Money.
Money. What a glorious thing to have. I like money. I just don't have any. Well, I have a few pounds now, but it's hardly enough to get me anywhere.
Acting is a strange career choice. Apart from the fact that you just pretend to be other people all day, I think it's one of the very few careers out there where you have to spend money to earn money. It's all so expensive!
For people to notice you, they have to see your photo. This means having good headshots. I'm getting new headshots taken this Friday, after spending too many years shoving out the old ones. I'm heading down to London to have them taken so that I can get them done by someone well respected and known, rather than taking the risk of counting on someone who might not have done them before and ending up with something awful. I'm paying over £100 for the headshot session, add to that my train fare and petrol money and that's a significant dent in my already low funds.
My casting website of choice costs around £150 for a year, and that's just one website that I use.
Then of course there's travel costs should you use the casting websites, have your headshots seen and manage to get an audition. I've travelled up and down the country to some very random places in the hope of getting work, and most of the time you get rejected. That's a whole day and another handful of money that's just gone.
It's a neverending circle of money draining.
Now of course I have my normal person job to do at weekends. Thankfully that cropped up when it did, and I've been able to afford my headshots this week. I get paid every week from it, which is good, but also bad as I'm terrible for spending money when I shouldn't. I'm trying my best to save up for acting things, but the temptation of buying things is just too strong, and people keep inviting me out for things! I think I need to go into hiding for a while!
I was concerned that I might lose my normal person job over the summer. I've been offered a Shakespeare job, and I wasn't sure whether it would fit in with my job, and I might have to give it up, as obviously, acting comes first. But then what I do for cash once the acting was over? I'd have to go back to the job centre with my tail between my legs and get rejected for help because I left my job for a reason that wouldn't be valid to them. I can't face that. Luckily I spoke to my manager and it looks like everything should work out just fine. I'll probably be the most tired person in town, but at least I can still get some cash in, as well as doing the job that I love. (Acting. Not rollercoaster operating.)
I'm off to play around with some scenes from the Shakespeare play tomorrow, which I am very excited about indeed. I'll be back to work with a fantastic group of ridiculously talented creative people and I can't wait. As nice as the people in my normal person job are, there's a certain feeling you get when you work with creative people that makes you feel brilliant. Maybe it's because we're all so poor that we do crazy things to try and forget it! But who needs money when you can create fantastic drama for other people to enjoy?
That's what it's all about! I wouldn't do anything else...
Nxxx
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