A-Z of Acting. W is for...

Work and woes...


I have been an absolute nightmare to live with this week. I have been tired, grumpy, and unbearable, all because of this crazy thing I call a career.

Last week had been fantastic. I had had six glorious days of acting,including two performances, and despite having to work my normal person job on the Sunday, I was feeling pretty darned happy.
As I left work on Sunday evening, I briefly glanced at the rotas but didn’t really check them properly. I got home and a niggle in the back of my head told me that I was working on the Monday. I checked my diary for what dates I had written down to work, and Monday wasn’t a scheduled work day. Something still told me that the rota might have changed so with a heavy heart I set my alarm early, just so that I could be awake in case my boss rang me to ask me where I was. It only takes me ten minutes to walk there so it wouldn’t be a problem.

I awoke early and began doing my mundane jobs around the house, with my phone in hand waiting for the call but heard nothing. Result, no work for me! I carried on with my day until I couldn’t go on any longer. It got to around 2pm before I finally gave in to my body and had to go back to bed. And I didn’t just have my usual cat-nap curled up on my bed basking in the sunshine, this was a full get back into bed and sleep like you’ve never slept before sleep! I was absolutely exhausted! I had really been looking forward to having two outdoor jobs this summer but it’s really taken it out of me!

Tuesday came, and I was back at work. I had a lovely greeting from my colleagues, before one of them asked “and where were you yesterday?” Oops! Maybe I should have phoned my boss to double check! Oh well! I had a fairly short day at work, but it still didn’t stop me wishing I was performing far far away. I just couldn’t get the show out of my mind. It was infuriating knowing that I wouldn’t get to do the play again until Saturday, and Saturday seemed a very long way away.

I got home exhausted yet again, and had the typical conversation with my mum that happens far more often than I want. Apparently I snapped at her when I answered her question, so she asked why I was being that way. I told her I was tired, to get the usual response of “we’ll I suppose we’re ntit then? You’re not the only one that works you know.”

This normally makes me storm out of the room in a rage but I was too exhausted to even breathe properly. I’ve been joking around with people when they ask me why I’m looking so tired at the moment, and I laugh it off by saying that I have a very emotional journey in the play. Now this is true, but I don’t think people realise how tiring acting is sometimes. I admit that I don’t have any scenes where I have to run about like a mad woman in this play, but a huge scene of mone is incredibly emotional, and getting through it twice a day sobbing doesn’t make you feel like bouncing around the room afterwards, I’m just ready for a nice sit down to be honest.

Aduded to that is the fact that we’re performing outside in crazy temperatures (finally) and you’ve got a load of tired actors on your hands.
My normal person job is pretty much one of the easiest jobs that I’ve ever had, but still, it’s pretty tiring being blasted by the sun all day, and having to deal with moaning children and parents. I’m not much of an outdoorsy person, so I’m really being tested at the moment!

My other reason for being such a grumpy arsehole all week was to do with the fact that I don’t know where my next acting job will come from, if there will be one at all. On Monday I wrote to more agents asking for representation, and got on all of the casting websites that I could find to apply for jobs, and have heard nothing. This is the norm for me, but this time it’s really getting to me. I’m blaming my Claudio slightly for this one! He’s fresh out of drama school, landed this job, has got a tour starting in September, and today had an audition for something at the Edinburgh fringe. It seems like he’s getting everything and I’m still stuck in my neverending pool of despair. Of course it helps him that he’s tall, young, chiselled and attractive, whereas I’m getting on a bit, podgy, and not really on the side of prettiness. But surely there must be something out there for me!!
I need to start creating more of my own opportunities, but I just don’t have the money to do anything either, it’s so frustrating,

The rest of the week passed in an angry blur, more shifts outside, but thankfully short days. Friday arrived and I actually woke up in a very good mood! Friday meant that it was almost Saturday, and Saturday was show day! Friday also happened to be Bastille day, so work was heaving with children, more than it had been all week. They were all there to learn stuff, but they also got to go on all of the rides for free.
We had been closing at 4 all week so I was expecting the same on Friday, and by 3.40, I had no queue on my ride and I started packing away things that I didn’t need any more. Then we got to 3.55, and a huge crowd of children made their way into the arena and straight to where I was stood. I was gutted. Obviously I had to serve them, but I was not happy about it.

