Sitting in a coffee shop on St. Clair next to rehearsal hall. It has been a long day and my mind drifts to struggles artists face. Many actors are fortunate or talented or know the right people or some combination of that and as a result have the luxury of working on shows full time. In which I mean they are contracted and paid such that they don't need other work and their day is full of rehearsal. I have been in those shoes and it is a wonderful feeling. Unfortunately my, and other actors, experience is that it is the rare case to be in those shoes. As such we do many other things to pay the bills and get ready for shows. As I look back on this long day I feel tired for having done so much work; work I am proud of but work I wish could have been done with dedicated focus not broken by other tasks to help me meet the necessities of life
Last week on Sunday night I spent two and a half hours of my night creating, designing and printing the invites to casting agents and important persons whom I would live to see the show. Now I agree that is not a long time, not by itself. It was Sunday I wanted to watch a movie and relax but did not feel I could. Monday to Friday I had worked 9-4 at a day job Saturday 9-5 I worked a different day job and those two things combined pay the bills. Tuesday and Thursday night 6-10 I am diligently rehearsing the show. Sunday 10-6 is rehearsal. The gaps of free time between those time slots I was sleeping, learning lines, developing character, understanding and delving deeper into the text, or traveling to location. So Sunday night was creating invites
Yesterday was a day off which I spent figuring out how to use a bulk email program so I could efficiently email all my friends and family show information. In the end it will save me time on the next show but I would have rather slept in, cooked a hearty breakfast and relaxedly house cleaned while running my monologues.
Today I worked 9-4 and now I am in a coffee shop taking a break to type this before I run lines for my rehearsal tonight. I would rather of had the whole day to rehearse 10-6 and typed this later.
I am tired that is all. I wish for acting to be my full time job. Not a job on top of various day jobs. It is the quest of all artists. It is my experience that in Canada the arts support and our worldly position helps support this model of struggling artists. We always work with what we have got and in doing so these steps to preparation become extras in a day. Today I am tired of doing extras and wishing for acting and it's preparations to be my undivided focus
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