June 2, 2025 • 16 mins
When Marine veteran Jim Rojas found himself in an acting scene opposite Linden Ashby, something unexpected happened. Though Jim wasn't even on camera or in character, Ashby reached across with profound gratitude after the scene wrapped. This moment revealed to Jim that his lifelong mental habits—creating different versions of himself in various scenarios—had perfectly prepared him for acting. What began as childhood coping mechanisms had become a sophisticated operating system for his mind.
Jim calls this "spiritual shape-shifting," and it's revolutionizing how people approach everyday challenges. At its core is the Stanislavski system—a century-old acting methodology built on seven questions that dissect any moment: Who am I? Where am I? When is it? What do I want? Why do I want it? How do I get it? What's in my way? By systematically answering these questions, actors create authentic experiences within imaginary circumstances. Jim realized these same questions could help anyone navigate real-world situations with greater awareness and effectiveness.
The science backs this approach. From Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett's theory of constructed emotions to programs like Sense Theater helping autistic children understand social interactions, these techniques have proven their value far beyond the stage. Jim's "intangible toolbox"—presence, awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, critical thinking, and more—represents skills systematically taught to actors that benefit everyone.
In his book "All Your Best Selves," Jim details how these performing arts techniques can transform your life anytime, anyplace, with anyone. As he powerfully states: "When we gave the world literacy for reading, it changed the world. When we gave people mathematical literacy, it changed the world. Why wouldn't it change the world if we gave people mental and emotional literacy in a systemic way?" Discover how accessing all your best selves could lead to the richer, fuller life you deserve.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647469740/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=164743261
Want to be a guest on Living the Dream with Curveball? Send Curtis Jackson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1628631536976x919760049303001600
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, if you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:22):
I interview guests that teach,motivate and inspire.
Today, I am joined by actor andMarine veteran, jim Rojas.
Jim has spent 20 years in theacting industry, so we're going
to be talking to him about hiswork and everything that he's up
to.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
So, jim, thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you, Curtis.
I appreciate you having me.
Thank you for your time.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Why don't you start off by telling everybody a
little bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I mean, it's a lot.
I imagine I've lived a verycolorful life, but I think most
significant things about myselfhappened when I was young.
When I was four years old, Ihad an instance that happened
where my parents took me tomidnight mass and the concept of
eternity just kind of opened upin my head.
When you know, the priest wasspeaking words, you know,
(01:11):
kingdom without end, you know,and the concept hit me that if
there's no end, there's nomiddle.
There's no middle, it's just aperpetual beginning.
So, like you know, it's reallyneon.
From now I still exist.
I don't need to get to myexistence.
It, it freaks me out, it's alittle.
So I regressed into my head andI started creating what I now
see as programs, and two of themost predominant ones are my
(01:32):
bubbles.
My suits are like characters,my bubbles are like the holodeck
of the Star Trek universe.
So what I would do in my mindwas I would take different
versions of myself, put them inthese bubbles, which are
different environments ordifferent circumstances, and
then I would let them run theircourse.
Then come around 2008,.
I was maybe four years intoacting and I had an incident
(01:53):
that happened.
I was filming a movie calledHunger and I was opposite an
actor called Lyndon Ashby and Iwasn't even on camera.
I wasn't in character, I wasjust reading lines with him.
The camera was on him, but whenthey yelled, they yelled cut.
He reached over and shook myhand and the gratitude was
intense.
I could tell he reallyappreciated.
(02:13):
I didn't know what I'd donebecause I wasn't acting, I was
just there, and it was a littlebit after that that the
realization hit me that my wholelife was in a sense preparing
me for that, because my suitswere no different than
characters, my bubbles were nodifferent than scenes.
I just learned a way to createan operating system for the
supercomputer called the humanbrain.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Well, how did you get into acting in the first place?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Well acting.
That was an accident.
I had just gotten out of theMarine Corps and my first job
out was at a restaurant calledLone Star Steakhouse and when I
was working there I was on right.
I was a Marine, I was like 22,something like 22.
And there was a girl that wasworking there and she was
(02:58):
talking about her voice lessonsand I was just, you know, marine
jarhead.
I was breaking balls talkingabout how easy voice lessons
were compared to what a Marinedoes.
She did you know, stood up andchallenged me.
She said I bet you couldn'ttake voice lessons, soldier boy.
And I'm like bet I could.
So I went to, I found a voiceinstructor and I signed up not
for two but like six weeks ofvoice lessons.
