One paradox that still stumps many artists I know, one that’s especially relevant to their regular working lives, is structure versus creativity. These artists—the same ones who are otherwise perfectly capable of performing with nuance and subtlety—live on either extreme when it comes to balancing rules, timetables, and structure with freedom, expression, and creativity. It’s one or the other, many of them tell themselves.

There are many, many schools of thought on how to act effectively, and therefore even more skills people think actors “should” have. However, we have a simple way to cut through the noise so you can get better at what’s important.