The question I have been most frequently asked since starting this blog is: ‘What does EIGHT HOURS A DAY (AT LEAST) actually mean?’ Check out this link for the answer.
The second most popular question is: ‘How the hell does anyone commit eight hours a day to their passion?’ Although the initial blog goes a good way to answering this valid concern, I thought I’d go further today by describing my year.
2010 has been one of the toughest years of my life. It has also been the most wonderful. Let’s start with the tough bits. I sold everything I owned, uprooted myself from the country I’ve lived in my entire life and went to America, with pretty much nothing. I did not want to dip my toe and come running home if the water was cold, the only reason to ever come back to Australia was for work. Leaving behind me a vast network of family, friends and hard-won industry connections, I ventured into territory that – although many have gone before me – was entirely uncharted my me. I did so with the belief that Australia has supported me in the way an impoverished, single parent supports one of its 15 children. That is to say, not so comfortably. Like so many people in history, I see America (for me) as a land of wonderful opportunity.
I am often told by Actors and clients that they aren’t happy with their agent. They say they aren’t getting enough auditions and when they DO, they miss out on account of their age, look, race, sexuality, lack of profile and a swag of other superficial reasons. This may even (to a certain extent) be true. Regardless, this doesn’t change anything for them in a positive way. I have long since ceased concerning myself with reasons why other people MAY or MAY NOT be casting me. (This is not to say I don’t care). I recently missed out on a lead role in Australia which was the very role I’ve been type-cast in for years. When one complains of type-casting yet misses the role to which they are clearly so suited, what does one turn to as justification…? ‘I must have been too old’, ‘They obviously wanted a celebrity’, ‘That Casting Director has NEVER liked me’, ‘I didn’t have enough time to prepare’, ‘The sun was in my eyes’ etc. What remarkably resilient creatures we Actors are, to divest ourselves of all responsibility so quickly and simply. It also presupposes that there actually ARE roles out there for all actors, which is patently untrue.
The only solution I see to unemployment (in any area) is work. If it isn’t paid, then it must be voluntary. I have never known a person who volunteers to go unpaid for very long, if that is their aim, but I have seen many unemployed people who will not lift a finger to help promote a film, paint a set, swing a boom, string up decorations or tear tickets at a fundraiser. Work (unpaid) begets work (paid). If you doubt me, try it and see for yourself!
Eight hours a day is a lot of time to spend on something you hate. Something you fear. Something you feel you are terrible at. Eight hours a day is NOT a lot of time when you are IN LOVE with what you do, enjoy DOING it and know you have a certain flair for it.
Eight hours a day (at least).
Fat people will spend eight hours a day eating. Lonely old men and teenage boys spend eight hours a day surfing the ‘net for porn. Lonely ladies will spend eight hours a day on dating sites or dreaming about the perfect man. Parents will spend eight hours a day doting on their babies – and their babies will spend eight hours a day trying to work out what the hell mum and dad are trying to say to them, or else, communicating that they have a full nappy or an empty stomach. Eight hours a day is easy when fuelled by Love or Necessity. Since I can’t imagine there are many of the millions of actors worldwide who would DIE without it, Acting therefore must be a love affair. And without nourishment and constant attention – like most relationships – it will wither, die and eventually rot in their lives.
The most frequently Googled name of 2010 would have to be Julian Assange. Do you think he spends four hours a day reading cables for Wikileaks? Do you honestly believe Steve Jobs pops into Apple for a few hours and day and then clocks off to play bingo at the local RSL? Surely Rafael Nadal, Kelly Slater, Madonna and JK Rowling must spend a little more than the suggested eight hours a day on what they love. I also guarantee you, they don’t do it for the money. If they did’t LOVE it, I’d be fascinated to know what NEED they are desperately attempting to fill.
There’s only Love and Necessity.
The body builders I have met confess they were often bullied (or at least felt outcast) as a child and create the perfect fortress out of their own bodies. Anorexic girls don’t DECIDE to develop this disease, there is a tremendously deep psychological drive in them to fight their natural urge to replenish the body with food. Serial killers don’t murder because they think it’s cool or might get them laid. Heck – Hitler didn’t DABBLE in his monstrous plan for world domination. Barely a second goes by in the mind of a body builder, anorexic teen, serial killer or dictator where they are not CONSUMED by the drive to perpetuate the very things that make their existence a spectacle.
