Last week, I returned from a 10-day family trip to Maui, Hawaii. I know – be jealous 🙂 I absolutely fell in love with the island, it’s people, the pace of life, the colors, and especially…the FOOD. Note to self: for future reference, all “revitalization trips” shall take place in Hawaii.
Though the vacation definitely succeeded at meeting my very cheesy “Three R” goals (Relaxation, Recreation, Rejuvenation), it also taught me an important lesson about the acting industry: timing.
Becoming the actor I want to be will take a lot of hard work and patience, a little bit of luck, and a boatload of being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to accept that so much of my success as an actor is out of my control (yes, I’ll fess up to my Type-A tendencies). But I suppose it just means that I need to TAKE control of the things I can, whenever I am able.
Like this vacation, for example. My family planned the dates to fall during university spring break, not only so all could join us, but also because of the weather, fares, etc. If you’ve ever planned a getaway, you know what I’m talking about.
How was I to know that two days before we left, I’d get an audition for a guest star role on “The Good Wife?” Due to the episode’s shooting dates (mostly while I’d be away) I didn’t go to the audition. In the minutes after making that decision, I was halved:
Part of me was severely disappointed in myself. If I want to make it in this industry, shouldn’t I be willing to do anything and everything to kick open that giant wooden door standing in my way right now? The other part of me – let’s call it the logical side – kept repeating that this wasn’t my LAST opportunity; there will be others. In the end, I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my family vacation (and a good thing I didn’t!) because I have to believe that more opportunities are out there, on the way, just around the corner. They are opportunities I will meet head on; this one just wasn’t meant to be.
Oh, one more thing they don’t teach you in school:
The acting year is broken up very specifically. Januaryish-Aprilish = Pilot Season, aka STAY in New York (or Los Angeles, if that’s how you roll) for those new shows, and for maintenance on shows that aired in fall and didn’t get canceled. Aprilish-Juneish = Pilot maintenance, aka STAY where you are again (or switch coasts) to be at the forefront of the changing pilots that got picked up. Juneish-early Augustish = this is a good time to go on vacation. Augustish-early Decemberish = a few more pilots start up now, and maintenance on extant shows is rampant. Decemberish-Januaryish = another good time for vaycay, just in time for the holidays.
It’s just another formula I need to remember, one I intend to commit to memory so I don’t ever feel like I shot myself in the foot again.