But when I started it just kindof took off.
(03:20):
He put me into a concert andthat led to my first play.
Then, uh, I did another playafter that and that led to the
role of judas and jesus christthe superstar.
And it's like within the firsttwo years I probably racked up
20, 30 credits, from the firstyear probably about 50.
Uh, it was a very speedballexperience for me but, like I
(03:41):
said, it just happened on anaccident.
Most of my life does, because Ijust kind of go with the flow.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Well, talk to the listeners about spiritual
shape-shifting, to tell us whatyou mean when you say that.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Absolutely.
Thank you for that question andthis is basically what I'm
saying.
Let me just prime it with thiswhen you look at like a
submarine that's underwater, itcan't see anything.
It has to shoot out sonar whichpings stuff and when it pings
stuff it comes back withinformation like okay, what is
um, what's on the ground?
Are there submarines oranything on the surface?
(04:14):
So it lets you see what youcan't see.
That is kind of what I'm saying, what these systems do.
So what I'm saying with acting,what we do now it's evolved to
the point where we're feelingreal emotions in imaginary
circumstances.
We're creating real humanmindsets for use on the stage.
So we're creating, we'reworking very, very hard to
create living human beings forthe imaginative and we're
(04:37):
changing in and out of thesepeople all the time and we do it
all the time as well.
It's called code switching inthe common world.
It's like when a kid from anurban city environment goes to
more affluent neighborhood andthen he changes his personality
to fit in there because he can'tact the same way around his
friends as he can in thiscountry club.
So we do it to a certain degree.
It's just acting as hyper codeswitching.
(04:58):
You're switching who you arementally and emotionally into
completely different people forthe purpose of the role.
What I'm saying is you can takethese tools and techniques and
use them in your life, becausethe reality is these masters who
created these tools andtechniques.
They created it for actors, tomanipulate the human mind and
(05:19):
emotions.
But we don't have a set of mindand emotions for the stage and
a set for real life.
So, essentially, what thesemasters did, what they created
for actors on the stage, theycreated for all of us.
They just never thought of theimplications.
Now I want to just jump into theStanislavski system, because
this is kind of where I'm goingwith it.
This was created by a gentlemannamed Konstantin Stanislavski
about 100 years ago and it's hisbase system for actors to break
(05:42):
down a moment and think aboutin life how many people ever
took the time to break down themoment they were in to
understand what was going on.
And this is kind of where I'mgoing with the sonar thing.
Okay, this system is based onseven questions.
Number one who am I?
This is the moment in relationto you.
Number two where am I?
This is the moment in relationto the environment around you.
(06:02):
When is it?
This is the moment in relationto the environment around you.
When is it?
This is the moment in relationto time, because time changes
people Before or after a meal,when's a good time to talk to
them?
So, like I said, these all havevery poignant needs.
Number four what do I want?
This is the moment in relationto purpose.
Why do I want?
This is the moment in relationto desire.
How do I get it?
(06:22):
This is the moment in relationto action.
What's in my way?
This is the moment in relationto obstacles.
So, by being able to take aparta moment, you have much more
choices in that moment.
And where this attaches tospiritual shapeshifting is you
can take these differentmindsets, attach them to
different versions of you, todifferent versions of you, and
then, whenever you have aproblem, you can literally shift
(06:45):
through it.
These problems with differentmindsets, and each version of
you will see the problemdifferently and give you more
answers, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Absolutely Well.
How can people use thesetechniques that you talk about
in our own lives?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
OK, that's a great question, a couple of different
ways like job interviews.
Think about how many peoplerehearse their job interview
before they go into it, versushow many people just go in cold
and nervous.
Now, with who am I?
It's a question like in a jobinterview who am I?
This question asks.
Is your integrity developedwith this job?
Is it kept with this job?
Where am I?
Is this job commute something Ican maintain?
(07:24):
Is this a place that I can stayin through changes about, or is
it just something I'm passingtime?
What do I need to overcome?
Are there other applicants?
Are my skill sets on my resumeon par in relation to those with
the other applicants?
What about a conversation?
Who am I?
(07:45):
Do I need to bring comfort tothis conversation, sternness or
just an ear to absorb someoneelse's pain?
Where am I?
What are the circumstances, thesituation this conversation is
having?
Is it public?
We private?
When is it?
How long has passed since adifficult time or event?
