I’ll sleep when I’m dead.
April 9, 2011
It’s said that 2% of actors actually “make it” in the industry. Most people give up before they even get a chance. I see it happening all around me and I can understand why. Audition after audition after audition, this agent or that agent, the project that pays more or the project that moves you up the ladder…it’s over-whelming. In order to make a living solely as an artist, you must work on five projects at once. I go to rehearsal, then a shoot, then a rehearsal, a show and when I’m home it’s learn lines, schedule gigs, submit for auditions and sleep? Yeah, you try sleeping when you’ve got four scripts floating around in your head…
I just realized that this may sound like complaining.
The truth is, I know I’m lucky to have work at all and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Well, I might trade it for a chance at playing Maggie Gyllenhaal’s younger sister. I would be a perfect match. My point is, acting is not at all an easy field to break into. You lose momentum, you lose jobs and you can’t afford to lose jobs. I have no doubt that if I keep on keeping on, it’s going to pay off in the end. I may not be the next Meryl Streep, but I will for damn sure have a solid career. And maybe I’ll get a nap.
Up next look for me in A Behanding in Spokane at Hyde Park Theatre with Ken Webster, Aaron Alexander and Mical Trejo.
I want to be the greatest actor that ever lived, frankly. I’d love that. But I don’t need to be. I just want to be here. That’s it. ~Jim Carrey
March on,
Michelle
Must. Keep. Pushing.
October 12, 2010
Wow! It’s October. I am pretty sure I lost a couple of months somehow. To recap: Just Bee was hard work, but a complete success and has recently been nominated for several B. Iden Payne awards along with Greeks Alive, and Cinderella and the Beanstalk. Fort Hood has again put our contracts on hold. I have retired from my short career as a stand-up comic. In the Shadow has been submitted to Sundance Film Festival. And that should bring us up to speed.
Now for the present. I have recently landed myself some industrial work with a few different companies. These are coveted jobs among young actors. They are flexible, steady, well-paying jobs. They are my bread and butter!
I have also been cast in Breaking String Theatre’s Flying. We will be workshopping this show for the next couple of months and then it will run in late January. I am very, very excited about this show. It’s an all star cast and a fantastic theatre company. I feel quite privileged to be a part of it.
Tomorrow Pollyanna Theatre Company begins our tour of Greeks Alive. This is going to be a challenging tour as we have several different characters and a ridiculous amount of props, not mention puppets. Good thing I like a challenge!
I think that’s all for now, aside from boring business junk. I just had some new headshots taken with the fabulous Adam Moroz, so those should be uploaded to my photos in the next couple of weeks. Soon I will be recording harmony vocals on Graham Weber’s new album Women.
“Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly.”
~Rosalind Russell
Thanks for reading,
Michelle
