubt and a disbelief in our own abilities or maybe it’s giving too much weight to the criticism or expectations of others, or maybe a shift in priorities comes along and we have to make life decisions that go against our creative ambitions.
To kick off season six, I’m talking with actor and coach Briana Packen about ways we can stop getting in our own way. She brought three stories with her today: one about the importance of training and mastering our craft, a second one how the me too movement still has ramifications today for her as a mother and teacher, and finally the need for balance and stability not only as an actor but as an individual as well.
Sign up for the monthly WINMI Newsletter
Help WINMI Transcribe Every Episode
One of my goals this season is to help Deaf/hard-of-hearing actors like John McGinty access the Why I’ll Never Make It podcast by offering transcriptions of each and every episode (I actually did it once). However, this is both time-consuming and would add a major cost to the production of this podcast (approximately $5000 per season). Regardless, I think the effort is worth it, don't you? So I’ll definitely need your financial help to make this a reality.
Please consider a one-time donation (via PayPal) or a monthly subscription to bonus episodes (via Supercast), which will help offset the cost of this important service. Whichever way you choose to contribute, your help is so very much appreciated!
This Month's Artist Resource: Movement 4 Everybody
For about a decade now, Briana and her colleague Julia Crockett have been teaching movement to actors at conservatory programs and are thrilled to finally offer their classes to people not currently enrolled in an acting or university program. These classes are designed for everyone – artists, non-artists, professionals, unprofessionals, dancers, non-dancers, people afraid of dance, queers, beards, clowns, tops, bottoms, switches, queens, kings, cat AND dog people. You can strengthen your artistic physical practice, crack open your creativity, become more present in your body, or simply have a good time. Whatever your reason for going, you will leave feeling stronger, more connected, more creative, and with a richer connection to your body and others. Contact them for the latest class schedule or follow them on Instagram.
The Final Five
For the past few seasons, the Final Five has been a bonus episode to this podcast, but for Season 6 it’s going to be in the form of a blog post where guests will answer five final questions. And Briana starts it off by talking about learning from her mistakes and the ability we have as actors to grow and change throughout our life and career. You can find her Final Five on the WINMI Blog.
----------
Why I’ll Never Make It is a Top 25 Theater Podcast hosted by Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media, LLC. It is also a part of Helium Radio Network and a member of the Broadway Makers Alliance.
Background music in the episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Further episodes of Why I‘ll Never Make It
Further podcasts by Patrick Oliver Jones
Website of Patrick Oliver Jones