Freeing the mind

I got into acting by reading an incredible book called The Artists Way by Julia Cameron. The Artists Way is a course for “recovering creatives” and part of the course is a once a week activity called an Artist Date. An Artist Date can be any activity as long as it is fun and carried out on your own. No friends, no family. And nothing that is work.

Surprisingly, recovering creatives (which covers about 99% of the population I reckon) find this very difficult. There are so many things that we are supposed to be doing, and when we have a break, we just want to collapse.

This week I’ve been shooting my first lead role in a feature film (the independent sci-fi Nightlens, written and directed by the brilliant David Woods). Today I have a surprise day off. My mind feels much freer after a week pursuing my dreams. I felt better able to just make decisions and I’ve happily trotted along to do my Artist Date as the only single adult at Shreks Adventure on the Southbank.

Creative recovery indeed.