Working: The Non-Acting Job, Part 1

I'm sure most of you out there, actors or not, struggle with the conflict of conscience regarding paychecks and passions. In this world survival requires money, but happiness demands love, and it is our human condition to struggle to find the balance in between. Here's a little excerpt of my personal situation.


It's been almost four weeks since I moved to Los Angeles and admittedly, it was around the middle of the second week when I started to panic about money. This is not to say that I had run out of the green stuff or lost it or was wildly spending it about, but it's a crushing reality to watch money slowly trickle out without any coming in. Roofing, food, classes, transportation...life costs money and I realized that I really needed to start off-setting the cost of being a grown up with some income. The decision then became what type of job should I pursue?

It should be one which should facilitate or at least not hinder my acting aspirations. This realization didn't necessarily narrow down the job field, but it helped to focus it. I knew that ideally if I could get work doing anything pertaining to the entertainment industry I'd be in good shape. Since this town is heavily geared towards who you know instead of what you know, any contacts and any industry experience was going to be a good thing. It was this rational that led me to Casting Central, the opportunity to make money while getting some onset experience. Unfortunately, this grand plan proved more difficult than I originally expected. Now what?

I started looking at Craigslist postings in the tv/film/video and the part time sections. Most, if not all, the film/tv postings were trade based or just hella sketch. It was a bit frustrating, but that's why I broadened my scope to include the random part time job. I figured, making any kind of money at this point on a flexible schedule would still allow me time to do whatever I needed to do for my acting pursuits. Plus, in this economy, with all the competition, it's hard to know your value. Beggars can't be choosy. I emailed a couple of random admin/office/receptionist positions. And nothing. Nadda. Zilch.

Ok, onwards to the biggies, the big giant corporations that make all those expensive films and pay for our tv programming. They've got to be looking for people, right?

• ABC
• FOX
• NBC
• Paramount Pictures
• SONY Pictures
• Warner Bros.
  

...Not qualified for any of those. Most of these listings are for executive positions. :-(

Broader we go.

• Backstage Jobs
  
• Entertainment Careers
• Playbill: Job Postings
  
• Variety: Job Postings

Entertainment Careers is the most useful site I found. I don't think you have to register to get the listings, but I did anyways. It's free and I was able to find entry level positions that I was suited for. I sent out resumes to two places. No response. Getting discouraged.

*Insert slight, but noticeable mental collapse*

Research time. Click. Click. Click. Type. Type. Survival jobs for actors? Pay the bills while acting? Actress needs money! The most common source of employment is...you guessed it - WAITING TABLES. And...absolutely not. (A friend of mine asked me to fill in for her on New Year's Eve...I knew then that waitressing was NOT for me.) It may be a good gig for actors who audition during the day, but I just...can't. Also, as much as I want to be a working actor, I am not one yet. I'm still figuring out how to get auditions. Once I remedy this minor detail, then I deal with freeing my days up.

After waitressing, the list of actors day jobs gets pretty sporadic. It really depends on what your skills are. Start your own business; walk dogs, interior design, or landscape. If you're athletic, try personal training. If you can cook, catering is apparently a good option. Can you write? Freelance. Did you have a specialized day job before you started acting? Consult. Lot-o-options. (Check out this post, Actors weigh in on Day Jobs, over at The Casting Scoop for anecdotes on survival employment.)

Here's my problem. I don't have a specialty field. I've worked in offices and I've done a few writing things here and there, but nothing that employers can drool over. And keep in mind, I don't know anyone out here. My roommates have been extra sweet, introducing me to some of their friends, but I don't have much of a resource base when it comes to clout. It's who you know, not what you know...

Eventually, I happened upon Temping. The deal is you sign up with an agency that specializes in temporary work and they find you jobs all over the city. You might be in a different location each day, or you may be contracted to work for several weeks, but it's all temporary, no permanence, no commitment...perfect.

Looking into the temp option, I found that certain agencies specialize in specific fields, one of which happened to be entertainment. Cha-ching! I don't know how I happened upon The Comar Agency, but it magically appeared on my screen and it was love at first sight. The website states that, "To submit resumes for temporary, temp-hire, direct hire, or executive search consideration please email resume as a Microsoft Word attachment to: resumes@comaragency.com" and you'll hear back from them in about a week. They'll either bring you in for an interview or deny you because your not qualified.

A week - what a long time for my worrisome psyche to go haywire with gruesome nightmares of tragic failure! I kept searching the other sites. Click. Click. Send. Silence. Type. Nothing.

Then, a funny thing happened. I went to a barbecue and met stranger who turned out to be an actress. She was very nice and very amiable, but I didn't think much of the encounter. Then, the next day I got an email from her about a job posting for an acting studio looking for office help. The generosity of strangers is something else. I should buy her a drink.

The position was for a office/admin position, basic office duties, phones, some sales background, blah blah blah. The job listing specified a few computer programs which I wasn't familiar with, but I thought, being a technically proficient gal, I could probably fudge what I didn't know. I was slightly nervous about this, but what really made me worry was that they asked for a salary requirement. My first inclination was to utter the word "shit" several times. Deep breath. Thankfully the 21st century comes with global connectivity. I turned to interrogate my favorite resource - the internet - for the salary range of an office assistant in the greater LAX area.

I found the Salary Wizard and PayScale, which were both helpful in getting a sense of what my labor was worth. Make sure you put in the correct zip code/city because salaries will vary depending on whether your employed in Los Angeles verses Santa Monica verses Burbank. I decided on what I guessed was a medium-high number ($14/hr). I sent along a perky cover letter and my resume and really didn't expect to hear anything. It was to my utter shock and surprise that the next day (a Saturday, a WEEKEND) I got a call from the owner of the studio.

WHAT. We discussed what they were looking for and the 20 minute conversation concluded with the feeling that, if I really was who I said I was, I would be a great candidate. I was also informed that one of the benefits of the job was the option to take classes from the studio, but part of the agreement would also be that I would not be able to attend auditions/acting jobs during office hours. This didn't scare me as much as the 1-2 year commitment did. I've never held a job that long and commitment scares me in general. I told myself to grow up and get a back bone.

An interview/testing session was set up that day for the next week. Meanwhile, I heard back from The Comar Agency and they wanted me to come in for an interview.

Two interviews. This is a good thing right? What am I supposed to do now?

I guess you'll just have to wait and see in part 2. Oh the suspense!