Thursday, November 12, 2009

Resume and children's programing

Ok I get it, you're a struggling actor, you've been on a thousand auditions, you live in LA and you're constantly on the search for your "big break". So you see an ad, or your agent sends you out on a audition for a musical. That's great. You can sing. You can dance, all be it, neither can you do very well. But that won't matter.

Congrats! You get the gig. YAY you. Here's the catch, it's on Nick Jr. The name of the show is call The Fresh Beat Band. It's about 4 people in a band and they sing to small children.

Click on the link to see a clip

Ok. So you're not one of the leads. Nope, you're a background dancer, more then an extra, but not quite worthy of being in the credits.

So here is my question to you, do you write this on your resume? Do you tell your friends? Yes, it's a paying gig. And it's not as shameful as doing porn. But is this the moment when you give up on your dreams of winning an Oscar? Do you ponder if your life took a wrong turn somewhere? Or are you grateful for the chance to do what you love and get a paycheck for it?

We've all had crap jobs, jobs that make you question everything you thought you knew about the world.

I spent two years working in a comic book store, where I met a Zombie, someone I think might have been Kevin Smith and an assassin. And that wasn't even the worst job I've ever had.

The worst was what I called "death camp". I was the camp director for 3-5 years old. I taught them about nature and took them on hikes during the highest summer on record. It sucked ass. That's one of many reasons why I waited until I was in my late twenties to have a kid. That job scared me sterile.

So my friends, tell me, what was your worst job? How much of your dignity did you sacrifice for a dollar?

5 comments:

  1. Who might've been Kevin Smith?

    (btw, I was in the store last week. We have counterparts, ten years our junior)

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  2. I think the worst job I've ever had has been reading & editting people's stories in this writing workshop group I go to. And the worst part is, I don't even get paid!

    Sheesh.

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  3. I was going to say babysitting at a shelter for recovering addicts and their children, but I think I have to go with Will's. Handling Nemesis and his lackluster writing skills is pretty torturous.

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  4. When I was in middle school, I was in 4-H (because that's what dorky northern girls surrounded by farms do) and I had to work on a horse farm for a year to earn something or other for the club. I mucked out horse stalls three nights a week, through the dead heat of summer and the freezing cold of a New Hampshire winter. It was horrible and it definitely made me realize I never wanted a farm of my own. Ever.

    The smell of horse manuer will cling to your hair in the heat of summer and it doesn't wash out easily. It starts to smell like decomp after awhile. Ick.

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