PIC: Play It Cool

It's oh-so-tempting to brag to all your friends, acquaintances and frenemies about getting to work on the set of a movie or television show. What happens when your line gets cut? What happens when your scene gets cut? What happens when the movie never gets picked up for distribution or television airtime? What happens when the television show gets cancelled before your episode airs? In my personal experience with all of the aforementioned situations, I tried to play it cool - with varying degrees of success.

My advice to all struggling actors is to play it cool. Sure, tell people in humble terms that you got to work on such-and-such set. Tell them how fun it was or wasn't. Go ahead and mention anyone famous you may have met, but don't make it sound like you're suddenly BFFs. Conversely, don't disparage the famous people you met. If the famous person/people behaved in a less-than-humanitarian manner, resist the urge to dish, and acknowledge that we all have bad days. Do NOT under any circumstances overstate your role in any project. If you worked as an extra, admit it graciously. If you have a line (or three), might I suggest the following phrase, "I may have a line (or three) in the project, but you never know until you see it. I'm not sure what will happen in editing." If that movie you were so excited to work on ends up being too silly for even the most melodramatic movie-of-the-week, and never shows anywhere, have a little giggle about it with your friends. Beat them to the punchline. Be thankful for the experience.

When the HBO movie on which you worked as an extra wins lots of Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe, be proud that you worked on the project, met some of the stars and got to go to the premiere. However, be ready for acquaintances to remark that they couldn't pick you out of the crowd. (Those acquaintances probably don't like their jobs and/or are stuck in a bad relationship.) Resist the urge to rattle off all the names of all the famous people you've met, worked with, eavesdropped on, shaken hands with, had friendly conversations with or held doors open for on set. Play it cool.

A Real Paycheck

About the time I start thinking I want a real job with a predictable work schedule and a steady income, the acting work and acting paychecks start rolling in again. I have several dinner theatre shows booked this month. Each performance generates nice checks. I also got my first taste of "mailbox money" in the form of a "use of image" check for that national SAG commercial I did back in August. Not only was I paid very well for the long day of shooting the commercial in which I appear in the background as a blurry shadow, but I also get quarterly checks for as long as the commercial runs. A girl could get used to cashing "use of image" checks!

Despite the recent flurry of paychecks, I still long for a more predictable schedule with more steady work. I'd have to move to L.A. to have a chance of fulfilling my ultimate dream of being a sitcom mom or the recurring wacky aunt character on a long-running show. Goodness knows it won't happen in my current city. (I did work as an extra on a TV show this fall in my city, but the show was cancelled after the second episode aired.)

My contract with my talent agent comes up for renewal in six months. I've had many commercial auditions resulting in a handful of callbacks, but no real work resulted from these auditions. When I did the SAG commercial, I didn't audition. The casting person simply chose my photo from my talent agency's website after my agent confirmed that I was available for the shoot. I knew that making it as an actress would be difficult, but I didn't realize how much emphasis would be placed on commercial work. I'm an actress; not a skinny, blond spokesmodel. I honestly won't be sad if my agent chooses not to renew my contract. I'll still do theatre work with or without an agent. Although the theatrical performances don't pay as well as the SAG commercial, I have more fun doing them, get to work with a cohesive group of actors consistently and do some actual acting versus walking around the background and/or smiling until my face contorts into muscle spasms.