Economic Freedom, Art, and Acting for Money. Why It's Important

One of my hobbies, during my active career, was watching the results of other show biz folks. I kept journals for about 5 years, then I noticed that I didn't need to keep a journal because it was becoming redundant. The fact is, that all the successful people I met over 40 years, (and when I say ALL I mean 100%) were capitalists.

I don't mean that in a political way - I'm talking about store-keeper capitalism. All the successful people I've known in the show business are successful because they are good business people. Good store-keepers.

The other side of the coin is the unsuccessful actor, writer, director, producer, etc. Believe me, most of them are not untalented, or unlucky, or unconnected. Generally, their real problem is that they are just lackadaisical business people.

The biggest mistake I see is the total time and energy the unsuccessful actor puts into the business. This amount of time can be described as: NOT ENOUGH. (Acting For Money, Bob Fraser, Author of You Must Act!, The Secrets To Acting Career Success)

I do non-paid off-Off Broadway and Off-Broadway -- but I don't expect to work for free. I never expect that.

What I Expect

I expect deferred payment from The Universe in the form of future professional theatre, film, television, and commercial work. I base this expectation on the contingency of doing my absolute best in these productions. I ACT as IF I'm getting paid.

I'm not working for free (money is important, and you have to respect that) -- I'm working for deferred payment.

This is what motivates me to work hard. I love acting. But to continue acting, to continue growing as a actor, I have to increase my value, and a necessary (but not sufficient) metric of success as an actor is money. Money won't make me happy, but I need an income, derived from acting services rendered, if I am to grow as an actor. It's that simple.

Some actors, much better than I, choose to work primarily in non-profit theatre either for artistic or professional reason. And make no mistake about it, absolutely terrific work is being done in these venues, and it's my heart's greatest desire and dream to work in these absolutely wonderful off-Broadway production houses and productions. However -- it's not (for me) enough. My "perfect" life ("perfect" in a human, rational, realistically achievable sense) is this type of work and money. That would be perfect! (And I fully intend to do this perfect thing).

My Goal

My goal is to be a great actor, and acting is the great joy and purpose of my life, but inextricably tied up in that joy and purpose is my belief in the value of what I have to offer, and the belief that I will be offered money to get all that I need and want in return for what I have to offer. Money is practical. It's that simple.

Acting Classes & Training are not Costs

Well, OK, on a business balance sheet they are, but I think of them as an investment, and like any investment, doing one's homework on the quality of the investment (e.g., is it right for my needs), working hard both in class and outside of it, is critical to making the investment pay off. Work outside of class is hard, for me, because it's almost never urgent, but it is absolutely critical. In fact, my daily to-do-list includes this top priority -- it come even before earning money in some temp. day job or freelance assignment:

Monologue work -- new monologues, applying daily what I'm learning in classes, and prepping for any upcoming auditions.
Class exercises: I write up and apply new class notes to my monologue and cold reading daily practice.
Cold reading/Commercial copy
Vocal exercise
Any business matters – acting professionally (which I don't do, but I'm bound and determined to do this) is a business, so I act like I'm running a business, and a big part of that, right now, is simply learning how to do that, e.g., marketing, managing my money, etc. Another big part of this is setting clear goals.
(add a horizontal widget of the books I'm reading)

One needs to have their head screwed on straight about the value, meaning, and purpose of money in life and in civil society if one wants to succeed as an actor . . . or as anything else that one's heart desires . . .