I frequently think of getting acting to pay me reasonable money is like takeoff velocity. I train, I go faster. I get in better shape, I go faster. My films play festivals, I go faster.

I've hit a stall.

Earlier this year I quit my restaurant job for a few reasons; now all my sources of income are flexible--I can pick and choose every day I work.

I am at the point where the amount of unpaid good film and theater work I am offered exceeds the amount of free time I have. I need to pay my bills.

I'm non-union. At this point in my life I am not very interested in booking a National Tour, I like my life and my boyfriend at my cat. It also means that no film is required to give me any money.

I'm a little disheartened at the gatekeeper situation when it comes to finding representation. A famous casting director compared the pay-to-play classes to speed dating.  It's flawed and expensive. And here I am, producing good work, much of it under the Creative Commons license. I have fanbases that know my name! I also have some cobwebs in my bank account.

What's the next step? What do I do? I need to make more money so I can take more class so I can act more and earn no money and get good exposure...

Seriously Neglected Blog

Let's recap on all the things I missed:

SpeakEasy had a non-union call; I did not receive an appointment. Right now my 'stage' resume is a little straight-play heavy, which has lead to the inevitable Musical Theater resume. Once I polish all three incarnations, it will be time for some serious stapling and cutting so I can easily grab whichever version I need before an audition.

I modeled for Dawnamatrix again at the Deviant Ball at Machine. I had an excellent time, and need to remember to email her about the photos.

I auditioned for a rock band, and they liked me! They're a bit older than me, but they're looking for an attractive (trained) musician to record vocals and shop for a record deal. They have an outer-space theme; I think I'd make an excellent android vocalist. I warned them I'd be off-radar for a week or so. I'd really like to sing for them without coming straight from talking to people for 8 hours straight. Damn need for a job.

I went to New York to carol for TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I had been hoping that due the client presence and visibility of the NY market, that promos would have a higher level of accountability than Boston. So much for that idea. Wednesday was officially declared 'rained out', so I missed out on the second day of work. I wasn't pleased about that, but I made an actor friend, and got to see friends in New Jersey.

Actors Access won't let me write notes for casting submissions now, so I can't link to my film clips. Boooo. I'm still submitting for roles, but it really presses the need for a finished demo reel.

I quit working for Busy Bee promotions. I cannot fathom why any company would send me a time, address, and product for a demo that I'm not supposed to work. The fact that they don't 'have time' to filter that out before it gets to me speaks to their disorganization and lack of professionalism.

Overall, I'm about halfway through the "make money during christmas season" plan. I'm fairly pleased with it, but still looking for more Monday-Wednesday gigs to snap up. I will also go back to my goal of blogging 3x a week. I swear. Hopefully.