WHAT IS YOUR JOB

Many actors start out there careers much the same way they approached their education:

They think, “If I play by the rules, and be a good little soldier, I’ll move up in the world.  I’ll get an agent, audition for jobs, and get my first Oscar by the time I’m twenty-five.”

Sure, it happens that way for some lucky souls, but it simply can’t fall so easily into place for all of us.

Some young actors are not going to get work immediately.  When these actors find that things aren’t working out the way they had envisioned, they can get disheartened, and quit acting altogether.

A couple of years after I moved to Los Angeles I got a call from a dear friend I went to high school with.  She was a very pretty girl, who had excelled in theater in our hometown.  Not only was she involved in our high school’s theater program, but she would also get big roles at the amateur theaters in our town.  She went on to get a theater degree from a fantastic program, and now, she was calling me to say she was moving to Los Angeles to follow her dream to make it in film.

Once she arrived, she got settled into an apartment, and got a job waiting tables.

Only a couple of months later I received another call from her.  She said, “I’m leaving Los Angeles.  I don’t want to be an actress anymore.  It doesn’t make me happy.”

I was shocked.  I replied, “Well, what have you done since you got here?”

“I’ve sent my picture everywhere and gone on every audition I could find in the paper,” she said.

And within a week she was gone, never to pursue acting again.

So, what happened?

Her words echoed in my ears:

“I don’t want to be an actor anymore.  It doesn’t make me happy.”

Well, of course she wasn’t happy.  She hadn’t BEEN acting. 

She got “acting” confused with “trying to get a job.” Since she arrived she had been behaving as a “professional resume sender-outer”.   And I guarantee you, that is not what she was put here on earth to do.

Of course she wasn’t happy.

She had forgotten that what she wanted to do was to act, not to try to book jobs.  Booking jobs was something her ego was interested in.  Perhaps her ego wanted to prove to her family that she had made the right choice in being an actress.  Or perhaps she needed to prove it to herself. 

She didn’t realize that she had much more power than she was aware of.   No one can keep you from doing what you love.

Do you need to have an acting job to be an actor? 

No. 

If you want to act, then act. 

There are many ways to do it.  You can get a group of friends together and read plays aloud in your apartment.  You could even rent a space a put up a production.

I have found that by doing something, you create more of it in your life.  So when you go out and just “do it”, you start a ball rolling, and things begin to happen for you.

No one can keep you from doing what you are here on earth to do.

So what are you here on earth to do?  What is your “purpose”. Because this is meant to be read by actors, chances are good that it’s something connected with the art of creating and performing.

If you’re not sure exactly how to put it into words, here’s a good hint: You’ve been doing it all along.  Practically since childhood, you’ve been actively involved in your purpose. 

It is simple to know what your purpose is.  It is what makes you happy, and when you are actively involved in it, you are energized and joyful.

For me, I label my purpose as “A Joyful Creator.”  Acting fits into that category, as does writing, directing, etc.

Well, no one can keep me from being “a joyful creator”.

Isn’t that terrific news!  You can do what you are here on earth to do, which is what brings you joy, for the rest of your life!

You may not make a living doing it.  But here’s some good news.  If you are truly doing what you are meant to be doing, and you work on it (doing what you love never really feels like work) chances are extremely high that you will be able to make a living off it eventually.

And if that doesn’t happen right away, the universe does not frown upon you getting a side job to fund your true pursuit.  The universe respects that.  You are doing what you need to do in order to follow your dream.

People get so caught up in needing “the job”.  They think, “I need an acting job, because my finances are low.”  So get a part-time job at a grocery store.  You’re never going to starve.  You may not be able to buy all the things you think you want, but you’re not going to starve.

Which brings up the question, do I want to live an artist’s life?  Some people eventually realize that they want a life with more structure, and a job with more dependability.  They don’t want to be “chasing rainbows”.  I get that.

My hometown friend, the actress who left L.A., ended up going back to school and is now a bona fide lawyer!  She’s doing very well. 

A lot of people will say, “If there’s another profession besides acting that you could be happy doing, do it!”  Maybe that’s true.  Only you know for sure.

However, if you know in your heart that acting is what you want, then keep at it. 

I know an actor who had been trying for years to get work, and still had trouble even getting an audition.  So you know what he did?   He just bypassed the whole entire system and created his own work.

He had begun selling Tupperware in drag in order to pay his bills.  This certainly doesn’t sound like something one would necessarily think could help an actor’s career.  Nonetheless, he enjoyed it, and was passionate about it.  He was good at it, and he became very popular due to his funny and fresh approach.  He wrote a one-man show about his experience, and now it’s about to be produced Off-Broadway.  He’s going to have his own, one-man Off Broadway show!

Look at that.  There’s more than one way to get somewhere.

The industry is full of stories like this one.

So SCREW the rules…Just do it!

It brings to mind a story by Dale Dauten, from his book TAKING CHANCES. Here it is an abbreviated version:

There once was a young man who went out into the world to seek his fortune.

He wandered for many days, until he saw in the distance a grand mansion upon a hill, with a long line of people waiting to get in.

So he got in line and waited.

The young man waited and waited but the line did not seem to move.

“What do you do here to pass the time?” asked the young man.

“Worry,” replied the woman in front of him.

Time passed, and at last the young man could wait no longer and his legs carried him away.

He noticed that as he moved forward along the line, the people were older and older.

He saw some birds flying and, with nothing else to do, he followed in their direction, walking along a fence.

He had been walking awhile when he saw the end of the fence come into view. It stopped near the back door of the mansion. There he found the door open. His heart leaping into his throat, he walked inside.

“Welcome!” a dozen voices said in unison. “Come in, come in,” they were all saying.

He sat. “Welcome home!” one said, squeezing the young man’s hand.

“I can stay?” he asked.

“Of course. You’ve arrived.”

“But what about those in line?”

“They will wait.”