Please Stop Asking What Our "REAL" Job Is

So many people throughout my life have asked, “Oh, so you want to be an actor and a singer? What’s your real job going to be?” As if pursuing this career is anything short of work. Yes, it isn’t as steady as accounting or as secure as a government job, but just because it doesn’t have the traditional markers of a job does not make it any less of a career.

I used to respond to this question by something like, “Well, I hope I never have to have a “real” job. This is all I want to do.” But as I have grown I have developed a new response to this condescension, “It is and always has been my real job. I and my fellow theater majors worked harder than anyone else on campus in college and continue to pursue our craft every single day.” Being a singer or actor is unique in that you may book your dream job and be back on the job hunt 3-6 months later. You must be relentless in your pursuit of this career or you will have no chance of success. While my friends in college who were business majors had their homework and classes done by 6pm everyday and no Friday classes, my fellow thespians and I were in class from 8 or 9am until 6pm every day, often with little to no breaks, then went straight to rehearsal from 7-11, then met up with scene partners to work on homework until 12-1am, got a bit of sleep, got up early to go to the gym, and did it all over again.

I and many others have made a career out of our craft. I surround myself with driven actors and singers and have been lucky enough to begin a successful voice studio along with working professionally as an actor. I work hard every single day to find auditions, teach my students, keep my own skills up to snuff, and maintain all the minutiea of owning a business, as many others who live their lives surrounded my music and art do. So next time you are temped to ask an artist of any sort what their “real” job is, simply ask them, “What do you do for work?” This way they are free to answer “I am a painter/singer/actor, etc.” or “Oh well to pay the bills I’m a host at Applebees, but I’m working hard to make my art my full-time gig.” Stop belittling artists and the work we create - you look at paintings, watch TV, see movies, listen to music, and so much more that you would not have without artists’ relentless drive to create.

You’re welcome. ;)