Kal Doshi

This week we get to learn more about one of the leaders of Actors InC, Kal Doshi. He is not a full time actor but has a passion for improv and movies. He finds motivation amongst his peers, has many goals in life, and feels weird when he talks about himself (no wonder he’s not an actor!). Lets find out more:

Tell Us A Little About Yourself: I was born in India, raised in Jersey, and matured in New York. I have an Engineering degree from Rutgers and I work as an engineer in telecommunications. I didn’t find improv and acting until just a couple of years ago and I fell in love with it almost immediately. Now I just have to figure out a way to make a career out of it, easier said then done!

Who are your major influences? Its cliche, but it has to be family and friends, people close to me. My older brother was always an influence. I’ve also been lucky enough to find some great friends along the way who inspire me and motivate me to become a better person, including the Actors InC gang!

What is an ultimate goal in your career? I have no idea. Correction, I have too many ideas and I don’t know which one is right. So I will keep my head down and keep focus on all the ideas until one stands out and becomes the clear choice.

How has Actors InC made a difference for you? Besides making some great new friends, it has helped me loosen up and become comfortable with the auditioning process and with speaking in public. It is truly a safe place to practice your craft and experiment with new ideas.

What was one of your favorite jobs and least favorite jobs? Favorite job was working at the movie theater in high school. We got to watch all the new movies the night before they came out in a private screening and it was one of the last times I remember being truly carefree. My least favorite job was working at a filing warehouse in college. I drove around a forklift, which was fun, but it was mundane and I felt like I became dumber after working there. Luckily, the job didn’t last long because I got fired after accidentally dropping an expensive piece of equipment from 50 ft up.

What lesson can you share with us that you’ve learned over the years? There are two. The most important is realizing that it’s never too late to start. That holds true for anything but for me it was related to improv. I was 28 when I googled improv classes and I kept thinking its too late for me to start something completely new. I’m glad I didn’t listen to myself and started doing something I truly enjoy. The second lesson is to set goals (although this contradicts my answer for my ‘ultimate goal’). But setting small goals along the way forces you to make decisions instead of just thinking about making decisions. For example, I set a goal for myself at 25 to have a specific salary by the time I was 30. But I knew I wouldn’t get there with my job at the time. So I quit and ended up taking a lower paying job which had a bigger growth opportunity. I was able to achieve my goal 8 months after I turned 30. If I didn’t set a goal, I would have never taken that step back to make a leap forward.

What would you like people to know about you? This is the most I’ve talked about myself at one time and I feel a little weird about it.

Is there anything else you would like to add? I have a lot of respect for people pursuing their dreams against what sometimes seem to be impossible odds. Most of us don’t have the patience or the strong stomach for it. I get very happy when someone finds success in what they love to do.

Meet Kal at Actors InC on Thursday nights or find him on facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/kalpan.doshi