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De Profundis
Mar. 18th, 2002 11:36 amI was told something profound the Saturday night: the worst piece of advice you can give to an artist of any sort is that they should have something to fall back on, because if they have something they'll fall back on it.
And it's true. Look at me; I've always known that what I really want to do is act, but my head was full of the sensible idea that I should have a "proper" career to fall back on. So instead of getting more acting experience and, by now, an agent and MEAA membership and contacts in theatre film and television, I went to University and did two degrees I didn't really want to do for almost five years. And now I'm in a job I don't really want either, because I don't have those five years of acting professionally to help me with my career now.
So you writers and directors and painters and musicians, make up your mind. If you really want it, do it. Don't do something else "to fall back on," because you'll end up spending years training or preparing for something that should only have ever been a backup, not the focus of your life.
And it's true. Look at me; I've always known that what I really want to do is act, but my head was full of the sensible idea that I should have a "proper" career to fall back on. So instead of getting more acting experience and, by now, an agent and MEAA membership and contacts in theatre film and television, I went to University and did two degrees I didn't really want to do for almost five years. And now I'm in a job I don't really want either, because I don't have those five years of acting professionally to help me with my career now.
So you writers and directors and painters and musicians, make up your mind. If you really want it, do it. Don't do something else "to fall back on," because you'll end up spending years training or preparing for something that should only have ever been a backup, not the focus of your life.
