"The days of the broke-ass actor are gone!"

I'll be putting in a lot of office hours over the next few weeks since I now have quite a bit of extra time on my hands.

You see, I was a server for almost 4 months and that was 2 months too long. For those of you who wait tables day in and day out despite the soul-sucking  experience it can sometimes be {and by sometimes I mean most of the time} my hat goes off to you!

I don't mind serving people. In fact, I love being able to take care of someone. I love hosting dinner parties and attending to everyone's needs throughout the night so that they feel special. But I've realized that customers, who sometimes treat you like a serVANT rather than a serVER, and dinner guests, who adore the extra effort you've made to cater to their requests, are two completely different entities and I'm much better off taking care of the latter.

So I'm unemployed for the time being and though it's a bit scary, the peace of mind I have right now is wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, I know I need to find something else soon in order to cover my acting expenses but I also know it needs to be something I can stomach each week. Ideally, something that either leaves my weekends free to spend with my family OR pays me well enough that the weekend sacrifice is worth it. And though the logging night job has been great, seriously it's an awesome gig, it's temporary. I know they'll call me back again when they need me but who knows when that will be? So in the meantime I've registered with promo companies and plan to email my resume to a few temp agencies downtown since I have some nice clerical skills.

Ah, the life of an artist. Going from one temporary fleeting job to the next.

This, of course, has caused me to revisit the golden handcuff scenario and I must say, right now it seems like a perfectly nice option to fund all the things I want to invest in over the next few months. After all, I need a job to pay for the following...

• 5 week workshop on the business of acting- $150
• New headshots- $550 {3 looks including hair & makeup}
• Class: Audition Technique Intensive- $500
• Class: Comedy Intensive- No idea since it isn't posted on her website 
• Class: Jazz & Hip Hop- $40 - $80 per month depending on how often I attend
• Class: Scene Study- $150 - $300 per month depending on the instructor
• Class: Improv- $250 - $350 depending on the school
• Webseries: Shoot episodes 3-10 {don't even wanna scare you with this figure}

As you can see, being broke is not an option. Or as a manager once put it, "The days of the broke-ass actor are gone!" If you're a starving artist then you're a struggling artist because tools and training are necessary and not cheap.

So I'm on the hunt to find something else, and soon. And in the meantime, I'll be putting in lots of office hours devouring industry books both bought and borrowed. First up: The 1-3-5 Story Structure Made Simple System. Might as well write while I've got the free time!

-- Brandi Ford

{picture courtesy of Smosh}

Comments

[Lira]

my friend Tanya can do you headshots for $150 for 4 looks just because I referred you to her. $150 for hair and makeup, and you're saving $250 and getting a bonus look.

http://www.pocketgirlphoto.com/#/g-home/

[Brandi Ford]

Thanks for the referral Lira! Your girl has some really nice skills but I'd already put a $200 deposit with this photog months ago and just need to pay the balance now. I will definitely keep her on my list of folks to shoot with in the future.

[Brandi Ford]

I used to use Performer Track until I developed my own system using Excel but I've never tried their webinars before. I'll have to give it a look. Thanks Tiki!

[Jordan]

I feel you on the restaurant work! Serving is always an adventure. Sometimes it's nice just to have a break for a couple months. I did the same thing. I went into personal assistant work after I quit, but honestly wasn't making enough so I went to another restaurant. It's a cliche survival job for a reason...

I changed my URL to a direct link to one of my many stories from the restaurant world. You might just be able to relate. :)

Good luck!