If everyone in the world joined the entertainment industry tomorrow, they wouldn’t make it through one hour — let alone twenty-five years.
If you wanna learn how to fight, don’t join a boxing class — become an artist. Everything is a fight as an artist.
FUCKING EVERYTHING.
Whether you’re a writer, an actor, a poet, a singer, a musician, a filmmaker or a painter…
You must be prepared to FIGHT TO THE DEATH and then some.
And there are no assurances. None.
You may sacrifice —
your savings,
your relationships,
your friendships,
your health
and your country.
You may lose —
your partner
your house
your car
your youth
and your mind.
But I’ll tell you what you’ll win:
***
YOU’LL WIN A QUIET INNER-KNOWING THAT YOU GAVE IT EVERYTHING.
***
Since I left school, I’ve had a ton of shit-kicker jobs, I’ve worked as:
a barmaid
a call centre operator
a dog-walker
a baby-sitter
a promo-girl
a market researcher
a childcare worker
an RSPCA doorknocker
a waitress
a doorbitch
a retail assistant
an erotic masseuse
(just to name a few)
In the entertainment industry, I’ve worked as a professional::
actress
author
writer
freelance journalist
copywriter
content writer
photographic model
sex columnist
playwright
voiceover artist
primary carer of elderly parents
spruiker
compere
featured poet and spoken-word artist
podcaster
We live in a world that doesn’t value art or artists.
The entertainment industry is the only occupation where you’re expected to work for exposure instead of money.
And then artists are expected to be GRATEFUL for the privilege.
Can you imagine asking a bus driver to do the local bus route for EXPOSURE?
How about an accountant or a surgeon or a cleaner?
If you asked ANY other profession to work for exposure instead of money, you’d be met with a loud FUCK OFF, followed promptly by a punch in the face.
Yet artists are met by this bullshit on a daily basis.
In Australia, welfare recipients are made to report to job network providers but these providers are unable to help artists in any way.
Job network providers are only interested in dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s incase they’re audited.
Australian artists who are on welfare are dehumanised by having to participate in silly games,. They’re asked to answer questions like: WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?
A respected Australian actor that I know, wrote down: My dream job is getting a lead role in a major international feature film.
Hiis response was quickly shot down by the job network provider. Apparently his answer was not allowed because it was a ‘pipe dream’.
Every week for the past twenty years, some arsehole has told me to get a ‘real’ job and my response has always been, “I already have one’.
It is worth pointing out that most of the world’s population are not living the dreams they had as children.
But I am. I will never settle for less.
I have my parents to thank for that.