Did you know it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in any field? Uh huh. Full time focus for 5 years. Proven fact. Researched by Professor K. Anders Erickson, Florida State University. He apparently studied athletes, musicians and chess grand-masters. I would probably have to put Broadway dancers and members of any dance company into that category, also. Those of us known as “dancers” (not hoofers) trained since the age of 10 or earlier — as any athlete does — to build strength, stretch and technique in our bodies to perfect our chosen craft. The original Pippin, I’m proud to say, was my last dance show on Broadway. Originally trained in ballet and modern dance, I’m still in class, but it’s more about the ‘love’ of dance than trying to compete with the next generation. 
When I first began working with the women of The Rehearsal Club in 2006, I had no idea where we’d go as a group or whether I’d be able to contribute anything of significance to further our goal to “preserve the legacy of The Rehearsal Club and inspire future generations of aspiring young artists.” I did know I was stifled creatively working in a law firm 24/7 (this was my motherhood after stardom chapter). Working with the supportive, generous women of The Rehearsal Club was my creative outlet, and because I’d built a strong wall of trust with my company, they allowed my extracurricular pursuits on company time. Looking back 12 years later, I’d say we’ve become ‘expert’ in the fields of marketing and public relations.
Our journey, however, fits the theory of TEDx speaker and author of the book, The First 20 Hours: Mastering the Tough Part of Learning Anything, Josh Kaufman. Because we applied ourselves systematically to the three guidelines Josh outlines in his book (which was not published at the time — we were following instinct), we ultimately arrived at our current “expert level.” Here’s an overview:
JOSH’S GUIDELINES TO LEARNING:
- Clarify the Goal: Now that our women of the RC were scattered all over the globe, we knew we needed a website if we were going to broaden our network outside New York City. Homestead.com allowed us one free month so that was an easy commitment. We pulled our team of five together: I wanted to learn and had good organizational skills, another’s husband knew more than any of us about websites, and another gal loved working with colors and graphic design. So we met, brainstormed and had a working site up within two weeks. Yeah!
- Self-Correct: Last year, we launched a whole new site based on our previous mistakes, learning along the way. Armed with the learning curve created by working with our RC women, I used my newly-acquired knowledge to get my own website up; my husband’s site and his business site with History Alive.
- Remove Barriers: If you’re going to practice learning anything new, you gotta turn off the TV, put aside the alerts from your phone and stop surfing social media for a period of time each day. I’m now teaching social media monthly to other SAG professionals who realize what our Rehearsal Club women discovered: You cannot ignore social media — but there is a right way and a wrong way to use it. Getting started, yes, is the hardest part for most of my students, but focus and consistency is key. Jeff Olson, author of the Slight Edge, proves the 21/90 rule: It takes 21 days to create a habit; 90 days to change your lifestyle. “Once you’ve got it, then you will discover how your philosophy…creates your attitude…creates your actions…creates your results…creates YOUR LIFE! And your life will never be the same again.” (Jeff Olson,
My life has definitely changed since I started working with the women of The Rehearsal Club. I’m now their Chair. Our former Chair, Lee Kelley and the gal who brought me into all this a decade ago, Director, Kathleen Conry, taught me a lot about working with the bigger picture of where we’re going as an organization. The learning curve which led us to create 4 days of events all over NYC, bringing in women from all over the country, for our Centennial in 2013, has inspired all of us with an even grander vision for our next venture. Maybe we (our collective we) just might have the power to facilitate change for the next generation?
To that end, we are producing our 105th Anniversary Celebration to create an opportunity for graduating talents from surrounding theatrical universities to perform before industry judges. Definitely using our circle of friends in high places. You want to follow the journey? Sign up as a “friend” here. You want to participate in the journey? Come to our event at The Players on June 22, 2018 thru our Fundraising Campaign.
As I built the database of members for The RC, I slowly started my own personal database of friends, Casting Directors, Agents, Press, Producers and now have a system of communication via social media that has made my job as an independent theater professional, so much easier. As I figured out how to have a “Business” page on Facebook for the Rehearsal Club, I created my own Denise Pence page, connected it to Twitter and started separating my own personal friends and family from my fans. Over time, I’m now attracting writers, directors and yes, casting directors into my circle of friends. It’s taken almost ten years to feel I’m back in the game on my own terms.
And I owe much of everything I’ve learned to the friendship and support of the women I met almost 40 years ago, but none of it would have happened if I had not, 1) Clarified my goals; 2) Self-corrected and learned from past mistakes; and 3) got out of the law firm so I could devote full time to this very fickle business called “show.”
Life is a cabaret, after all. See you at the Cabaret!
