I got new rules, I count 'em

I took about a half of a year off from contributing to this blog. Things started popping up everywhere. Life things. Sometimes it was stuff that I wanted to give my attention to, like playwriting. That’s not to say those other things were more important than the blog, just more immediate at that time.

A Career Coach friend of mine is a big supporter of the idea of “being of service”. That means being open to the possibility that something you know or something you have will be beneficial to someone other than yourself. And you are willing to share it.

Lately, I’ve had an overwhelming number of friends and colleagues decide to get back into show Business or to start actively pursuing a career in the Performing Arts. Some of them have turned to me for guidance. So, I have put finger to keyboard and started blogging again...to be of service. I’ve decided to start with ten things an actor needs to be aware of during their career.

The obvious place to start is the fact that YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS WILL BE TESTED.

There are so many things an actor does in any given day, week, month, year. Some of which are considered normal activities, like going to work. Issues start to arise when that “work” isn’t in the arts field of their choice. We’re talking “day jobs”. Having a day job that allows an actor to audition freely, and allows them to take leave to perform (and then return) is a rarity. If you find a job like that, keep it. Forever. Because a lot of places won’t even consider hiring actors, even restaurants.

That means if an actor is like ninety percent of the other actors working towards getting a performing gig, they have to plan auditions around a work schedule. Which, for Equity actors can be quite difficult. (More on Equity auditions in another blog). It’s a bit easier if you have an agent, but then there’s more pressure. If an agent gets an actor an audition, and it can’t be rescheduled, that actor has a choice. Go to the audition and miss work, or bag the audition and go to work. Either way, someone is going to be pissed. And the actor is the one who loses out.

An actor also has to factor into their scheduling the myriad of acting classes, voice lessons, dance classes, gym time and upkeep on any special hirable skills they may have (for example Tuba playing). On top of that, add in the other mundane things humans need to do: laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, and showering. The hours just get eaten away.

A working actor has to focus on the task at hand, whatever that is for them. Because to do everything at the same time, you’ll need 10 days in one week with each day being thirty six hours long.

The other option is to hire people to manage those things. If an actor can afford to employ a cook, a maid, a personal trainer, a stylist, an assistant, a secretary, and private lesson instructors, that’s amazing. They should go ahead and do that. The rest of us poor slobs have to work on fitting it all together like a billion pieced puzzle, doing what we can, when we can.

Which brings me to the next point: YOU WILL BE LATE.

I can hear my bestie Thurston protesting. “I’m never late”. And truth be, told he isn’t. But, and this is a big but, when he comes to NYC to audition that’s all he does. He doesn’t have a day job, or take classes, or lessons or go to seminars or anything. He only auditions. Plus, he stays at places that are within walking distance of the audition studios. He is the master of his time.

For the rest of us, however, we are at the mercy of outside influences, the MTA (subway system), traffic, or a boss who won’t let us leave at the promised time. We have no control over those things and many, many more. And since we have no control over them, we have to take them all in stride.

Don’t let Thurston fool you. He has his things to deal with. He’ll show up at an audition two hours early for fear of being late. Two hours. Which moves right into the next issue: YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT.

In this business nothing moves quickly except finding an emergency, last minute replacement for a show that’s already begun. Outside of that, it’s all about waiting. An actor will have to wait in line (physically or cyber-ly) to sign up for an audition. Then wait for transportation to the audition. When they arrive, they wait for their name to be called to audition. An actor waits in line, on deck, to go into the audition room. Then they have to wait to hear if they’ve been cast, or who has been cast instead.

And yes. YOU WILL BE REJECTED.

That’s the entire nature of show Business. Rejection after rejection after rejection. If an actor coming to one of the main hubs of film, TV or theatre (New York, L.A., Chicago, Atlanta or New Mexico for example) from being the “wunderkind” back home, this will be a huge wakeup call.

When someone makes the trek to “the big city”, no one there knows who that actor literally is, or what they can do. There are casting people and theatres that will take a chance on someone new. But most likely if an actor was a “star” back home, they will try to be a “star” on Broadway or in feature films. With millions upon millions of dollars at stake, investors and producers are not so willing to go with an unknown.

Let me put it this way, I once knew someone who had worked consistently, as a lead, for almost ten years, in higher tiered regional theatres nationwide. He was billed as a “star” across the country. He finally got his “break” to be on Broadway and was hailed as a “new comer”. Ten years.

Rejection can stem from the three things that no actor ever wants to hear, can’t understand or admit. But nonetheless, they are true:

First, YOUR LOOK IS NOT ORIGINAL.

I come from mixed race parents. My genetic makeup is unique. That makes my look unique, or so I thought. It turns out that even I have doppelgangers out there. One of them is a chorus boy and the other is a Broadway star. The people behind the tables sometimes think that I’m the chorus boy. Fellow actors sometimes mistake me for the Broadway star.

I went to see a friend in a show in Brooklyn. It was one of those experimental type shows where they keep the lights on. The audience is almost part of the play. During the performance, I noticed one of the actors noticing me. It was a little uncomfortable but I chalked it up to the immersive part of the production. Afterwards the actor came up to me and introduced themselves and thanked me for coming. The friend I was there to see came up and was like “Hey, I see you met my friend Evan”. The actor apologized because they thought I was the Broadway star, and that made them stare at me during the show.

