10 things I wish I’d known 10 years ago
This time 10 years ago I was about to throw myself into my third and final year of drama school. My first set of freshly printed headshots at the ready (yeah, actual hard copies, I know) I was going to take over the world. So, for anyone who may be headed that way, here is a little unsolicited advice which you will probably ignore in the same way that I did.
#1 It’s OK to ask for help
I set up a theatre company on my own, partly because I am a bit of a control freak, but mainly because I didn’t think anyone would really want to work with me. I was afraid that people would think less of me for asking for help, that my work wasn’t worth people’s time or that I would be seen as annoying. When actually, the opposite was true. I didn’t ask one of the actors in my first play to be in the second one even though he was right for the part. I thought that he wouldn’t want to do it because in the couple of years since he had started getting TV gigs and long runs in respected regional theatres. It turned out he was really offended that I hadn’t asked! Always ask and let them be the ones to say no.
2# Time off is important
As a freelancer, the lines between work and free time are often blurred or non-existent. I would often spend my lunch breaks in my day job scouring for acting jobs and spending my evenings and weekends researching casting directors, agents and theatres. That is all good stuff and needs to be done – but so does the down time. You need to have one day a week where you take some time for yourself. I would often beat myself up if I had a duvet day about all the time I wasted, but I really shouldn’t have. Your brain and your body need time to recharge, so spend time with family and friends, go for a walk, go get an ice-cream. Do whatever works for you.
3# Your opinion matters
I joined Equity as a student member in 2007. My first term at drama school. I didn’t start to become active in the union until last year. I was too scared to go to meetings because I wasn’t a “proper actor”. I thought that I would be laughed at for being too young or too inexperienced or not knowing how a formal meeting worked. When I left drama school and found myself mainly working in amusement attractions or touring schools and I thought the type of work I did would be looked down upon. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. It turned out that the union is crying out for young members to bring fresh ideas to the table – so come get involved. You will be very welcome.
#4 Your career progression will not be linear
After I graduated, things started going quite well. A short film, a TV commercial, a tour of Italy and then suddenly… nothing. There have been times where I’m busily running from one job to another (and I mean literally running because I only had an hour to get from one to the other) and other times where I think about jacking it all in because I haven’t had even an audition in months, never mind a job. But I’m still here. I’m still going and more than half of the people in my year at drama school aren’t. There will be high points and low points, but all you have to do is persevere.
#5 Your job is what you do, not who you are
Having said that, there is no shame in taking some time out. I’ve wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember. So much so that as a child I went through an entire phase where I would only answer to Pinocchio (I took the role in my living room production very seriously). After a particularly bad week – see #6 – I googled ‘teaching English abroad’. Two months later I landed in China, ready to start my new job as an English Teacher. Yīngyǔ lǎoshī 英语老师 rolls off the tongue naturally, whereas I have to google Yǎnyuán演员 every time. Taking that time out to do something else and not define myself by my acting career (or lack thereof) helped me to figure out who I really was.
#6 You learn more from failure than from success
After having put on my second play in Manchester to yet another sold out audience – I decided to take it to the big smoke. The thing I hadn’t considered is it is very easy to sell out two nights in a space that only holds 45 seats. A week in London plus another week in Manchester is another matter entirely. Needless to say, I lost lots and lots of money that I didn’t have. But from that experience I have learned a lot about what not to do. I know what marketing worked and what didn’t. I know that you don’t bother going to London unless it is a three-week run, and I know that you should always ask for help from someone more experienced – see #1.
#7 What other people think is irrelevant
I had coffee with one of my best friends from drama school a few months ago. She was not treated well by a couple of the tutors – looking back I would now go as far as to say she was bullied. She was made to feel like she was a terrible actor and that she was never going to get anywhere in this industry. She’s turned out to be one of the most successful. During rehearsals for a recent production, she was trying to remember the name of one of these tutors, as someone on the production had taught at our drama school. During our first year she had stayed awake late into the night working on scripts, trying desperately to impress this man who just treated her like garbage. All that wasted energy on a man whose name she no longer remembers.
#8 Your personal life is just that – personal.
It is against the law for a potential employer to ask you questions based on your age, sexual orientation, religion or pregnancy status. Don’t feel pressured into answering any questions you don’t want to, either in an audition, in a class or in a rehearsal room. If drawing on things from your own life helps you in your work, great. But never feel pressured to reveal those things to other people unless you want to.
#9 Don’t take yourself too seriously
Work hard, be professional but don’t forget to have fun. When teaching a class of 5-7 year olds, I always gave them a little break just to run around. They immediately started improvising a whole scene without realising that that was what they were doing. I told them how wonderful it was and that they needed to do more of that in the drama class. One little boy thought for a second – “So… is drama just playing?” “Yes” I said “Why do you think when you go to the theatre the thing that you watch is called a play?”
#10 Your life may not look the way you planned – and that is bloody wonderful.
If the girl in the first picture could take a look at the woman in the second, she would be absolutely horrified. She had just written, produced and acted in her first play. She was getting way from her little hometown where the theatres had closed down and wasn’t going to be tied down by some bloke and a load of screaming babies. Well, I’ve just come back to that home town with some (rather amazing) bloke and a screaming baby in tow. Now, I’m embracing the place where I live and using my knowledge and experience to try and make a change for the better. I’m focussed on helping people who might not necessarily engage with the arts or who want to get involved but maybe don’t know where to start.
So, watch this space for the work we are going to be bringing to Tameside and Greater Manchester next year. Until that point, if you are looking for advice or coaching take a look at what I have to offer at www.ashtonvoice.com