Actors 'Other' Jobs

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 7:08pm

I guess if you are a Broadway ensemble actors then the pay isn't that great or even in some principal roles and work can be far and few between, so I wonder when an actor isn't performing in a role, if they do other jobs such as wait on tables or bar steward or maybe a clerk in a office somewhere?

Have you seen a actor cover a second job, because they need a pay check?

[Owen22]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 7:42pm

I think Chad Kimball was my waiter once after he did Godspell...

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 8:12pm

Broadway ensemble actors aren't millionaires but they still make a minimum of 1700 a week.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:37pm

Lots of performers I've known have waited tables, bartended, cleaned houses, nannied, and done other service jobs between gigs. More than you'd imagine.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:39pm

Erotic massages and modeling.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:42pm

Teaching- even Tony winners... I know that Victoria Clark is a voice teacher.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:50pm

Didn't one of the actors from [title of show] keep her daytime office job while doing that show? I seem to recall reading that here anyway.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 9:54pm

^Susan Blackwell was an office manager and kept that job for a while, but she is now acting full time.

[loliveve]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 10:16pm

Betsy Struxness (currently in Matilda) is a photographer.

[NoName3]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 10:27pm

"What do you do?"
"I'm an actor."
"Really? Which restaurant?"

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 10:39pm

When I lived in NYC I worked for a giant, corporate law firm that ran 24/7. Most of the third shift and weekend support staff were actors, directors or writers.

As I've said elsewhere, I worked with Nathan ("Joey") Lane at the Harris Poll, doing political and marketing surveys over the phone. (Not to cause confusion, I also did a production with him off-off-Broadway, but that was a different (and earlier) gig.) I assume he no longer has to do minimum-wage telephone polling in between acting jobs.

The key in both cases were large operations with sufficient staff to cover for a high turnover rate.

[loliveve]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 11:17pm

I remember watching a video in which Capathia Jenkins mentioned she worked at either Telecharge or TIcketmaster at one point. It was pretty funny because she said sometimes she would think things like "Oh, sure, let me sell you a ticket to show that I auditioned for and didn't get?"

[xxdrewboy85xx]

Posted: 7/10/13 at 11:20pm

metropolitansitters.com

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 2:35am

When I saw Cats the last time the woman playing Grizabella was also the stage manager. Makes me laugh imagining her in full costume plus a headset when she's off stage.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 6:38am

^^^ I did a full summer of THE SOUND OF MUSIC in stock about 35 years ago. I was the stage manager and, in our small-scale production, all the Nazi parts were folded into Herr Zeller, whom I also played.

This worked fine except for performances where people brought babies: infants always cried when the lightning and thunder began ("Lonely Goatherd"). Then they would start to scream and it was my job to go into the house to tell their parents to remove them from the theater--a job I did politely, but by necessity in my full, Nazi uniform.

It seemed rather cruel at the time, but no parent ever gave me an argument.

(I know, I know: this isn't a "Broadway" story. But how often does the subject of stage managing in costume come up?)





Updated On: 7/11/13 at 06:38 AM

[loliveve]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 10:19am

It's not a "Broadway" story, but it is rather funny to think about

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 11:36am

Carina Gillespie who played Sandy in the UK tour of Grease went straight into Front of House at the Apollo Victoria Theatre when the tour finished. She worked with a friend of mine before leaving to rehearse for, ironically, the Wicked UK Tour.
George Ure, who's playing Boq in the Wicked UK Tour and played him in the West End teaches at Mountview when not working.
I know a lot of actors enjoy working 'normal' jobs when not doing stage work, keeps them in on the ground.

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 12:08pm

J. Robert Spencer was a waiter at Olive Garden in Times Square

I know there have been a good amount of people that have come out of Ellen's Stardust Diner. I can think of Marla Mindelle, Alysha Umphress & Michael Longoria right now but there are more.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 12:11pm

I'm not sure I understand how it is ironic that Carina Gillespie left her job at the Apollo Victoria (where Wicked runs) to join the Wicked UK tour. Isn't that more a coincidence than irony? Just curious.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 12:27pm

I remember reading that Felicia Finley is also a real estate agent (back when she was in “Wedding Singer”). Not sure if she still does or not.

[Tsao5]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 1:19pm

There are many actors, who in between acting jobs....which could be months or years even.......try to find work they like and has a certain amount of flexibility that would allow them to still audition when need be.

Some will have jobs related to the business in some way, for example many dancers will teach dance or yoga or some physical-related thing.

Many will waiter. A given. Peter Ermedes, who was Tommy on Broadway, went back to his waitering job once the show ended its run.

And others will do things completely having nothing to do with theater.....driving a cab, or doing legal work or carpentry.

Many will get their feet wet as to possible post acting careers by exploring things they want to do for a short time, and then once they no longer want to be on stage do it full time. For example, some people who might work for a short time at a candle store will later want to have their own candle store. Or someone who did real estate part time in between shows, will then do it full time.

Regarding having jobs WHILE in a show....I think that is more common in London than New York. I knew an ensemble actor who was in Les Miz there, who at the same time was working at Harrods because London was so damn expensive. I also knew a dancer who was in a B'way show but continued to teach young kids at her dance studio when she could.

No one gets rich as a musical theater performer (you can live comfortable and for a certain amount of time, live your dream, but not rich) and knowing of another occupation that you love, or at least like to do is important to maintain one's sanity in such a profession.

[Jayar2]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 4:21pm

Brenda Braxton owns a salon in Harlem... http://www.yelp.com/biz/bbraxton-new-york

It's supposed to be fantastic.

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 5:03pm

There are many actors that do headshot photography on the side like Laura Marie Duncan & Curtis Holbrook

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 8:00pm

Almost every actor has to to have a source of income other than their acting, even people who have been on Broadway, that's how it is...

[NoName3]

Posted: 7/11/13 at 9:12pm

Gaveston, I worked for decades as support staff in several BigLaw firms in New York. Early on, after being given one in a long series of hugely long, hugely difficult Word Processing jobs with an impossible "Time Needed By" stamp, I sighed, "O Frederick, what a day it's been!" "Unending drama" said someone and I looked over to see the new temp grinning at me. I think I met most of my friends in the biz at the 9 to 5 job.

ETA: Your SOM story is priceless.

Updated On: 7/11/13 at 09:12 PM