Don't give up! Your industry needs you.
We were asked recently by a friend who works with young people to offer up some words of wisdom about working in theatre. For so many young people across the country, lockdown has highlighted the huge inequalities that exist in terms of opportunity and support for the next generation. We’re no experts and can’t even begin to imagine what young people are going through, but we gave it a shot. Here’s what we said.
These are tough times and it’s hard to be creative and think of a career in the arts, but it won’t always be like this. We are going to come through it and the industry is going to need people. We know how isolating it can be growing up in an area where it feels there are no opportunities. But if anything, this lockdown has shown how much can be done remotely. A really good example of that is a lot of auditions at the moment are being done via self-tapes that are emailed and there is a definite push for more opportunities to be created outside of major cities with funding going into that; so, it’s not all bleak.
Our main advice would be, don’t give up hope. Yes, it is tough and there will always be good times and bad times, but persistence and hard work really does pay off. The industry expects people will drop out so the longer you stick at it the greater the opportunities. Be prepared for the hard work. Trying to be an actor is a full-time job in itself and the likelihood is, on top of that, you’ll be doing bar, cafe, shop work, ushering, box office work, just to pay the rent, to feed yourselves and have a social life. But you’ll always need to invest time in looking for acting work. And it may be that when you start out, you’ll be doing unpaid or low paid work just to get a CV credit. That is part of the journey, so be prepared for that.
Never stop learning. There’s a lot of material online, interviews with actors and masterclasses. So, always keep up to date with latest topics, themes and keep yourself skilled up. And take a look at the Old Vic Theatre Education Hub; there’s a lot of great material on there.
Be respectful to people that you meet and work with because you never know who you might meet in the future, so don’t make enemies. You never know when someone else’s career will cross over with yours and someone you meet now, might help you 10 years later. Of course, don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Saying no is one of the most positive words you can use. So, pick when you do things for free; pick when you help other people. Make sure there’s some benefit to you, that it works for you. Make your career goal to be a working actor; being famous is not a career and hardly anyone is. About 99% of actors are just working actors.
Stick at it. Keep informed. Keep skilling yourself up. The industry depends on the next generation of people and that’s you. The industry will always need people and one day soon it’s going to get back on its feet.