We were lucky to catch up with Clayton Bury recently and have shared our conversation below.
Clayton, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
I believe my best work comes from a deep personal connection with the material/environment at hand. So my clearest path to avoiding burnout comes through my “Why?” – why am I involved in this project, or submitting for that role? If my “Why?” is linked to a personal connection with the material or the people I’m working with, then burnout is very unlikely because I’m fulfilling a deep need – maybe it’s a need to present the material and share that particular story to the world, or maybe I need to be part of a creative community and be seen and valued as a contributing member. Both of these reasons are fulfilling on a deep personal level, and therefore they feed my spirit as opposed to drain it. Over the last year or two, I’ve found that when I’ve gotten away from my inner needs, and started making decisions based on external factors, that’s when I open to door to allow burnout to take over. And yes, sometimes that external factor might be a need to pay the bills (people gotta eat!). But if my primary reason for decision-making, on my artistic journey, is always about money, then many of my creative and personal needs will go neglected and I’ll eventually get burned out because I’ll be drained instead of fulfilled. It’s certainly a balancing act! But, artistically, I believe the answer will always lie within ourselves.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Artistically, I’m primarily an actor. And two years ago I moved from my hometown of St. Louis, MO to Los Angeles, CA to further pursue an acting career. I wasn’t sure I’d like living in LA, but I came here specifically to study in a two-year Meisner technique program under Ranjiv Perera at The Sanford Meisner Center in Burbank. I knew I *needed* (this word may come up a lot) this particular training because it centers on strengthening your imagination and your emotional command, two areas I knew I needed to improve, particularly deepening my emotional well. And I came to LA, specifically, to train with Ranjiv because I liked his teaching style and knew he would challenge me to push myself.
And he did. And I leaned in…and discovered many things about myself…and learned to accept and even appreciate more of myself. But I’ll tell you what, about midway through year two I got burned the hell out. We were going hard for months, really digging deep into the trenches of the work. And it was great – don’t get me wrong – I learned so much! But what I now realize, is that during that period I wasn’t checking in with myself very often. I was putting my head down, doing the work, and putting almost every other part of my life aside. And I know why.
First of all, I’m a competitive person and I want to be seen (notice the word choices there) as one of the best. But here’s the real nail in the artistic coffin..I put sooo much pressure on how my training would impact my ability to make it as a working professional actor. And both of those ideas do more to make me stiff and closed up rather than allow me to be loose and free with my creativity. They both put so emphasis and power on external forces that they take me away from myself and sharing my unique voice with the world.
And that’s where I currently sit in my artistic journey. I’m in a transitionary period with how I see my artistic self and how I want to cultivate my artistic voice. I’m getting back to focusing on what fulfills me in my artistic pursuits – what I want – rather than trying to be the person and actor I think Producers and Directors will want for their project. I’m not longer doing the “blind hustle” hoping to be selected. I’m now intentional and deliberate with the projects I give my time and energy to. And lately, I’ve been expanding the ways I share my artistic voice – arranging and singing cover songs I create with my acoustic guitar (and sometimes posting them to TikTok and IG). Singing is still an area I’m a little bashful of – I’ve yet to perform for a live audience outside of drunken karaoke – but I’m breaking through that barrier this year with my first open-mic performance.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Healthy Self Talk…is the single most important practice anyone can have in any field they’re in. Many people are their own worst critics (I know I certainly am!), but until we learn to communicate with ourselves from a place of curiosity and compassion instead of judgment and critique, we are not going to be completely open and free to play, experiment, look silly, and be affected by the life in front of us.
2. Removal of ego…can be tough because creating & sharing art is such a vulnerable experience, especially when collaborating with others. The times I’ve been stuck in my Ego, I know I wasn’t able to be fully present and open to the moment or my fellow collaborators, and I undoubtedly missed out on discovering something cool because of it. There’s so much more room for growth and discovery when we operate from a foundation of curiosity instead of defensiveness.
3. Acceptance of Self…might be the most important quality for an artist to have. We all have insecurities about some part of ourselves. In the past, I did my best to protect myself from leaking those insecurities publicly because I was ashamed that I had them in the first place. So I avoided situations that might bring those insecurities out. And oof…you wanna talk about stifling your creativity…well that’s a sure-fire way to do it. So I say face your insecurities! Be gentle with yourself; get curious about them; and accept them as another part of yourself that makes you unique. And once you get to that place, you’ll begin to see the positives of what you once labelled as insecurities…and your creativity will flourish!
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My biggest area of growth has been with the way I think of and speak to myself. Learning to look at myself through the lens of compassion and curiosity rather than judgment and critique. It’s a game-changer!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @claytonbury
- Other: TikTok: @athouzenfaces
Image Credits
1. Douglas Wicker 2. Tuukka Ervasti 3. – 4. Brandon Bordeaux 5. Paul Hibbard 6. Ben Manhanke 7. Douglas Wicker
