Young, Carefree and Single!

I seriously hope these young graduates are not being paid for their services as "bloggers", seeing as anytime I've read any of these Graduate Blogs, they fail to provide any insight into a young actor's life that could be of any real use to an acting student or someone considering a move into the profession.

Perhaps The Stage would be better advised to commission one-off articles or blogs by established professionals written in direct response to questions asked by drama students. Take, for example, the issue of working for free or for profit-share (which may as well be working for free). It would be more interesting to read an article by an established actor who started out doing a fair bit of fringe work before getting noticed, or a well-researched article advising actors (of all ages) which fringe venues have good reputations and are worth doing a show at for free, as they are well-placed or well-respected enough to occasionally attract agents and/or casting directors. What's more, how about a series of articles by major industry players on how a graduate can go about getting their attention, whether they have an agent or not. Also, a piece about the perils of choosing an agent wouldn't be out of place.

This young blogger writes at her shock that a woman of 30 should be working for free. There are far too many actors out there who will do ANYTHING just to work and these people are easily taken advantage of by agencies that demand up-front fees, fringe companies that invariably try to work a bit of nudity into their shows for no justifiable reason or filmmakers that pay little or nothing for an actor's time only to disappear into the ether when a copy of the film is requested. Taking all of this into account, I think that these young people blogging about their own naivety is of little or no help to the masses of uninformed aspiring actors out there. As practically the most popular theatrical publication out there, you should do a lot better than this window dressing.

I hasten to add that I'm not aiming to disparage your young bloggers. I was in the same position as them a few years ago and can sympathize with many of the things they blog about. It's exactly the same kind of thing the rest of us use Facebook or MySpace for, and perhaps they should do the same because I feel that they have been made into a bit of a gimmick by your publication. I hope (but don't expect) that the whoever comes up with these novelty ideas will give some serious thought to my suggestions, because I know for a fact that many of my colleagues feel the same about these blogs.

Sincerely,

Rob Cavazos, Actor

Rob -

I completely and absolutely disagree with you 100% - and I think it's very rude to post such a comment underneath somebody's work. If the Grad Blog doesn't interest you, then don't read it - it's as simple as that. However, it has proved invaluable to me - and to several others I know - who appreciate the fact that there are other young actors out there who are going through the same thing as we are. The start of an acting career is a very scary time, and it's easy to feel alone. To read these blogs is to know that we are not alone, and it's not useless, and that we are all in it together.

It might not be relevant to you in your situation (and in that case you are very lucky), but when you are working as a receptionist in Piccadilly Circus and waiting for the next audition to come round the corner, reading these gives you a sense of belonging. This is more relevant to most actors than advice from successful professionals - I have been to masterclasses, seeking hope that one day I will get out of this acting limbo - that offer no solace because the professional went straight into the RSC or National and has no idea what it's like to struggle. Discoveries and overcoming naivety is all part of growing in the industry, and it's important not to forget this.

I will reiterate, if you don't agree with this, don't read the blog.

Sarah, Anneka et al - you are doing a fantastic job. Thank you.

Emily Lawrence, Actor.

blog

noun
1. a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies

Personally, I think there's nothing naive about being realistic about your life. Sarah is clearly striving for the top (don't we all) and therefore surely it is the most sensible action to put a ceiling on your expectations somewhere down the line if needs be. Quite an important piece of advise to any aspiring actor wouldn't you agree Rob?

Rob,
I would like to reiterate what Emily has just said, by asking you why you would read a blog by a graduate actor if you wanted to know about exploitation of unpaid actors, or the best fringe venues to perform at? Why would a recent graduate know about any of these things? I was blogging about what I have been doing this week and my thoughts about it, which is the premise for the Grad's Club. If you have read any of my other blogs and subsequent comments you will realise that a lot of other actors identify with what I write about.

Self righteous and patronising comments like yours do the reputation of other actors a disservice.

As a fellow recent graduate, I’ve been occasionally catching up with these blogs and have found the varied opportunities, well…. Varied. Some seem to offer brief insights on subjects such as casting directors and touring, but I doubt anyone has the time or inclination to start dispensing advice having been in the game for less than 6 months.

Reassuring contemporaries that they aren’t on their own as they desperately seek information for the next audition whilst stuck behind a desk in a temp job probably has some worth, however fleetingly. Assuming The Stage isn’t paying anything, I suppose there’s at least something therapeutic in ‘getting it all out’, even if that ends up going in circles on occasion. Perhaps if responses to these blogs are aimed more at engaging with the issues raised rather than assessing their original merit then the whole exercise would be more productive.

On which note….

Personally, I’m only too aware how ‘settling down’ would greatly change my career, and indeed I’ve put on hold any such plans for exactly that reason. Like many actors, I’ve got an approximate time limit in my head, but this is completely subject to change and further coloured by the fact I’ve just turned 27 myself! A friend of mine graduated last year and had his first child soon after, a development which necessitated his moving away from London and back home; affordable accommodation and (potential) nicer living offset by constant trips back to London for the majority of auditions. I’m in awe of his (and his families) bravery, but they’ve so far managed to find a way to do it. I also recently worked with an older actor on tour who came into the business late on; he too has children to look after, but despite necessary compromises (including remortaging), hasn’t been out of work for four years…. And this based outside of London.

