The Audacity Project

I’m a firm believer that if you want to do something and you don’t know how, learn from someone who does. And I did just that at the start of 2023.

After my first try at performing in 2021 and realising I loved it, I decided to do an online creative mentorship for performers. I figured I could spend the year flailing around trying to get work and make connections through Facebook groups (omg vomit) or I could take control and get a crash course on everything I need to establish myself as a performer from one of the best in the industry. 

The Audacity Project had been on my radar for a while, something I was kind of curious about but never thought I’d be in a position to actually do. Despite feeling major imposter syndrome and having feelings around starting performing at my age, I realised this was the exact thing I now needed to help me take the next step into a brand new career.

The timing was perfect. I had quit my job at the end of 2022, and it seemed like such a great way to start the new year. So in February I began the Audacity Project with the wonderful Rachel Strickland. I was so excited, and terrified and everything you could feel on a spectrum of those emotions. I took that to be a good sign though, and jumped into the process head first.

Here is what I gained from 8 wonderful weeks of coaching… 

1. You Need A Different Kind Of Toolkit 

Creating art is so wonderful and the process brings me immense joy. But at the time it wasn’t physical skill that I was necessarily lacking. Being a professional performer means you’re essentially running a business. You’re the product, and you have to sell yourself. You need a different tool kit, and that’s part of what this mentorship teaches you. 

We immediately started with how to collaborate with other professionals. We learnt how to reach out to people we wanted to work with. We explored how to create specific offerings and getting clear on what we wanted to even be doing vs being willing to just take any work regardless because it’s work. 

From one of my collaborative photoshoots with Simon Richardson

2. The Rabbit Hole Of Action

Messy action is better than no action, and right from the start of the program I went down a rabbit hole of action. It was like once the ball started rolling it just wouldn’t stop. No longer was I stuck wondering what comes next, or where to focus my energy, it was all laid out in front of me and I knew what to do. I achieved a lot of things I was scared to do, like getting head shots, building a website, and applying for funding (more on that later!). 

We had the accountability and the push we needed to actually get work done, and equally as important was that none of it had to be perfect. The simple act of doing was enough to get into the habit of being productive and consistent in our efforts.

3. Facing Your Fears Is Absolutely Necessary 

Facing your fears is definitely part of the process. The feelings around all of this, the self doubt, the imposter syndrome, the not being ready to do the thing; Rachel helps you to face that.  Rachel is just the right amount of kind and supportive while also being firm and helping you to face the challenging feelings, and I feel that this was one of the most valuable aspects of the mentorship. 

Feeling like you are safe to experience the highs and lows, to have it all acknowledged, and then also being provided with tools to deal and move forwards genuinely set me up for the rest of the year. Belief in myself that I slowly developed through working with Rachel has trickled into a lot of other areas of my life, and I am so grateful for that. 

4. I Have A Choice In What I Want For Myself As A Performer

Something that the Audacity Project gives you is the space to really think about what you want performing to look like for you. What sort of work do you want to create? What sort of environment do you want to work in? Who do you want to perform to? This might seem like something you’d already know as a performer, but do we actually spend a lot of time sitting down and thinking about it in this way? 

And Rachel encouraged us all to dream as big and as much as we wanted, because that’s how you start to figure out your direction, and what’s actually important to you. As a result I had the room and space to create ideas and think about projects that I felt really passionately about. It also helped me to rule out things I definitely did not want to do.

5. Techy Tasks Are Important And Can Be Fun!

For the first time in my life I built a proper website. A beautiful website in fact, that I designed myself. I have since built another two websites, and feel that this was one of the most valuable things I gained from TAP on a practical level. 

We were held accountable to get this done, so I finally faced doing it. I had genuinely been terrified of the thought of building a website, and felt so overwhelmed by the task. But thanks to Rachel, and also Squarespace, I learnt it’s not actually that hard. I would 10 out of 10 recommend Squarespace if you’ve never build a website before!

6. The Value Of Being Part Of A Team 

I am so grateful to the wonderful group of humans who were in my cohort. Being supported by other people going through the same fears and uncertainty meant a lot. This is the joy of group coaching. We ended up having our own WhatsApp group which meant we could safely express any concerns, but most importantly we could celebrate all of our wins together. 

What’s happened since… 

I had originally wanted to write about my experience going through TAP as soon as the 2 months were over, but I’m really glad I waited until a year later. Because I can now see the full impact that it’s had on my life and share this. I think that’s what’s really important; it’s been the catalyst for getting things done and achieving things I set out to achieve at the start of last year.

The most significant thing to have happened as a result of TAP is being awarded funding. I came up with an idea that I thought could be meaningful and turned into something of value, and then twiddled my thumbs as I toyed with whether I was worthy of trying to apply for funding. Rachel said I should do it. Then I said I thought I should wait until I had better/more experience. Rachel said to apply and then if I get rejected I apply again. So this is what I did. I didn’t get it on my first go. But we’d made a deal that I would try again and resubmit in this scenario. The accountability was exactly what I needed. And I’m now in the depths of my funded project that I’m so utterly grateful I was given the push to apply for.

I was fortunate enough to have a small Christmas contract for December. I was approached by someone on Facebook, and thanks to what I learned through the Audacity Project I was able to discuss and negotiate my acts, the price, and timings. As soon as I was asked to provide a contract I simply used one of the many templates that I’d been provided with and just edited it and sent it over. When we feel and embody that we are professionals it comes across in our interactions. This was another significant moment where months later the impact of TAP was allowing me to successfully get work that I really wanted to do.

I also had the unbelievable joy of meeting Rachel in real life. I went to IADF in July, and I took her Aerial Storytelling class, which was probably my favourite part of the whole festival. She is an absolute force of nature, she sees right into your soul, and she’s the warmest most welcoming human. Having been coached by her both in person and online I can say that she shows up with exactly as much care and commitment to both.

Rachel and I at IADF 2023. 💖

I was definitely concerned about making this investment having quit my job and not having much work lined up at the start of the year. I had no way of knowing if I would be able to earn the money back or how long that might take. But I can happily say that I’ve made more than just the cost of the mentorship back just in the past eight months. If I take everything into account that I’ve been able to do as a result of TAP, my ROI is 950% (yes I did the actual maths here). 

So, all I can really add to this is that your own journey is unique, and no two people will have the exact same experiences. But everyone can benefit from coaching or mentorship at various times in their life. If you’re considering the Audacity Project, I cannot recommend it enough. Benefits have spilled into so many areas of my life beyond performing. Rachel is an absolute diamond and it’s nothing but a privilege to learn from her. 

If you want more information about the Audacity Project, you can check out all the details here.