Professors of Drama warned me that 90%+ of the acting community would be out of work at any one time. But I sort of went…”Yeah yeah yeah..” in a nonchalant studenty way.
So here I am – 18 months in “the industry” and on my second period of unemployment between finishing Smuggler’s Gold this summer and starting The Adventures of Sinbad in a couple of weeks time. With only some arts admin work to do for Prom-Prom to keep me occupied….I have found myself in what can only be described as a morbid unemployment coma.
The nights are drawing in and I’m definitely suffering from SAD. I have endured endless phone calls with the tax office, Jobcentre Plus and the bank. I have shouted at pre-recorded messages. I have absorbed countless episodes of the Jeremy Kyle show, Three in a Bed, Bargain Hunt, Deal or No Deal and my new favourite, Country House Rescue. My diet consists mainly of beans and potatoes. I have stared endlessly at my laptop screen sending e-mails, consulting spreadsheets and copying and pasting contact details for festivals and programmers. It was all starting to get a bit depressing.
But out of nowhere, I appear to have had an extraordinary week.
On Sunday I mingled with Brighton’s brightest and most glamorous at the Pavilion Theatre for the recording of The Byng Ballads written by Tony Lidington and performed by Julian Clary. Following the recording, I was honoured to share a taxi, a bottle of champagne and a midnight walk through the streets of Brighton with Julian Clary. Uncle and I then paid our respects to the rotting west pier with a good few beverages inside us to protect us from the salty gusting winds of Brighton.
On Monday I was auditioned impromptu in a cafe by a BBC radio producer for a play reading.
On Thursday I attended the opening event for Wide Awake Devon’s mentoring scheme and met a number of interesting people from Forkbeard Fantasy and Punchdrunk as well as chatting to a number friends from SourDough, Burn the Curtain, The Common Players and Exeter University.
On Friday I was taken on as a dresser and wardrobe assistant at the Northcott Theatre for Handspring Puppet Company’s Woyzeck On the Highveld. Whilst the job consisted of a generous amount of washing, drying and ironing (which I found extremely therapeutic)..I was saw the show that night and met the cast and crew after the show.
Sometimes, even in the darkest moments, luck and the spur of the moment take over.
