Today's Word of Mouth: WaterTower Theatre's production of Thorton Wilder's "Our Town" runs September 24-October 24 at the Addison Theatre Centre. Tickets are $20-40. Visit their website for more information.
So I had to, or rather I was "supposed" to, read this book in one of my theatre classes right before I graduated. Let me take this time to apologize to not just my professor but to myself for not reading it when I should have. It's been way more insightful than I could have ever imagined. The book, which I suggest every artist read on their own time, is called Art That Pays by Adele Slaughter and Jeff Kober. It's basically a bunch of extremely helpful tips about how to do the art you want to do without going hungry or homeless. I mean this thing even goes as far as to suggest how to get your own health insurance because well, if you haven't noticed yet, (You probably have, though) being a creative person comes at a heavy cost. Artists choose to express themselves through their art but the fact of the matter is most of them, because they choose to do what they love, have to take a side job just to pay for their bills. Why? Creativity is expensive, lacks funding most of the time, and is often just misunderstood. Oh and well, there a very few positions available out there. It's a dog eat dog world. Survival of the fittest. And hey, even Dustin Hoffman had to clean a few toilets before he got anywhere. And like the authors of the book state, an artist can choose to live a practical life, become a successful doctor, or businessman or woman, which of course are wonderful, steady jobs (Left-brained people I want to thank you for helping me with my math all these years. You are much appreciated, and I don't know where I would be without you) but they don't. They don't have to be poor, but they choose to live their lives the way they do for a reason. Artists just can't not do what they love to do.
But there is a light at the end of my dreary tunnel I've just drawn for you. There are ways to help yourself along with your career outside of reading the book. First of all, I cannot stress how important networking is. Finding a job isn't necessarily all about your talent and experience. There are other components Yes, working hard and showing someone what you have to offer is extremely important but it has a tendency of coming in later in the game when you've already landed the job. Employers want to be familiar with you. They want to see where you've worked and know who they can go talk to about the kind of work you produce. So get out there and meet and greet. Find someone who can mentor you. Let it be someone that you really respect and trust. Ask them all sorts of questions. Take in their feedback. Volunteer anywhere you can and most importantly, make sure you keep up with your contacts. You never know who you'll end up meeting or who can send you where you want to go.
I would also suggest finding a group of friends that you love and trust and know that they'll support you no matter what you do. Friends not only keep up your morale but they too could be a valuable resource for finding that dream job of yours. Mine have been anyway. And they know who they are.
It's also really important to make yourself marketable. Make yourself a Twitter acoount and start following companies that harbor your interests. Get to know them. Tweet with them. Learn about them. Develop your portfolio whether it consists of writings or drawings or head shots. Make yourself a business card. You can even do what I've been doing and start your own blog. (Just make sure you edit your spelling and grammar before you publish anything. It's the professional way to go.)
But the most important tip I think I have to offer is to have enough confidence in yourself to keep pushing forward. You are going to have some days where you feel like staying in bed. You will not get along with everyone you work with or for and sometimes people can screw you over, but with a good attitude, a presentable nature, and a little hard work, you will no longer be a starving artist. Well, let's hope so.
-CKB
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