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Why do some performers find Job and others don’t?
I spent years trying to understand why some talent have lots of work and others don’t. I learned a lot from observing my colleagues and their shows, and through my own experiments on stage. But I learned the most when I analyzed the state of mind of the performers. Over time, instead of understanding why some talent were working, I came to understand why others were not! The problem was becoming clearer and clearer. Let me explain among all their problems, one of the things that prevents talent from going any farther.
The Expert Syndrome: Symptoms
・You possess excellent technique, and people are impressed by your skills. You receive applause, clearly have talent, but do not secure enough contracts. Consequently, you spend hours honing your technique, sending out videos of your progress, yet no additional work comes your way.
・ When contacted for a performance, you feel uneasy discussing business. Negotiating your fee is always challenging; you feel compelled to justify your worth, despite years spent perfecting your skills.
The Expert Syndrome: Causes
If you exhibit any of these symptoms, you’ve likely fallen victim to the most common problem faced by talents striving to innovate and become artists. I term this problem “the expert syndrome.”
The Expert Syndrome involves delivering a purely technical performance, convincing yourself that technical excellence is sufficient. It means training with the zeal of a champion and believing this mastery will guarantee a career in the entertainment industry. Anchored in your expertise, filled with its specific jargon, and pleased to push your skills to the limit, you do not consider what the show truly needs. However, the entertainment world does not need experts or champions; it needs artists who touch hearts and evoke emotions.
Under the term “emotion,” I include a variety of feelings: joy, fear, laughter, sadness, anger, love, etc. In this ignorance, you continue without making necessary changes. Confined to your expertise and reassured by like-minded friends, you cling to your technique as a lifeline in the daunting ocean of showbiz.
Conversely, within your area of expertise, you are like a fish in water. Familiar with its languages and codes, you are comfortable there. Unconsciously, your expertise and daily technical training keep you in your comfort zone, preventing you, without realization, from innovating or progressing. The Expert Syndrome is an unconscious refuge!
Conclusion:
Ultimately, the Expert Syndrome reveals a crucial dichotomy in the world of entertainment: the importance of balancing technique and emotion. Successful artists do not just master their technique perfectly; they also captivate their audience by touching the sensitive chords of human emotion. Artists must therefore learn to navigate between technical demand and emotional expressiveness, for it is at this crossroads that the key to their success lies.
Moreover, the Expert Syndrome can also hinder artists’ ability to effectively market their work. By focusing exclusively on their stage performance, they may overlook crucial aspects such as marketing and communication, essential for success in a competitive market. Developing these skills is vital for a sustainable career.
From my experience, the Expert Syndrome extends well beyond the realm of entertainment and appears to be a universal phenomenon. Look around you, in your passions or your profession, and you will inevitably discover someone suffering from this syndrome. To identify it, observe the one who, relying on a specific skill, shelters behind it. They reassure themselves by remaining cloistered in their comfort zone, without taking the necessary step back. They pursue their goals rigidly, without realizing that their actions are counterproductive. In conclusion, the Expert Syndrome is an unconscious refuge!
Written by Tom Shanon (World Class Performer)
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- Free guide, “The 5 fatal mistakes”
- The guide, “The keys to a successful show”
- 🗂️ THE ADDRESS BOOK of producers, agents, artistic directors, variety theaters, circuses, cruises, etc.