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Starting Your Acting Career : The Hustle Never Ends
By by Matthew Maher Sep 14, 2006, 23:31 Last year, Obie-award winning actor Matthew Maher, who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films and on the stage in New York and regionally, agreed to write an essay about how to break into the acting business. It was one of our most successful articles, so I decided to reprint it here, as a "best-of" issue. His examples are from New York, but the advice could apply to almost any city. Enjoy! -Chad The Hustle Never Ends One of the largest ongoing tasks involved with being a working actor (and there are many large ongoing tasks) is the task of ridding yourself of the idea of "making it." I don't say this to be cynical, or discouraging, or to scare anybody - if you're talented, and up for the hassles, then life as an actor can be a great life. But most acting jobs are over in a few months, which means every few months - at the very, very least - you have to look for another job. What that really means, if you want to work steadily, is that you're never not looking for work: you're always looking for new opportunities and new angles to ply your craft. You're always meeting people, trying to get auditions, bugging your agent (if you have one) or writing casting directors, seeking out interesting directors or playwrights that you think you'd like to work with -- always looking, constantly striving. Now, to those of you who've been at it for a few months, or a year or two, or whatever, it may sound like I'm describing your life. It may sound like I'm talking about what it's like to get a career "off the ground," so to speak. You may come home exhausted from working eight hours at a day job, and then rehearsing in the evening, flip on Law & Order and think, "All I need is a gig like that - a regular spot on a show. I wouldn't even care about being famous. Just secure, somehow - with a good reputation and a steady paycheck." Or maybe you see something on Broadway or at the Manhattan Theatre Club and think, "Dammit, that guy up there has a perfect career - if I could just do the sort of work he's doing, then I'd be content." The most common statement is, "If I could only get an agent, then..." But the fact is, those other actors feel just the same as you; maybe they're making a little more money, at that moment, but in the day to day they are working just as hard to keep their career afloat. They still face ongoing rejection; they still have to cultivate a sense of hope and possibility in the face of imminent possible unemployment. They still have to hustle. It never ends; there is never a sense of having "arrived" in your career. On the one hand, this constant sense of movement can be exhilarating. It's possible to approach your career in a similar way that you approach your artistic process: obvious and necessary decisions mixed in with risky choices - made without knowing for sure where you're going to end up. As I say, it's an adventurous life, in many ways. But it can also be emotionally exhausting and frustrating: having everything constantly up in the air, having to constantly put yourself on the line, having so much resting on things beyond your control. If you have a particularly hard time with this feeling, then you're going to have an unhappy life as an actor, no matter how much money you make, or recognition you get, or how much you end up working. Always fighting for your career as an actor is the trade-off for getting to have a career as an actor. Immerse Yourself in the Theater World First of all: see lots of theatre. See everything you can -- and not Broadway, or even big Off-Broadway. That stuff is only a small fraction of what's happening in the City. Seek out the smaller Off- and Off-Off Broadway companies. If you hear about something, or read about it, and it sounds remotely interesting, go. You'll see a lot of crap, but you'll also see a few shows that will really pique your interest. Not only are you finding out what's going on in the city, the range of work, and perhaps finding companies that you may want to work with, but you're also developing your own tastes, your own opinions about the work. It's easy to say, "I want to be an actor, I want to act, I want to be in plays." Everybody wants that. But what kind of actor do you want to be? What kind of plays do you want to do? Do you even want to do plays? What kind of work inspires you? You'll probably (hopefully) never arrive at one, solid answer. The answers will change over time, as will the questions. But if you can start to carry on this dialogue with yourself -- it's another large, ongoing task -- then you'll be much more secure in yourself as an artist, and that security will read to those that want to hire you. Identify Your Target Companies When you finally see a show that you really like, and the company seems interesting and exciting, then approach them and declare your desire to audition for them. If it's just the director you love, approach him or her. Same goes for the playwright (In the long run, playwrights are great people to get to know, if you love their work. It all starts with them, after all, and if you mesh, then they can write you parts in their upcoming plays -- which is a beautiful position to be in, creatively and career-wise) No one will tell you to screw off, or laugh in your face, I promise. Or you can write them a fan letter with your headshot and resume. It may take them awhile to get back to you, but don't be discouraged, be persistent. There's probably not a lot of use in approaching Trevor Nunn, or David Mamet, or someone else hugely famous, and saying you'd really like to work with them (you generally need an agent and a reputation to get that meeting) but in most cases, people like to be courted, and if you keep at them with regular updates, then eventually their curiosity will be piqued enough to audition you. Over time, as you immerse yourself in the theatre culture -- through friends, acquaintances, shows you've seen, playwrights you've heard read, and so on -- you'll have a list of names and addresses, carefully cultivated, of theater artists and organizations that you like and want to work with. This list will continue to grow, be edited, and grow some more. This is your mailing list, and it is another large, ongoing task. You will use it often. Never Stop Acting While you're out seeing theater and meeting people and fantasizing about your career, you need to be doing plays. What, after all, are you going to say in these letters you write? You can't just put your picture and resume in an envelope with a note that says, "Hire me, please." You have to bring something to the table. If the people you're writing represent the career you'd like to have, then you also have to have to have a career in the present tense. It seems like a Catch 22-you need work to get work -- but it's not that hard. I tell people new to city and their career, all the time: audition for everything, do every little bit of work that you can find, even you think it might suck; even if the theater is basement that houses twenty-five people and the there's an unruly neighbor upstairs shouting at you while you perform (to name one of several insane situations in which I've had to work); unless you know for certain the situation is going to be intolerable, just do it; if you can find one or two good aspects to the situation -- good part, director's an interesting person, the playwright has potential, there's a woman or guy in the cast you have a crush on...do it, do it, do it. You only have to adopt this strategy for the first couple of years. And it won't all be that bad -- you might luck into an excellent situation. But I want to discourage anybody from being snobby from the get-go. It's very, very important to have high standards, but if you stick to them too rigorously at the beginning then you won't have a career. It's not a catch 22, it's a maxim: Work creates work -- and if you're conscientious about your career, then the work gets better over time. The fa is, even crappy productions of mediocre plays can function the same way an acting class does: you meet people who are doing things, other than the crappy production you're both working on at that moment, that excite you. You make connections that lead to better work further down the line. That play in the basement, with the angry neighbor, would have been an absolute waste of time-except that Kirk Bromley was in the cast with us, and was about to start work on his next show, which he cast me in, and from that cast Inverse Theater was conceived, and so on... [This play was Midnight Brainwash Revival, which you can read about below. - ed.] The full version of this essay is available in our book, Becoming A Successful Actor. ............................. "Actor Tips" is copyright 2002 by Chad Gracia. All rights reserved. For more articles on acting, as well as free monologues and play scripts, subscribe to the newsletter by sending a blank email to join-versus@atomic.sparklist.com or by visiting http://www.actortips.com » Sign up for Movie Vine Newsletter updates! » Email this article to a friend ...................................................................... © Copyright 2004-2009 by MovieVine.com OWNER/FOUNDER Wendy Shepherd - StudioMatrix.com Privacy Policy |
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