So what I'm saying is everymoment of your life you can
dissect, and if you dissect yourthose moments, it's going to
(08:08):
give you answers that you didn'thave.
So it's being able to seethings people normally wouldn't
see and, like I said, this workson everything, because for 100
years now actors have been usingit on everything, only for the
imaginative.
I'm saying the implications ofusing this in real life will
transform the world.
Because, I'll say this, when wegave the world literacy for
(08:31):
reading, for language literacy,it changed the world.
When we gave peoplemathematical literacy, it
changed the world.
When we gave peoplemathematical literacy, it
changed the world.
Why wouldn't it change theworld if we gave people mental
and emotional literacy in asystemic way?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Well, talk to the listeners about that intangible
toolbox that you talk about.
Tell us what that intangibletoolbox is and what's in that
intangible toolbox.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Absolutely Basically what the intangible toolbox is
and what's in that intangibletoolbox?
Absolutely, uh, I'm gonnabasically what the intangible
toolbox is.
This is the skill sets thatactors develop as in their
spirit as a human being, becausewhen you look at acting, when
you get the script, the scriptis like a coloring book black
and white.
The actor is the crayons.
Our life experience is whatcolors that script.
(09:16):
It's what adds ticks to thecharacters.
It's what adds to the moments.
Now we do that by building ourintangible toolbox.
Now I'm going to list off just afew of the things that you can
find in that actors are learningin their intangible toolbox and
, as I read these off, just tellme if these are any things that
people could use in their lifethat they don't have.
All right, presence,situational awareness,
(09:40):
initiative, grit, projection,wit, breeziness, motivation,
emotional regulation, empathy,critical thinking, teamwork,
public speaking, problem solving, creativity, listening,
independence, mindfulness,preparation, organization, goal
orientation, interpersonalskills, communication.
(10:02):
Now, like I said, that's just ashort list of what we learn.
These are systemically taughtskills.
Why aren't we teaching this toall people in the world if we're
proving to teach it to a smallgroup?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Well, can you give some examples?
Can you point to some examplesout in the world where the
techniques that you talk aboutdoes work for people?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
absolutely, there's actually several.
Um, I learned this when I wasresearching for the book um, dr
feast.
Uh, lisa feldman barrett.
She authored a book howemotions are made.
She's presenting the theory ofconstructed emotions that's
trying to supplant this theoryof the triune brain.
The theory of the triune braincame around like in the 60s and
(10:45):
basically saying we all have aset of emotions and everybody
around the world has it andthat's who we are and there's no
real science to back it up.
They just kind of came up withit because they didn't have all
the MRIs and stuff that they canactually see up with, because
they didn't have all the MRIsand stuff that they can actually
see.
Well, her research is sciencesupported and it's saying that
emotions are created in realtime as things are happening to
us and that's exactly whatsupports what actors have been
(11:08):
doing for all this time.
University of California,irvine, had a course where they
brought to the memory sciencethe memory learning department,
together with the acting courseto teach actors a new way to be
actors and essentially the waythey said it was like learning
the song learning the meaning ofthe song before you learn the
song.
(11:29):
Um, there's a place called sensetheater where it teaches kids
with autism how to interact inthe world.
And the simplest way I can putit is like this when actors
study a play, they have thescript to go on.
When improvisers have to put ona show, they don't have to have
a script.
They don't have a script, sothey have to study the way the
play works, the structure of theplay.
(11:49):
So that's what Sense Theater isdoing.
They're taking that philosophy,teaching kids with autism how a
social environment works sothey don't have to pick up on
the cues, because that's thebiggest problem they have is
they can't pick up on cues.
So if you teach them beforehandhow the environment works, they
can recognize it.
Trauma drama is taking actingtechniques and teaching the kids
who've undergone trauma.
(12:10):
But they're not going throughthe trauma the kid went through.
It's a different kind of trauma, so they're teaching them
something that's safe for themto go through, so they can learn
how to deal with trauma.
Um, dr joseph levy moreno, backin the 1950s, created
psychodrama, literally fromtaking acting techniques and
putting it into the grouptherapy therapy environment and,
(12:30):
like all of these instanceshave shown where it works.
Um, going back to uh, and Idon't think I mentioned that uh,
dr and Noyce of ElmhurstCollege were doing some work
with acting and there wasanother doctor named Thalia
Goldstein.
