The Money Trap

You may have noticed in a few of my previous blogs, such as Serious Actors Take Classes, that I really dislike lazy actors.  But, I know there are other reasons why actors may not be taking classes or be prepared for their auditions.  Sometimes life gets in the way. 

One thing that always pops up is money or the lack of it.  The rent and bills are always there needing to be paid and the truth is that you won't audition well if you're worried about how you're going to eat this week.  You need money and most of you are not making enough from your acting career alone. 

The number one solution to this problem would be to find a sugar daddy/momma.  But, for those of us who don't have the ... um ... assets required to get a sugar-something we are stuck having to find a survival job.  

Then life happens - your car breaks down or you get sick and suddenly that survival job you got so you could go to auditions and classes gets in the way of doing those very things.  You've lost sight of why you even came to LA in the first place and instead of acting you are living your life shift to shift in a crappy job you probably could be doing back home.  You've become too busy living whatever life you've built for yourself instead of pursuing your dream. 

Not long ago I went to a Q&A with the cast of The Office.  John Krasinski talked about his life as a struggling actor in NYC.  He said he would always take any acting opportunity offered to him, whether it be a film or a staged reading or a play, no matter what, even if it meant walking out in the middle of a restaurant shift.  If they fired him he would just find another job.  It sounds harsh but I think he had his priorities right.

I know you need money to live and that jobs are hard to find right now.  But, you have to prioritize what's important.  Money is important, but in my experience you can survive on less than you think.  Don't get stuck defined by your survival job because you're so busy working that you've forgotten to follow your dreams.