Could you elaborate on the finance side of theatre. How do you make a sustainable living doing mainly theatre and side jobs? How often do you audition? Sorry this was a bunch of questions but I'm just a curious cat :) Thank you!!!
Likely one of the most important things that you need to decide for yourself as an actor. Â Yes, even you need a side job. Â Every actor has periods of time when they arenât working, and they need something to sustain their life while they audition for another job. Â
Side jobs can come in all shapes and sizes. Â Most common would probably be working in a restaurant, but itâs not the only options. Â Here are some other options:
Becoming a substitute teacher
Certified Nursing Assistant
If you have another skill, utilize it!  That being said, be reasonable and know that your knitting skill may not be able to get you a full income.  Thatâs when we see actors âcobblingâ together their income, as I like to call it.  That is, you can utilize many of your skills to create a full income.  Yes, you may end up working five jobs at once and still auditioning, but itâs another option. Â
So what do we look for in a good side job? Â Well, we need it to be flexible, because auditions happen at all hours of the day. Â So do rehearsals! Â Some jobs that we take wonât be so flexible, and weâll need to quit them in order to audition, which is an unfortunate reality. Â But ideally, if you can find a job that has maximum flexibility, but also high reliability. Â You need to know that you can consistently get an income from this job. Â
Sometimes you need to pay to gain another skill in order to make moneyâfor instance, many actors get their bartending license, which will cost you money, but it is a great job in terms of consistency.  You can find a bar everywhere in the country! Â
Budgeting is your friend. Â Budgeting is going to be the best thing that ever happened to you, and it will save your butt when it comes to finances. Â Knowing how much you make and how much you spend is so vital to keeping yourself out of debt and able to save! Â I highly recommend getting yourself a budgeting app ASAP.
Iâm not going to tell you that youâre never allowed to go out and treat yourself as an actor, because you need every cent of your money.  I mean, yesâyou have to learn how to live frugallyâbut youâve just got to become conscious over what you spend your money on and what your money is worth.  If your morning coffee really is a part of your daily routine and you feel that it is really necessary to your life, then Iâm not going to say youâre not allowed to do that!  But see if you can find ways to lower that expenseâmake your coffee at home, get an espresso machine so you can make your drinks at home, skip a day a week in order to save a little moneyâŠFind ways to lower any and all expenses you can.  Thatâs becauseâŠ
You never know where your next paycheck is coming from, and you never know if you will have another acting gig after your current one. Â You want to be saving as much as you can and living under your means so that when you have less of a steady income, you donât feel like youâre having to scrounge for money. Â Plan ahead. Â
Know that you will likely have to pay your own quarterly taxes, because many theatres do not set aside your taxes for you.  That means you need to be on top of your expected income.  Essentially, each quarter you calculate what you think you will make for the entire year, calculate the taxes you owe off of that, and then pay ÂŒ of that.  The next quarter, you will adjust how much you think you will make and continue the process.  If you donât do this, you will get penalized in April and pay more, and potentially get audited.  If youâre confused, itâs understandable, so get yourself to a tax expert and sit down to talk to them about your income!
And on the subject of taxes, you must pay taxes on your side jobs. Â Yeah, I know it seems silly, but you do not want the government coming after you. Â I pay taxes on all of my voice lessons, even though I donât work through a company. Â Ever 20 dollar lesson, I add into my income and pay taxes on. Â It adds up, and the government gets suspicious if you somehow arenât really paying any taxes at all, but seem to be living just fine. Â
Because theatre is a business, at the end of the day. Â They are making money. Â Yes, itâs art, but art canât pay the bills. Â So youâve got to rewire your brain to think of theatre as a business, and your work as a product. Â
How much you audition depends greatly on where you live and what your plans on. Â In NYC, you could audition every day, all day, without fail. Â Here in Minneapolis, some weeks I have 4-5 auditions, some weeks I have none. Â We really do have an audition season here, so during the spring and summer months, Iâm much busier than I am in the fall/winter months in terms of auditioning. Â The going number professors usually say to go by is, expect 1 job out of every 20 auditions. Â In NYC, a major casting company who casts a good chunk of the Broadway shows said, expect 1 out of every 100. Â
This is a discouraging number, but what I recommend you try is to make yourself a journal.  Journal about every audition you had, how you think you succeeded, what could be better, and really keep track of the companies you come in contact with.  Get yourself in front of people, get yourself out there.  And then mark off the jobs you do get, and start to get a sense of what your cityâs numbers look like.  Journal about the classes you take, and the connections you make, and the plays you read, and the shows you see.  It will help when you are feeling discouraged and feel like you havenât accomplished anything in a whileâŠYou can look back at your journal and see just how much youâve accomplished!
One of the toughest things is going to be managing your boredom and feeling productive when you donât have work. Â When Iâm not in a show, I do voice lessons, but I spend most of my day feeling like Iâm wasting time. Â And so finding ways to stay productive and continuing your growth between gigs is really vital. Â
Donât let yourself stop growing just because youâre out of school. Â Youâre never done growing, youâre never done learning. There is always farther to grow.
