Yep I agree, all the traveling, the worry of where your next jobs is coming from. I think it is hard for someone who isnt a actor to understand why we do it. I know for a fact that i would be very sad if I stoped!
When I look around my house and realise I have something in every room that has been bought because of an acting jobs and I even have a beautiful bathroom thanks to my last television commercial. Then I would say acting is very much my job.
However the other day I woke up from a nightmare where I was meant to be on stage, but I couldn't find my costume and when I did it was far too big. Then I put my costume on and ran to the stage and got caught on a book in the wall. Then by the time I got myself free and arrived at this stage, the crew were taking the stage to pieces. And I had well and truly missed my queue. With nightmares like that I think acting must be my passion.
But I certainly don't believe in doing it for no money.
oh i had a weird nightmare last night, i was in a salad making workshop and a girl i went to school with was being picked on and i told everyone about a nickname we used to give her and they started using it and she got upset and killed herself. i was trying to explain to everyone it was only a joke, but nobody was listening to me. they just kept laughing and talking louder so i couldn't even be heard.
nuts.
right.... back to topic. ITS A PASSION!
i don't know what i would do with my life without acting, its all i think about and all i ever want to do.
It is most definately a passion, but if you are lucky, it's both - it's balancing the passion with the cool headedness needed to make it a business. Then it becomes a job too, and hopefully a successful one..............at some point!
You're right but you see I was remembering something former Equity President Harry Landis said at an Annual Representative Conference when we were debating the possibility of a standard student film contract.
I remember him saying something like " the trouble is we love our job so much we sometimes do it for nothing".
Hi, I think that it all starts off being "a passion" until you then rely on the jobs (engagements) to pay your bills, it then becomes a "job" and a very frustrating and potentially a very poorly paid one at that. The problem being that by that time you're so far down the "acting road" both in time, commitment and money that there's nothing else you can realistically do that's different. I think it then becomes, "suffering for your art".
I believe Harry Landis' words were 'Actors love their work so much they would do it for nothing'.
Harry was always making daft statements without thinking of their consequences. That one set the negotiations for pay rises back a long way.
I agree with an actor who said you can't just WANT to do it, you have to NEED to do it. I also felt, when I had a career break because of my children, that it had been like being in an abusive relationship: I gave so much, got so little back, but still went back for more! At my second attempt, I've come to feel that you have to keep the balance between 'passion' and 'job' - yes, I NEED to do it, but I am a professional just like a professional lawyer, doctor, teacher and I refuse to behave any less than professionally, and expect to be treated like a professional, passion or no passion! I suppose it's a vocation, really...
It's both. To get yourself regular work, to make the best contacts in the industry, to hold down a good relationship with an agent, to get your tax payments right at the end of the year, to ensure that you are paid a decent rate for the work you put in - you need to treat acting as a job, like any other...otherwise, you'll soon end up regretting it.
When you are performing, of course, then it has to be treated with passion. Anyone who performs with the attitude 'oh, well, it's only another job,' will not deliver satisfactorily to the audience.
The trick is to keep the passion going while you are slaving away making sure the business side stays afloat.
it takes over you life in a good way. I don't if it is healthy, but I find my life is hold because of my acting. i put it first in most cases, its like my child!!!
It's a passion that occasionally turns into a job!
There does seem to be an awful lot of us that will go through our entire career without even a bit part on the Bill but still call acting our profession. We'll carry on earning less than a bin man each year in temping jobs to put a roof above our heads because we love what we do and refuse to do anything else.
It looks pretty likely to me that I'm never going to get that big break- I just can't see where it would possibly come from; but I carry on putting my own stuff together coz it's the only way I can keep working. And because it's my passion.
Look at most things on the Fringe and I'll bet you that 80% are put on by actors "keeping busy". Profitable (or not) companies paying a wage seem to be in a minority these days and there seems to be a big brick wall that keeps the majority of us out.
OK, this is turning into a rant! End on a positive note...
A very well-known actor/ artistic director that I wrote to a few months ago replied to me not so long ago, responding to my observation that paid jobs seem to be out of reach for most actors, going to a select few that are on the books of certain agents.
He responded that his company regularly change the casting directors they use and go and see both West End and Fringe theatre.
Let's hope for our sake that this still indeed does go on. (and of course I'll be inviting him to the next show I'm in, just to see...)
I agree acting isn't a materialisic job so hey I don't have a lush bathroom! I have a shower that works though! Ha! I think if you don't have any work create your own. That's what i did and i have never been happier! Wait for it.......yes I get paid!
First and foremost it's a passion. I wouldn't put myself through all the torture of temp jobs/not getting the auditon/getting the auditon but not getting the part etc otherwise.
Personally I also classify it as a career choice rather than a just a job and there is a big difference between the two. I've done plenty of "jobs", like "day jobs" like "temping" yeeeuch.
I'm glad that none of you have referred to it as an 'obsession' rather than 'profession'.
I still get 'withdrawal symptoms' when I've not been working for a length of time!
according to the dictionary it is a job as you get paid for it but you need to have a passion for it otherwise we would give up with all the crap that we go through and put up with. But isn't that the same with the majority of jobs don't people do them because they have a passion for them?
I think Leila's right - and that's what makes it a vocation. There are many vocational careers - nursing, teaching, etc - and those nurses and teachers will also tell you they put up with a lot of crap but wouldn't do anything else. And as we mere mortals think of them as professionals - let's not forget we are too! And is it just a thought that's striking me - but are many of the other vocational careers those traditionally chosen by women? Does that say something - or is that a new discussion? Hmmm...
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