There are real highs and lows when you’re a actor.
The first thing most people think of when you say the word ‘actor’ is Hollywood. For the majority of actors, the reality is minimum wages, long hours and sore feet… and that’s just the lucky ones who managed to land work.
Acting is the only profession where human beings can be sorted into age, sex, size, colour or even how tall they are. (Disneyland only employs people of certain sizes so they can fit into the costumes.) And you are not just trying to impress the casting couch, you are also fighting against everyone else in the room. There are no cameras, no bonding games and usually no refreshments, you are there to act your ass off in the hopes your face fits and you’re better than everyone else there.
So why do people get into acting if it’s so cut-throat? I can’t speak for everyone, but for me acting was what I was born to do. I am a natural performer, I wrote and produced my first play aged eleven and I shine on stage or camera. The feeling when I am given the chance to perform is exhilarating – it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s not about the fame and it’s certainly not about the money – it’s about me expressing myself, bringing to life a character from the pages of a script and proving to myself and the audience that I am bloody good at it.
When you’ve got work, everything is great. You’re in a profession you really love and you’re getting paid to do it; but unlike any other career, most jobs don’t last long. Unless you land a soap or attend Hogwarts, you’re pretty much scrambling for work at every opportunity.
I had just come back after a six month theatre world tour . As soon as my feet landed back on British soil, I was looking for work. There are many avenues an actor can apply for jobs and you have to exploit them all to even get a chance at being noticed. But nothing is free in this business; all our job sites are paid sites and if you’re not a member, you don’t get work. The Stage is where every actor starts, then a profile on Casting Call Pro and once you’ve got at least three paid jobs under your belt – you need your Equity card. Once you have the money, you need to invest in Spotlight. Spotlight is a massive database of actors and a lot of companies still search for actors through their books and online site. It costs over £200 a year and comes out as one lump sum. It is a lot of money especially when you’re starting out, but you will need a Spotlight account if you want to get an agent.
I actually got quite a bit of work when I lived in Leeds and I had naively thought that moving to London would be even more lucrative for a jobbing actor. I was so wrong. There are literally thousands of actors in London, all of them applying for the same roles as each other and many as talented as the next. The problem is, there just aren’t enough jobs in the city for every actor. A lot of us end up working soulless jobs in the interim; bar tender, waiter, call centre operative… I lucked out, I got a casual job as an usher at a West End theatre. It wasn’t acting, but it paid the bills, gave me the time off for auditions and I spent every night in a theatre, albeit cleaning up the spilled drinks.
Auditions. I’m sure a lot of the ‘Pop-Factor-On-Ice’ viewers think auditions look fun and exciting. At times they can be, but more often than not they are tiring, brutal and utterly soul destroying. Casting agents, directors – hell even the production assistants already have an idea of who they want to star in their projects before you even walk through the door. If you’re face doesn’t fit you don’t have a cat in hell’s chance – no matter how talented you are.
Acting is the only profession where human beings can be sorted into age, sex, size, colour or even how tall they are. (Disneyland only employs people of certain sizes so they can fit into the costumes.) And you are not just trying to impress the casting couch, you are also fighting against everyone else in the room. There are no cameras, no bonding games and usually no refreshments, you are there to act your ass off in the hopes your face fits and you’re better than everyone else there.Now imagine doing that ten, twenty or even fifty times a year!
I even auditioned to work at the London Dungeons. It was terrible money, long hours and only a three month contract. Apparently the actors burn out after three months and so they have a large turn-around of staff. And the worst thing? I didn’t even get it! And I know I rocked at that audition!
So let’s say your face does fit, you won over the casting couch and you were better than everyone else. (Even that one guy who told everyone he was trained at The RADA as if that automatically made him the best.) Congratulations! All that work has paid off and you are now a professional actor. Just remember that jobs never last long; it could only be for a few hours or a couple of days on location. Even if you land a theatre tour or the chorus of a West End show, in a few months time you’re gonna need work again, and that means back to the auditions.
But whatever work you get, it keeps building up that all important resume. The more experience you have the more professional you will look on paper and be in your auditions. Student film makers are always looking out for free labour. A lot of people won’t touch these as there is no pay – but I say go for it. All your expenses are paid for, it’s another project to add to your CV and with the footage you can put together a showreel. With everyone being on social media, get a blog going, take photos on location and upload them to Tumblr and tweet everything you’re doing. It might just be your Facebook friends and Mum to begin with, but the more networking you do the more industry contacts you’ll make. People will started checking out your pages to see what you’ve done, who you have worked with and who knows, maybe even job offers!
So why do people get into acting if it’s so cut-throat? I can’t speak for everyone, but for me acting was what I was born to do. I am a natural performer, I wrote and produced my first play aged eleven and I shine on stage or camera. The feeling when I am given the chance to perform is exhilarating – it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s not about the fame and it’s certainly not about the money – it’s about me expressing myself, bringing to life a character from the pages of a script and proving to myself and the audience that I am bloody good at it.Keep going, acting is awesome and there really is no other business like it!
#TerryGee