Having the time to write this blog in the middle of the day, I realize that it looks like I don't have a job. I don't bring home any money and my husband brings home all of it. I also do a pretty crappy job of being "a housewife". OK yeah I occasionally do some cleaning and I tend to make dinner. But I spend more of my time looking for work, trying to find auditions, and continuing training exercises like breathing work and relaxation techniques (that sounds like more fun than it actually is...its actually work, despite the name).
And yes, I don't even do this as often as I should, simply because there is too much to do. Somehow because I stay at home, despite the fact that I never vacuum the house, my husband gets the idea that I'm supposed to look after him. I wonder if this is the media at work again because I certainly have never let him believe that I'd be happy to stay at home all day cleaning. And when I do stay at home all day (which is more often now that I have no job which brings in money), I spend the time looking for work, applying for jobs or that PhD in Drama I applied for last week. I spend the time looking for (and failing to find) open auditions. The UK (by which I mean London) doesn't seem to be as good about spreading the news about these as New York is or was when I lived there.
Don't get me wrong...our house is not a pigsty. Its a little messy because I don't dust, vacuum, and polish furniture every day. But my husband does a pretty good job of cleaning on the weekends and some evenings and we never leave actual dirt/food spills anywhere. Its just dust etc. We're too busy! (Working.)
So for everyone who tells me I need to find a job and for everyone that assumes that while I don't have a job, I have to be a housewife....
I HAVE a job! My job is to find those auditions and get my face out there. My job is to keep on working on that theatre company I'm trying to start and work on the application for a PhD (if not this year, maybe I'll get in next year). My job is not to go become a bartender (though I probably should find something that does make a little bit of money temporarily). My job is to go become an actress! And that, slowly but surely, is what I'm doing. Its a tough job. I'm blessed in a way that I only really need to earn a supplementary amount because my husband's income (not now but soon) will cover our living costs. I'm blessed that because of that, I can follow my dream and my husband supports and encourages that. And sometimes gives me a little push. But I have a job! So stop telling me (generic people out there) that I don't!!!
I completely agree about the UK not spreading work about auditions. I know The Stage is supposed to be their Backstage equivalent, but Stage's classified section makes me weep- only two pages, and maybe two of the calls are for actors? You've probably found it already, but Casting Call Pro is a really good source. I think that in London/the UK, you really need to have an agent to find out about anything, and I think a lot of people there get agents from their schools/unis... why don't we have this system in America?!
ReplyDeleteOh, by the way- hi! It's Rachel Diamond!
I've just found out that you can get open calls by using the Casting websites...many of which you have to pay for. I'm not sure if that's reassuring or not. I was taught not to trust those websites (in New York) but maybe a cultural readjustment is in order?
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