The 9 to 5

I took a modeling gig today for 10 hours, and was pleasantly surprised to run across my friend Carolina! This industry really is so intimate; it's heartening to know that you can almost always expect to see familiar faces anywhere you go in New York, especially if you're a actor/dancer/singer/model type.

As girls often do when we get together, all the model girls got to talking about the ways we cope with lulls in our performance work. Carolina said something I really liked and agreed with, so I thought I'd share it with all my fellow performing artists out there.

I feel like most little kids grew up thinking that they would have full time career tracks that resembled their parents' work. So much has changed since we were young! Even more traditional jobs have begun to take on new parameters and shift more towards free lancers. Unlike a more structured work day, dancers, actors, singers, and models have to actively create their own schedules and aggressively pursue work almost constantly.

We spend so much time worrying about our next contract that we forget what a performing artist's true 9 to 5 job is. The distinction may seem like semantics, but hey, changing the way you think about things can change your life!

Basically, Carolina was talking about how if you want to be successful as a performing artist, it's so valuable to recognize that pounding the pavement for your next job and putting the effort into developing technique is the actual 9 to 5 job you have. Whenever we actually book work and sign a contract, that is our job bonus.

Here's to a greater sense of agency in the world of performing arts + more job bonuses for everyone!