It’s definitely one of the biggest questions any actor has to face… all I know is that with every casting that doesn’t work out, that time limit creeps a little further back.

The thing is, a lot of what Rob suggests has already been done. The agony uncle column allows people to write directly about specific problems, and there is an archive of responses to a huge variety of questions over the years.

I've been to actor q+as, successful actors. I think I can learn from them, but the problem is, they're so far down the line and things are so different now that in terms of "getting into the industry" I actually think there's very little to learn from well known actors. How many times have you heard legendary actors say "well, back in the day, it was the rep system, so to get an equity card you had to get a theatre job, and you rehearsed one play during the day and then performed another at night". Yes, a very illuminating history lesson but not really very practical to the here and now.

What I think these grad blogs do is uncover what it's like *today*. I have felt a sense of relief reading some of these blogs, because I honestly thought I was alone. I thought I was a failure and must be doing a series of things terribly wrong... but guess what, this is just the life of young actors, chasing auditions, trying hard, find out new things along the way.

I will say some of the blogs aren't written to the standard of English I would expect or like. I can't stand lazy grammar and poor sentence construction from those in the position of disseminating information to us through the press or media. As far as I'm concerned writing for the stage is a privilege. However the majority of blogs are well written enough for me, including this one.

I did a community drama show, attached to a well known respected theatre. The cast were a mix of people out of rehab, regular community actors and some semi-professionals. One of these girls had done drama at college, but put off studying at drama school for various personal reasons. She was now nearing 30 and acting in, despite how respected it is, a theatre's community play for basic expenses. I also met another actress who after a short spell of theatre work following drama school was now, again, nearly 30 and doing films for free. She had sworn not to do free work any more, but the film in question had a little local funding. An actress in a soap left to try other things. She got one theatre job. And little else. With a mortgage to pay she found herself back at the soap job. Not her dream necessarily, but like Sarah was saying, life had intervened. In the end, she actually got another tv job off the back of the soap job, and worked it out somehow with her soap contract. I don't know how she did it, because normally soap actors are contracted to *only* do the soap. The fact is there are a lot of people, trained or not, who can go around ten years with no big roles, a little theatre, maybe some fringe work, a couple of lines on a small tv programme at best. If I reached 30 and that was the sum of my achievements I think I'd take a break from it at least. Everyone clings to the smallest of hopes though. The aforementioned theatre actress I met said that she was hanging on because in fact a lot of people to drop out of the acting game around 30 if they've been going at it since the early 20s. If you can bear to brave that hurdle and progress into slightly older roles, there might actually be less competition. But then there might be fewer roles too.

Apologies for some typos in my last post. As another person who loathes grammatic errors, I’m still very susceptible still!

I’d concur that the major plus for these blogs are their ‘nowness’. Pick up most acting biographies to find out how their ‘big break’ transpired and they’ve usually got a big break early on, been at the right venue/production/school or (as Emmy suggests) managed to establish themselves through rep.

From my own recent experience, I’d guard against immediately dismissing profit share work on the basis of its validity. Sure, in the case of most of these projects, ‘profit share’ is code for unpaid, but I was fortunate enough to make quite a substantial amount from a tour in the south-west. No, it didn’t equate to Equity minimum, but as well as working on a very exciting project with a good company, the possibility of a fully paid revival plus being ‘seen’ by a few CD’s didn’t hurt.

Ah yes, this is all very earnest and noone has ever spoken of this topic before and we should all be constantly evaluating our career as we continue our voyage away from that safe port called "drama school".

However, why say that at the age of thirty I should think about another career if I am still doing profit share? Are you nuts? I love playing and in acting I find I am able to reach a level of play unmatched in any other job. Sure I'll find money some other way, as long as it allows me to do what I want.

Mmm, the smell of success. It really stings the nostrils!

I thank you,

Simon

Also.

DB, no we don't.

some of us strive to find the fun in the story and the game. Therefore surely it is the most sensible action to never EVER put a ceiling on your expectations ANYWHERE DOWN THE LINE.

Quite an important piece of advise to any aspiring actor wouldn't you agree DB?

Simon

Two things:

Firstly, I think I may not have worded properly, but my comment above was not an attack on the people writing the blogs. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I actually sympathize with the feelings and circumstances described in this particular blog. If my rant against the Stage contrived to offend the author of the blog or any other bloggers, I sincerely apologize. My blunt manner may make my words seem harsher than they were meant.

What I will stand by is my views on the Grad's Club blogs and their general usefulness. Having at one point been a recent graduate myself, I know what these bloggers are going through. So does every other actor who wasn't fortunate enough to be spotted by the right person at the right time. Such is life. I don't think they tell us anything we don't already know.

Additionally, I agree with all the remarks about masterclasses. I am not an advocate of the masterclass format and agree 100% that listening to someone talk for an hour about how easy they've had it is actually pretty depressing. What I was suggesting is perhaps a blog by someone who is the next rung up the ladder from the rest of us on this bloody message board/thread/thingy and had to do the whole no or low-pay circuit before they got there would be more useful or inspiring, whichever of the two you crave more. I stress, it's ONLY my opinion. Remember, that's the beauty of this business: it's all based on opinions. Feel free to disagree.

In the meantime, good luck to you, Sarah. I sincerely hope you make it.

Rob