She was talking about the helpwhere it worked with elderly
people who were suffering fromdementia, and acting techniques
(12:53):
and mnemonic techniques that weuse were helping them to rebuild
their memories in slight wayswell, tell us about any upcoming
projects that you're working onthat people need to be aware of
well, the main thing is is thebook.
I just uh put it out not toolong ago.
Um, it's where I really get indepth and talk about it.
(13:14):
It breaks down in three parts.
The first part is talks aboutmy life and how I came to the
idea.
The second part is the ideaitself and the third part is the
intangible toolbox where I show, I break down the stanislavski
system, how it works in actingand how it works in life, and
give a lot of examples in a way,uh, the meisner technique where
it shows how to read behavior.
(13:35):
Uh, uda hoggins 10 exercisesagain which help you how to
break down a moment in her way.
I briefly touch into improv andshowing how that works.
So this has been the main focus.
Now it's just trying to get thebook out.
It's called all your bestselves, how the performing arts
toolkit can help you anytime,anyplace, with anyone, and right
now it's only on amazon.
But that's, that's my pushbecause, like I said I I know
(13:56):
this is a world-changing ideaand I hate that it's in my hands
because I'm not the hero theworld needs, I'm the hobo it has
.
But I understand the importanceof this idea.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Well, throw out your contact info so people can keep
up with everything that you'reup to.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Oh yes, Sure, Absolutely.
I'm on.
My website iswwwtbcentrprisescom, and on
social media my handle is SoyCandy.
You can find me on Facebook,Twitter what are the other ones?
Instagram.
Sorry, like I said, I'm stillnew to social media too.
(14:34):
Like I said, this whole pushonce I got the book out, it was
kind of floundering.
So I jumped into social mediathing and I just kind of
podcasting thing, trying tolearn how this works and trying
to get better at it Mostdefinitely what closes out with
some final thoughts.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
maybe if there was something I forgot to talk about
that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have
for the listeners.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Well, I would like to give this one last thing and
just encompass what we'retalking about, and this is
something that people deal withall the time, and in acting, we
know the stage fright peoplejust they get nervous in
situations and they don't knowwhat to do, what these skills do
, what acting key.
The key to acting is it's notacting, it's knowing.
Once you know all, we answerall the questions, you know what
(15:16):
you're going to do.
It makes life a lot easierbecause you're not at the mercy
of other people.
You can make your own ownchoices, you can be your own
person.
So, like I said, I think themost important thing is getting
in here, unlocking all thedifferent versions of who you
are and living a richer, fullerlife, because that's what people
deserve.
We're not doing that right.
We're not living the best livesthat we can.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
All right, ladies and gentlemen, tbc Enterprise,
check out Jim's site, check outhis book, check out everything
that he's up to.
Please be sure to follow rate.
Review, share this episode toas many people as possible.
Jump on your favorite podcastapp.
Check out the show, share it,review it.
If you have any guests orsuggestion topics, curtis
(16:01):
Jackson 1978 at attnet is theplace to send them.
Thank you for listening andsupporting the show and, jim,
thank you for all that you doand thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Thank you, Curtis.
Thank you for having me have agreat day.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
For more information on the Living the Dream with
Curveball podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, if you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:22):
I interview guests that teach,motivate and inspire.
Today, I am joined by actor andMarine veteran, jim Rojas.
Jim has spent 20 years in theacting industry, so we're going
to be talking to him about hiswork and everything that he's up
to.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
So, jim, thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you, Curtis.
I appreciate you having me.
Thank you for your time.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Why don't you start off by telling everybody a
little bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I mean, it's a lot.
I imagine I've lived a verycolorful life, but I think most
significant things about myselfhappened when I was young.
When I was four years old, Ihad an instance that happened
where my parents took me tomidnight mass and the concept of
eternity just kind of opened upin my head.
When you know, the priest wasspeaking words, you know,
(01:11):
kingdom without end, you know,and the concept hit me that if
there's no end, there's nomiddle.
There's no middle, it's just aperpetual beginning.
So, like you know, it's reallyneon.
From now I still exist.
I don't need to get to myexistence.
It, it freaks me out, it's alittle.
So I regressed into my head andI started creating what I now
see as programs, and two of themost predominant ones are my
(01:32):
bubbles.
My suits are like characters,my bubbles are like the holodeck
of the Star Trek universe.
So what I would do in my mindwas I would take different
versions of myself, put them inthese bubbles, which are
different environments ordifferent circumstances, and
then I would let them run theircourse.
Then come around 2008,.