To rub it in my face even more, the ride I was on is the only ride that has music playing, and just as they arrived in the queue, ‘Boys of Summer’ began to play. Normally this wouldn’t bother me, but that song is the opening music to our Much Ado and there was nothing I wanted more than to be performing it right at that second. Bloody kids!

I got through it, and through my three hour dance rehearsal that night, got home, washed my hair, fake tanned, and sank into bed thoroughly tired but excited for the next day.

And what a day it was! Absolute glorious sunshine all day long. I enjoyed my drive to our venue, my windows were wide open, I had the radio blasting, all was well!
I was so excited to see my fellow cast mates too. I get close to people when I do shows, and I had missed them a lot. I was the last to arrive, bang on time but still, the last one. That never happens!! We were shown to our dressing room and then we began. We did a speed run of the show just to remind ourselves of what we were actually doing, and as a reminder of our entrances and exits, as we had only rehearsed there for one day. It was a stunning venue, and I couldn’t wait to get started. After the speed run we still had quite a bit of time before the show started so Jacon and I had a little sunbathe and chatter before it got too hot.

And hot it got. The first performance started at 2pm, right in the middle of the hottest part of the day. It was hideous. I was thankful that I was only wearing a thin white summer dress, but I was still melting. The boys must have been drowning, they wear big old boots and army clothing, I felt sorry for them. Hero and Claudio weren’t particularly hands-on during that performance either! It was too hot to even touch each other, so we had to make do with attempting to gaze lovingly at each other. Unfortunately the sun was so bright that we were squinting at each other the whole time and were definitely not attractive to each other in the slightest!!

I had a feeling all day that I had forgotten something, but couldn’t put my finger on what it was until the final scene, where I realised that a vital prop that sits in my bra wasn’t there. I was mortified, but there was nothing I could do. Still, I’d done it now,I wouldn’t cock anything else up that day, right?

We had a nice long three hour break between shows, so four of us headed into Sharnbrook, the village where we were performing, and I had a cheeky ice cream, before heading back and lounging about in the gardens again and being entertained by Bella, the house puppy.

Thankfully the temperature dropped significantly for the evening performance, so normal service resumed. We had lots of people turning up on the door that hadn’t booked, and one woman even climbed the fence to get in once the show had started! We had a good number of audience so we were very happy indeed. I thought that everything was going well for me until about a third of the way in, when I realised that I was wearing the wrong shoes! At least I remembered my bra prop this time, so I think I managed to get away with it. The show was very well received by everyone, and I headed to the pub with the boys afterwards for a cheeky glass before heading home.

The heat had absolutely drained me, and although I got home quite early, just after 10.30, I climbed straight into bed and almost instantly fell asleep. Almost. My eyes were just about to close when there was an almighty bang and a fizzing sound in the middle of the room. I sprang out of bed to get the light, to discover that the bottle of Lucozade that I had taken with me had exploded. My bedroom rug had turned into a pink pond. I mopped it up and got back into bed, ready to face another day at work. It had been a fabulous day, I just wished it could have been longer.

I woke up yesterday to the full extent of my Lucozade massacre. It was everywhere. All over my tv, walls, bookshelf, it was literally like a fizzy bomb had gone off in my room. I had to leave it and go to work. It was another crazily hot day, and it dragged more than any other day has dragged there so far. I had to drag myself around the ride, it was too much of an effort to walk, the sun was unrelenting. I don’t know how I made it to the end of the day it I got home and had a nap on a sun chair in the garden before a well deserved barbecue!

And here we are, back to Monday again. It really is my day off today, my room is drink free, and I’ve applied for more jobs that I won’t get a reponse from. Back to normal it is. Still, only four more days to get through before the next show day. Wish me luck...

nxx