If you think your look is quirky, fun and outrageous, it may be. But one thing it’s not, is unique. If you doubt what I say, just go to a commercial audition where you feel the breakdown is specifically asking for your look/type. I guarantee you will walk into a room full of not so unique “yous”.

The same principal applies to what an actor performs in front of the table. YOUR AUDITION MATERIAL IS NOT ORGINAL. Unless of course an actor has written the song or monologue that they’re using. And has given it to no one else. In that case, then yeah, it’s original. Most people behind the tables don't want to hear those types of things though. Some even go so far as to say that in their breakdowns. For example, The Phantom of the Opera openly states it in their casting breakdowns. That show has been running for a hundred and fifty years. The people behind those tables know a thing or two about the Business, and longevity. Take their word of advice. Don’t use original stuff unless it’s specifically asked for.

So, outside of a performer literally writing their audition material, there is a finite number of good, solid audition pieces, be they songs or monologues. If an actor is lucky enough to have found one, they can bet someone else has found it as well.

I once traveled over one thousand miles to audition for a show that I am perfect for. I had the perfect outfit and the perfect song, which I thought no one sang. Several people in front of me on deck was a man who was the same type as me, singing my song. And not only that, he was singing the exact same cut I had planned on using. I had personally made this cut, believing no one would ever sing it. And here he was, being all me and junk.

I forget who, but someone once told me that for every person you hear singing your audition song at an audition, there is another hundred singing it that you don’t hear. And statically speaking, at least one of those people is doing it better, because SOMEONE IS ALWAYS MORE TALENTED THAN YOU.

Unless you’re a rare combination of Audra McDonald/Pavarotti, Nijinsky/Ana Pavlova, Laurence Olivier/Meryl Streep, and Mary Lou Rattan/ Mitch Gaylord, then there is someone who is more talented than you are. I know some people will doubt this. But the truth is, talent is completely subjective. There is no true way to measure it. The only thing that counts, is the viewer’s interpretation. In short, it’s one hundred percent personal taste.

However, that being said, TALENT DOES NOT ALWAYS GET THE JOB. The actor who is liked gets the job. The actor who knows someone gets the job. The actor who looks the part gets the job. The actor who everyone wants to sleep with gets the job. The actor with name recognition gets the job. The actor who produces gets the job.

The actor who fits the costume, gets the job.

The bonus is if that actor is perceived to have talent. As you can see, there are other factors that go into getting cast. Most are out of the actor’s control. An actor should only be concerned with what they can control in the entire process, which is showing up, being prepared, and being personable and polite.

Do that, and you will eventually get cast. Do all of that well, and be perceived to have talent, means you will be confronted with a horrifying situation. The day will arrive when YOU WILL HAVE TO TURN DOWN A JOB.

Anyone who has been in the Business for any length of time will concur on a couple of things. First, no job is ever certain, even after you sign the contract. That means that until the gig is over, an actor should still be pounding the pavement submitting themselves for projects and going to auditions. I’ve had more than a few colleagues have contracts fall through, even after starting rehearsals. And because they did the whole “put their eggs in one basket” thing, they ended up being unemployed.

The second thing to note is that when it rains it pours.

There is a certain energy that an actor puts out once they’ve been cast. It’s not really easy to explain, but it’s palpable. It’s that extra something, swagger maybe, that an actor has after booking a gig. That energy is intoxicating and the people behind tables get drunk on it.

The tricky part to having multiple offers is balancing them and knowing which to take and which to turn down. In some cases there are legal ways to renege on a signed contract, for instance. Sometimes, even with the legal ways, that bridge will go down in a fiery inferno never to be crossed again. But sometimes the people behind the piece an actor’s leaving, completely support that decision. In the end, honesty is always the best policy.

Living a life in show Business takes effort and commitment and diligence and talent and money. Actors need to have a realization that most things are truly out of their control. There are only so many hours in a day. Someone or thing will be responsible for their tardiness. There is a lot of waiting; for the right time, the right part, the right company’s attention. But there’s even more rejection, and it’s constant. Knowing these, and the fact that their audition material and their look are not original, an actor still has to go into each and every audition room and give it their best.

The Business has gotten so extreme and so specific and much more encompassing than it ever has been in the past. There is something for everyone. Hopefully someone will believe you’re talented enough to book a gig. Or maybe two or three gigs at the same time. Then you’ll have the luxury of being able to choose. But remember, talent isn’t a prerequisite for landing a job. And that’s a good thing, because there’s always a more talented option.

The one thing you need to remember is:

IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, THEN DO IT.

I’ve tried living without theatre. That world just doesn’t work for me. I’ve found that I need to be constantly acting and singing and dancing and writing and directing. I need to be around other people who are doing the same. That’s Life for me.

Hi. My name is Evan Edwards and I’m addicted to creating. Without it, I end up...

“...talking in my sleep at night, making myself crazy...”