I was maybe four years intoacting and I had an incident
(01:53):
that happened.
I was filming a movie calledHunger and I was opposite an
actor called Lyndon Ashby and Iwasn't even on camera.
I wasn't in character, I wasjust reading lines with him.
The camera was on him, but whenthey yelled, they yelled cut.
He reached over and shook myhand and the gratitude was
intense.
I could tell he reallyappreciated.
(02:13):
I didn't know what I'd donebecause I wasn't acting, I was
just there, and it was a littlebit after that that the
realization hit me that my wholelife was in a sense preparing
me for that, because my suitswere no different than
characters, my bubbles were nodifferent than scenes.
I just learned a way to createan operating system for the
supercomputer called the humanbrain.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Well, how did you get into acting in the first place?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Well acting.
That was an accident.
I had just gotten out of theMarine Corps and my first job
out was at a restaurant calledLone Star Steakhouse and when I
was working there I was on right.
I was a Marine, I was like 22,something like 22.
And there was a girl that wasworking there and she was
(02:58):
talking about her voice lessonsand I was just, you know, marine
jarhead.
I was breaking balls talkingabout how easy voice lessons
were compared to what a Marinedoes.
She did you know, stood up andchallenged me.
She said I bet you couldn'ttake voice lessons, soldier boy.
And I'm like bet I could.
So I went to, I found a voiceinstructor and I signed up not
for two but like six weeks ofvoice lessons.
But when I started it just kindof took off.
(03:20):
He put me into a concert andthat led to my first play.
Then, uh, I did another playafter that and that led to the
role of judas and jesus christthe superstar.
And it's like within the firsttwo years I probably racked up
20, 30 credits, from the firstyear probably about 50.
Uh, it was a very speedballexperience for me but, like I
(03:41):
said, it just happened on anaccident.
Most of my life does, because Ijust kind of go with the flow.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Well, talk to the listeners about spiritual
shape-shifting, to tell us whatyou mean when you say that.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Absolutely.
Thank you for that question andthis is basically what I'm
saying.
Let me just prime it with thiswhen you look at like a
submarine that's underwater, itcan't see anything.
It has to shoot out sonar whichpings stuff and when it pings
stuff it comes back withinformation like okay, what is
um, what's on the ground?
Are there submarines oranything on the surface?
(04:14):
So it lets you see what youcan't see.
That is kind of what I'm saying, what these systems do.
So what I'm saying with acting,what we do now it's evolved to
the point where we're feelingreal emotions in imaginary
circumstances.
We're creating real humanmindsets for use on the stage.
So we're creating, we'reworking very, very hard to
create living human beings forthe imaginative and we're
(04:37):
changing in and out of thesepeople all the time and we do it
all the time as well.
It's called code switching inthe common world.
It's like when a kid from anurban city environment goes to
more affluent neighborhood andthen he changes his personality
to fit in there because he can'tact the same way around his
friends as he can in thiscountry club.
So we do it to a certain degree.
It's just acting as hyper codeswitching.
(04:58):
You're switching who you arementally and emotionally into
completely different people forthe purpose of the role.
What I'm saying is you can takethese tools and techniques and
use them in your life, becausethe reality is these masters who
created these tools andtechniques.
They created it for actors, tomanipulate the human mind and
(05:19):
emotions.
But we don't have a set of mindand emotions for the stage and
a set for real life.
So, essentially, what thesemasters did, what they created
for actors on the stage, theycreated for all of us.
They just never thought of theimplications.
Now I want to just jump into theStanislavski system, because
this is kind of where I'm goingwith it.
This was created by a gentlemannamed Konstantin Stanislavski
about 100 years ago and it's hisbase system for actors to break
(05:42):
down a moment and think aboutin life how many people ever
took the time to break down themoment they were in to
understand what was going on.
And this is kind of where I'mgoing with the sonar thing.
Okay, this system is based onseven questions.
Number one who am I?
This is the moment in relationto you.
Number two where am I?
This is the moment in relationto the environment around you.
(06:02):
When is it?
This is the moment in relationto the environment around you.
When is it?
This is the moment in relationto time, because time changes
people Before or after a meal,when's a good time to talk to
them?
So, like I said, these all havevery poignant needs.
Number four what do I want?
This is the moment in relationto purpose.
Why do I want?
This is the moment in relationto desire.
How do I get it?
(06:22):
This is the moment in relationto action.
What's in my way?
This is the moment in relationto obstacles.
