You may have heard the axiom, “If you can imagine yourself doing anything other than acting, do it.” Often, it is not offered in the attempt to discourage you, rather to ask you to consider if you have the perseverance to weather the storms this career will throw at you.
Let’s consider two ways to look at this question:
- Can you imagine anything else you can do as a career that will make you happy?
- What else can you do to earn money that is not acting?
To answer the first, consider what is important to you, and what those things cost. What would a reasonable salary be for you, to live the kind of life you want to live, where you want to live it? If you discover that stability and creature comforts are very important to you, perhaps acting is not the path you will be happiest traveling. That is not to say you cannot work in this industry, but maybe you would be happier with the stability of a job in arts administration, or even in technical theatre. Both of those areas have more job stability than acting.
As you continue to ponder the first question, is there something else that you are excited about that would fulfill you professionally? Sometimes, as much as we love acting, relying on it to feed and clothe us puts a kind of pressure on the process of acting that sucks the joy from it. I’ve seen this happen to many people who left professional acting so that they could act only when they wanted to – and found great contentment from that switch.
Do not be discouraged. This career will buffet you with storms, but once the storm clouds have passed, there will be blue skies. This week, pretend acting is truly not an option and be curious about what comes up to answer the question, “What else can you do besides acting?”
Next week, we’ll look at the second question.
Study with Me
Now is the time to be preparing audition material for fall auditions!
I have a few spots left in my Individual Acting Lessons, as well as in the 4-Week Acting Masterclass. I also have half-day workshops in September and October specially designed to prepare the teen theatre actor for the most common audition: the monologue audition. Contact me if you live outside the Louisville, Kentucky, area and would like to bring the workshops to your community, or coach with me via Skype.