The performance industry can feel like a wide, lonely ocean. When we\u2019re working, it feels like we’ve hopped onto a luxury cruise liner; we can barely feel the boat rocking. When a job ends, it\u2019s as if we\u2019ve been thrown overboard. We\u2019re adrift, fighting the waves, paddling frantically towards any boats or islands we can find. With this in mind, I want to offer some advice for anyone trying to stay afloat in the industry.<\/p>\n
The good news is, as an out-of-work actor, you\u2019re not alone. The bad news is, unless you\u2019ve got a family fortune or are dating a sugar daddy\/mama, you’ll need some part-time work, a day job, a side gig. If you already have part-time work, then you need to work to maintain it. This side gig is your financial life-ring and ensures that you have enough cash to keep your artistic and creative dreams alive. It may at times feel uncomfortable and awkward, but sometimes it\u2019s the only thing holding you above the water.<\/p>\n
Working side gigs can take a toll, especially those involving long hours. You might feel like you\u2019re not chasing your dream hard enough. However, steady employment can provide security, purpose, and stability in an otherwise unstable life.<\/p>\n
Chance plays a huge part in our careers, and we must be ready to seize any unexpected opportunities. The best advice I can offer here is to:\u00a0\u2018<\/strong>Make firm plans, but keep them flexible\u2019. This means that you need a side gig that can accommodate a sudden change in availability. Evening work keeps daytimes free for auditions\/workshops. Working in theatre venues, e.g. ushering or bar work, is a great way to maintain contact with the industry and stay up to date with new productions. For those who prefer daytime work, it\u2019s a little trickier, but drawing from your skills and thinking outside the box can bear great results. A lot of people end up going freelance in other creative fields like blogging, photography or personal training.<\/p>\n This is not for everyone, and if you are employed within a company, you should be open and honest with employers about your performance work and give managers as much notice as possible about auditions. It\u2019s worthwhile to be diligent and hardworking and build up a good relationship with bosses. They may cut you some slack if you get a last-minute casting call.<\/p>\n One day you\u2019ll get the message from your agent… that big show, the one you auditioned for, the one you really wanted. They\u2019re offering you the part – it\u2019s a sure thing. HOORAY! Quick! March up to your manager and tell them they can shove their job right up their\u2026\u00a0DON\u2019T!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Unfortunately, in our career there are no \u2018sure things\u2019. Unless you\u2019ve signed a contract, you haven\u2019t got the job. Even then, things can still fall apart. Funding can disappear, investors can pull out, and sadly, last minute re-castings have been known to happen. This can be devastating but keeping a steady head when offered performing work can limit your financial and emotional risk. Good part-time work with a decent wage is worth holding on to, right up until the last minute. You may have to return to it sooner than you think. You don\u2019t want to throw away your life-ring and discover that your cruise ship has hit an iceberg before it even left harbour.<\/p>\n There are people who continue working their side-gigs even while they\u2019re on West End contracts. Partly because of the extra cash, but often because it is a job they care about. Search for jobs you will enjoy, you want to be good at and that potentially offer personal satisfaction.<\/p>\n Many people stay in touch with the performing arts and are happily working as drama teachers, children\u2019s entertainers and\u00a0corporate role-players<\/a>, but these jobs don\u2019t suit everyone. Others get great satisfaction from working in bars, caf\u00e9s and care homes, others even like writing advice articles for Spotlight.com ;-). However, from experience I can tell you performers go through side-gigs like Goldilocks goes through porridge. Some are too hot, some are too cold, but hopefully we\u2019ll eventually find a job that\u2019s JUUUUST RIGHT! That being said there\u2019s plenty of folks out there working miserable jobs all their lives anyway, so again\u2026 you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n Never think that having a day job is a sign of failure, especially when someone asks the dreaded question \u2018What are you doing now?\u2019 You become embarrassed, ashamed. You regret decisions, worry about approval, think of ways to validate yourself as a performer.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t. Just don\u2019t. The only person who needs to approve is you. If you work your side-gig with dignity and integrity and derive personal satisfaction from it, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, you\u2019re not planning to work here forever! You may be wearing a tacky fast-food uniform now, but inside of you, is the bright, burning passionate soul of an artist like Shakespeare, Olivier, or Madonna. Yeah\u2026 I said it.<\/p>\n Having a side gig doesn\u2019t stop you from being artistic and creative. Ever heard the saying, \u2018Art reflects life\u2019? A side gig can show us perspectives on life that we might not have experienced otherwise.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re working in a supermarket, call centre or secret government laboratory, every new experience is an opportunity for creative research. Keep your creative sensitivities alive by actively observing and noticing the details of your surroundings, situations, customers and colleagues. How do they walk? Talk? Move? Behave? What are their stories? Write a story about a regular customer in the restaurant. Imagine the juicy conversations colleagues have on smoke breaks. What about that girl who was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar when you met her? Or the boy who works in Starbucks, and is very inspirational…Taylor, the latte boy, who brings you java and brings you joy?<\/p>\n This \u2018use it as research\u2019 idea may seem a bit weak, but consider: John Cleese based Basil Fawlty on a real-life hotel manager. Robert De Niro drove a taxi for a few weeks in preparation for the movie \u2018Taxi Drive<\/em>r\u2019. Hugh Jackman went from being a P.E. teacher to being Wolverine. That\u2019s quite a transformation, and I do not doubt that his early lesson plans helped shape the workouts that got him that super-hot bod and those ridiculous abs. So, you never know how these experiences will help you creatively later on in life.<\/p>\n Low wages and long hours are things we sometimes accept in the pursuit of our dreams. However, make sure you don\u2019t sacrifice too much of yourself for a day job that isn\u2019t worth it. Regularly take stock of your situation. Make sure that the side gig is working for you, and at the very least, providing you with enough cash to get by. Ensure that you are getting some kind of satisfaction or happiness from it because if a job is killing your soul and barely making ends meet, then the life-ring is not keeping you up, but dragging you down. It\u2019s scary because quitting could leave you in the same emotional misery, with less financial security.<\/p>\n The only solutions I can offer at times like these are for you to take a breath, get some rest and talk to people. Touch base with friends. Check in with family. Get back in touch with school pals. Make friends at work. Start a new hobby or rediscover an old one. Get in touch with fellow performers through Spotlight or social media. Sometimes the performance industry feels like a wide, empty ocean, but whether we have a life ring or not, we need to remember that we\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n If you are out there now and looking for side gigs and day jobs, I recommend you begin here at Spotlight\u2019s Contact Listings of Non Acting Jobs<\/a> , which includes only employers who offer ongoing paid non-acting work. Then progress to sites like\u00a0ArtsJobs,<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Indeed<\/a><\/u>,\u00a0Reed<\/a><\/u>,\u00a0totaljobs<\/a><\/u>\u00a0and\u00a0Airtasker<\/u><\/a>\u00a0for one-off opportunities.<\/p>\n Also, check in with your local borough or town council; they sometimes share vacancies for work in nearby organisations. If you need to talk to someone about mental and emotional well-being, then please check Mind<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0ArtsMinds<\/a>, both of which are open online sources of information and support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John Currivan talks us through the importance of the side-gig – and how to make sure it helps keep you afloat between acting jobs! The performance industry can feel like a wide, lonely ocean. When we\u2019re working, it feels like we’ve hopped onto a luxury cruise liner; we can barely feel the boat rocking. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":2742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[68,82,47],"class_list":["post-1443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-self-employment","tag-finances-legal","tag-first-person","tag-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPursue Your Side-Gig with Passion<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Use Your Day Job for Research<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Look After Yourself and Stay in Touch<\/strong><\/h3>\n