So, by being able to take aparta moment, you have much more
choices in that moment.
And where this attaches tospiritual shapeshifting is you
can take these differentmindsets, attach them to
different versions of you, todifferent versions of you, and
then, whenever you have aproblem, you can literally shift
(06:45):
through it.
These problems with differentmindsets, and each version of
you will see the problemdifferently and give you more
answers, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Absolutely Well.
How can people use thesetechniques that you talk about
in our own lives?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
OK, that's a great question, a couple of different
ways like job interviews.
Think about how many peoplerehearse their job interview
before they go into it, versushow many people just go in cold
and nervous.
Now, with who am I?
It's a question like in a jobinterview who am I?
This question asks.
Is your integrity developedwith this job?
Is it kept with this job?
Where am I?
Is this job commute something Ican maintain?
(07:24):
Is this a place that I can stayin through changes about, or is
it just something I'm passingtime?
What do I need to overcome?
Are there other applicants?
Are my skill sets on my resumeon par in relation to those with
the other applicants?
What about a conversation?
Who am I?
(07:45):
Do I need to bring comfort tothis conversation, sternness or
just an ear to absorb someoneelse's pain?
Where am I?
What are the circumstances, thesituation this conversation is
having?
Is it public?
We private?
When is it?
How long has passed since adifficult time or event?
So what I'm saying is everymoment of your life you can
dissect, and if you dissect yourthose moments, it's going to
(08:08):
give you answers that you didn'thave.
So it's being able to seethings people normally wouldn't
see and, like I said, this workson everything, because for 100
years now actors have been usingit on everything, only for the
imaginative.
I'm saying the implications ofusing this in real life will
transform the world.
Because, I'll say this, when wegave the world literacy for
(08:31):
reading, for language literacy,it changed the world.
When we gave peoplemathematical literacy, it
changed the world.
When we gave peoplemathematical literacy, it
changed the world.
Why wouldn't it change theworld if we gave people mental
and emotional literacy in asystemic way?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Well, talk to the listeners about that intangible
toolbox that you talk about.
Tell us what that intangibletoolbox is and what's in that
intangible toolbox.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Absolutely Basically what the intangible toolbox is
and what's in that intangibletoolbox?
Absolutely, uh, I'm gonnabasically what the intangible
toolbox is.
This is the skill sets thatactors develop as in their
spirit as a human being, becausewhen you look at acting, when
you get the script, the scriptis like a coloring book black
and white.
The actor is the crayons.
Our life experience is whatcolors that script.
(09:16):
It's what adds ticks to thecharacters.
It's what adds to the moments.
Now we do that by building ourintangible toolbox.
Now I'm going to list off just afew of the things that you can
find in that actors are learningin their intangible toolbox and
, as I read these off, just tellme if these are any things that
people could use in their lifethat they don't have.
All right, presence,situational awareness,
(09:40):
initiative, grit, projection,wit, breeziness, motivation,
emotional regulation, empathy,critical thinking, teamwork,
public speaking, problem solving, creativity, listening,
independence, mindfulness,preparation, organization, goal
orientation, interpersonalskills, communication.
(10:02):
Now, like I said, that's just ashort list of what we learn.
These are systemically taughtskills.
Why aren't we teaching this toall people in the world if we're
proving to teach it to a smallgroup?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Well, can you give some examples?
Can you point to some examplesout in the world where the
techniques that you talk aboutdoes work for people?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
absolutely, there's actually several.
Um, I learned this when I wasresearching for the book um, dr
feast.
Uh, lisa feldman barrett.
She authored a book howemotions are made.
She's presenting the theory ofconstructed emotions that's
trying to supplant this theoryof the triune brain.
The theory of the triune braincame around like in the 60s and
(10:45):
basically saying we all have aset of emotions and everybody
around the world has it andthat's who we are and there's no
real science to back it up.
They just kind of came up withit because they didn't have all
the MRIs and stuff that they canactually see up with, because
they didn't have all the MRIsand stuff that they can actually
see.
Well, her research is sciencesupported and it's saying that
emotions are created in realtime as things are happening to
us and that's exactly whatsupports what actors have been
(11:08):
doing for all this time.
University of California,irvine, had a course where they
brought to the memory sciencethe memory learning department,
together with the acting courseto teach actors a new way to be
actors and essentially the waythey said it was like learning
the song learning the meaning ofthe song before you learn the
song.
