I cringe whenever I hear the words “struggling actor” or “starving artist.” The implication that to be an artist you have to starve, or that unless you have a star on Hollywood and Vine you are “struggling” is bogus! Looking at it from the outside, a theatre actor’s life and career can seem crazy, but struggling and starving are definitely not the way to stay sane in this wacky business.
When I met my agent, Jim Flynn, he asked me if I had a solid means of support and someone I could talk to regularly about my career and my life. He wasn’t being nosy. He knows how destructive and counterproductive the struggling actor myth is, and that actors with a positive support system are happier, saner, and ultimately more successful.
Asking whether I had someone to talk to wasn’t Jim’s way of suggesting I needed therapy! But he knows how rough this business can be, and that having someone to talk to who understands that is invaluable. Easier said than done. Most people (i.e. our families or friends from home), though they love us dearly, simply don't understand what it is to live life as an artist. Building and nurturing a group of supportive, positive friends and mentors, and sometimes even talking to a professional – a councilor or therapist – can all be an important part of the sane actor’s life.
Nowhere is it set in stone that to be an artist you have to starve! The life of an artist doesn’t necessarily mean struggling from paycheck to paycheck, but it likely will mean having dozens more jobs (acting or otherwise) throughout our careers than most folks. Filling in the gaps of your employment means finding a day job, preferably something flexible. Tutoring, catering, real estate, personal training, ushering–the list of jobs actors turn to is endless. But the best jobs don’t just provide income, they are also fulfilling on some level, either personally or professionally. Soul-sucking day jobs really aren’t worth it. Hating such a large part of your life takes a lot of emotional energy, and that negativity will bleed into the rest of your life sooner of later. Complaining about your job snowballs into complaining about your life, and how you feel about what you do can easily infect how you feel about yourself. If you find yourself in this situation, find another job! Not the easiest advice in a tight economy, but actors are smart, skilled, resourceful and flexible–you will find something better, and then realize how much more energy you have for your real passion! And if you can find something that puts you in the world of the theatre– usher, dresser, concessions, coaching or teaching–you’ll surround yourself with your dream!
The need to share our gifts, to use the talents we've been given to make a better world, to entertain, to create magical illusions out of nothing but our imaginations is a profound part of who we are. But don’t let anyone tell you that you have to starve to do it!
