Why Do Actors Do What They Do?

Let's be honest....acting is a somewhat strange profession. It requires at least some talent, good training, much practice and dedication. When it is not going well it seems as if the actor is walking in molasses. When it does go well, it seems like the easiest thing in the world.

There is another aspect to acting that is not present in many other professions. Case in point: if you are a football, baseball, basketball, whatever player, (amateur or pro) you also need practice, dedication, good coaching and talent. However, in these endeavors, you are practicing for an already scheduled slate of games. You know when those games are going to happen. You have a season with a beginning, middle, and end.

Actors, other than what project they have been cast in next, have no schedule of upcoming events, and is fact, nearly all actors are always looking for their next job. Even successful actors in TV series are thinking about or preparing for their working life after that series is over. I have personal knowledge of one successful Hollywood series actor who is looking ahead and preparing now for when his highly successful series ends.

Forgive me as I use myself as an example to explain what I mean. I go to LA frequently for private sessions with my acting coach and to appear in showcases before Hollywood casting directors. This serves several needs of mine as an actor. One, I see steady progression as an actor due to my five year association with my acting coach. two, I get exposure to LA casting directors who are constantly looking for people to cast in network and cable series, and in upcoming films. Three, I gain confidence knowing I am moving in the proper acting circles in LA regarding being seen by the right people. Yet, (and here is what separates acting from so many other professions) I do this without any guarantee what-so-ever of future employment. I have no "next game" scheduled, and like most actors, I too am looking for my next job. I was in LA last December, again in February of this year, I will be going again in a week, and plan to also go in April, and May. The LA Summers I usually leave to the tourists, again resuming my trips there after Labor Day.

I am neither special, nor am I preparing any harder than any other serious actor. Why do we do this? Why do we spend our time, money and considerable effort to hone a craft in which jobs are usually of short duration (sometimes only a day or two), after which we have to jump back into the labor pool and start looking for our next job. Many of us have help in the form of a good agency and/or agent, but that search for the next job is always with us. I have been fortunate to be represented by the same excellent agency for the past five years, and I wouldn't think of changing. Still, actors can't rely on their agency, alone, to further their career. They must constantly study, market themselves to the industry, and do all the many things it takes to progress as an actor.

I believe I have an answer to why we do what we do in spite of the work required, the competition for roles, and the dedication required for success. At least it's an answer that works for me, and I am sure works for many other actors, as well. The answer is a model of simplicity. We do it because we have to. We have to, not because someone is forcing us, but because there is an inner need within us that can only be satisfied by acting. In essence, we really have no other choice.

Some might call acting an obsession, and perhaps it is. Many obsessions are unhealthy for a person, and so could acting if it blotted out everything else in your life. However, one can be dedicated and highly motivated in a positive way, as long as you allow time for the other important things in their life.

Thanks for letting me share this with you.

Until the next time..........