(11:29):
Um, there's a place called sensetheater where it teaches kids
with autism how to interact inthe world.
And the simplest way I can putit is like this when actors
study a play, they have thescript to go on.
When improvisers have to put ona show, they don't have to have
a script.
They don't have a script, sothey have to study the way the
play works, the structure of theplay.
(11:49):
So that's what Sense Theater isdoing.
They're taking that philosophy,teaching kids with autism how a
social environment works sothey don't have to pick up on
the cues, because that's thebiggest problem they have is
they can't pick up on cues.
So if you teach them beforehandhow the environment works, they
can recognize it.
Trauma drama is taking actingtechniques and teaching the kids
who've undergone trauma.
(12:10):
But they're not going throughthe trauma the kid went through.
It's a different kind of trauma, so they're teaching them
something that's safe for themto go through, so they can learn
how to deal with trauma.
Um, dr joseph levy moreno, backin the 1950s, created
psychodrama, literally fromtaking acting techniques and
putting it into the grouptherapy therapy environment and,
(12:30):
like all of these instanceshave shown where it works.
Um, going back to uh, and Idon't think I mentioned that uh,
dr and Noyce of ElmhurstCollege were doing some work
with acting and there wasanother doctor named Thalia
Goldstein.
She was talking about the helpwhere it worked with elderly
people who were suffering fromdementia, and acting techniques
(12:53):
and mnemonic techniques that weuse were helping them to rebuild
their memories in slight wayswell, tell us about any upcoming
projects that you're working onthat people need to be aware of
well, the main thing is is thebook.
I just uh put it out not toolong ago.
Um, it's where I really get indepth and talk about it.
(13:14):
It breaks down in three parts.
The first part is talks aboutmy life and how I came to the
idea.
The second part is the ideaitself and the third part is the
intangible toolbox where I show, I break down the stanislavski
system, how it works in actingand how it works in life, and
give a lot of examples in a way,uh, the meisner technique where
it shows how to read behavior.
(13:35):
Uh, uda hoggins 10 exercisesagain which help you how to
break down a moment in her way.
I briefly touch into improv andshowing how that works.
So this has been the main focus.
Now it's just trying to get thebook out.
It's called all your bestselves, how the performing arts
toolkit can help you anytime,anyplace, with anyone, and right
now it's only on amazon.
But that's, that's my pushbecause, like I said I I know
(13:56):
this is a world-changing ideaand I hate that it's in my hands
because I'm not the hero theworld needs, I'm the hobo it has
.
But I understand the importanceof this idea.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Well, throw out your contact info so people can keep
up with everything that you'reup to.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Oh yes, Sure, Absolutely.
I'm on.
My website iswwwtbcentrprisescom, and on
social media my handle is SoyCandy.
You can find me on Facebook,Twitter what are the other ones?
Instagram.
Sorry, like I said, I'm stillnew to social media too.
(14:34):
Like I said, this whole pushonce I got the book out, it was
kind of floundering.
So I jumped into social mediathing and I just kind of
podcasting thing, trying tolearn how this works and trying
to get better at it Mostdefinitely what closes out with
some final thoughts.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
maybe if there was something I forgot to talk about
that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have
for the listeners.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Well, I would like to give this one last thing and
just encompass what we'retalking about, and this is
something that people deal withall the time, and in acting, we
know the stage fright peoplejust they get nervous in
situations and they don't knowwhat to do, what these skills do
, what acting key.
The key to acting is it's notacting, it's knowing.
Once you know all, we answerall the questions, you know what
(15:16):
you're going to do.
It makes life a lot easierbecause you're not at the mercy
of other people.
You can make your own ownchoices, you can be your own
person.
So, like I said, I think themost important thing is getting
in here, unlocking all thedifferent versions of who you
are and living a richer, fullerlife, because that's what people
deserve.
We're not doing that right.
We're not living the best livesthat we can.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
All right, ladies and gentlemen, tbc Enterprise,
check out Jim's site, check outhis book, check out everything
that he's up to.
Please be sure to follow rate.
Review, share this episode toas many people as possible.
Jump on your favorite podcastapp.
Check out the show, share it,review it.
If you have any guests orsuggestion topics, curtis
(16:01):
Jackson 1978 at attnet is theplace to send them.
Thank you for listening andsupporting the show and, jim,
thank you for all that you doand thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Thank you, Curtis.
Thank you for having me have agreat day.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
For more information on the Living the Dream with
Curveball podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
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