Every single book about becoming a working actor gives the same piece of advice in the very first chapter: get a job.  Nope, not an acting job, a rent job.  Employment that pays your bills, buys you lunch, gases up your car and doles it out for the doctor.  Income to keep you alive while you keep your career moving upwards.  Ah, yes, paying the rent!

When I moved to a new city, I pushed my savings as far as they could possibly go so I could optimistically avoid getting non-acting work.  I had come from a string of rent jobs in New York, all of them drama-rich and soul-crushing.  I wanted to bypass the same fate in my new home.  Maybe I could fast book some commercials and not worry about a rent job!  (It happens for some, it’s true.)  Soon, I found myself broke and worrying about paying my bills upon bills as I frantically tried to find some new employment.  ANY employment.  And it struck me: all those books were right.  Everybody needs money coming in, if not for the necessities it pays for, then the surge of confidence you acquire knowing you’ve got a bank account to back you up. Read More