Mother Theresa, Kofi Annan and Narayanan Krishnan have the same zeal as their counter-productive counterparts, their compasses simply point a different direction. This ‘zeal’ though is only one way, the other is through Love.
There have been times when I have been told how blessed I am that I have the ability to commit so much time to what I love. I have no mortgage, no children, no full-time job – how blessed! I recall a well-known older Aussie actor seeing me in a play at The Old Fitzroy Hotel years ago and telling me how he wished he could ‘just do plays like that’. I asked why he couldn’t and he lamented the mortgage and responsibility of having children. This guy has been in more Australian films and TV shows than I may ever be! But before you think I’m having a crack at him, I get it. I GET it. It took me years but I GOT it. The thing is, it’s not about the mortgage and the kids and their soccer weekends and saving for little Johnny’s uni fees. It’s about priorities.I no longer wish to spend my time in a small theatre, working 16 hour days as a Writer, Director, Actor, Set Designer/Builder/Painter, Publicist, Producer and Psychotherapist for such little reward. I no longer wish to run into a thousand people, the week after my show closes and barely breaks even, who say “I didn’t get to see it but I heard it was wonderful!”. I GET it. Let’s be honest though, it’s about priorities and there is no shame in prioritising your kids and full belly and widescreen TV and trip to Bali over pursuing a dream that could crumble at any second if someone you respect tells you that you’re crap or you get a luke-warm review on opening night. I get it, but let’s call a spade a spade.
Success is about balancing Priorities and Desires. Either one can too easily swamp the other.
I don’t have kids yet, that is true, but I will within a few years. I don’t have a mortgage yet, personally I’d rather become rich and famous and buy a mansion with cash, than bury myself in debt for the next thirty years over a house that wasn’t exactly what I wanted anyway and only served to keep me away from my passion. What I DO have and what I do WANT is to continue being an Actor and a Director and a Writer and a Teacher for as long as I live. That is my Love AND my Necessity. And that is how I see eight hours a day (at least) as very little to contribute.
When you are in love, you cannot stop thinking of that person, or bear to be away from them. Their well-being, safety and happiness is of far more concern to you than your own. Your dedication to this person is second to none. You may feel it for a parent, lover or child but you FEEL it and you cannot prevent feeling it. I feel this way about acting, writing, directing and teaching.
I guess it’s true then – I AM blessed! :0)
“I feel that you are justified in looking into the future with true assurance, because you have a mode of living in which we find the joy of life and the joy of work harmoniously combined. Added to this is the spirit of ambition which pervades your very being, and seems to make the day’s work like a happy child at play. “
So what do I DO? Well, for this last year when I haven’t had a great deal of acting work land in my lap, I have created it, I have taught it, I have read about it, I have watched it, I have studied it, I have analysed it, I have written it. I have loved it, hated, it, chewed it up and shat it out.I have even turned down paying jobs to create it. My business, Showreels Australia just produced ‘Without Fear’, a dark, psychological thriller that I wrote for Trop Fest. I wrote it out of Love and out of Necessity. I wanted to play this role, I wanted to speak in this accent, I wanted to try a genre piece and I want to win Trop Fest.
My friend Alex and I have maintained regular meetings in LA in pursuit of getting our web series off the ground. I have shot showreels since coming home, edited non-stop with my business partner, Tristan. I have devoured a book called ‘Your Screenplay Sucks’ (very funny and highly recommended) and written an outline for another web series to be shot here in Australia. I have contributed many extra chapters to my acting training book (and even discovered that a series of books is far more likely than cramming everything into one). I have watched movies, discussed cinematic techniques with anyone who’ll listen and I have debated with a friend why she still thinks I’m so negative. I understand her point of view but realise now that I may not be sharing my whole life with her, otherwise she couldn’t possibly think that. Something else to aim for in 2011!
In every spare second I have, if I am not contributing to my love affair with acting, I am thinking about it. Even the hours I spent carelessly playing with my gorgeous six month-old niece have taught me about how human beings function, as well as the formation of talents (or complexes) through interaction with family and community members. I’ve always preached that learning about Acting should make you a better human being and becoming a better human being should improve your acting. If not, there’s something wrong. Like those strings of hundreds of Christmas lights that don’t work because one tiny bulb has blown, it can be a trial searching your life for the short circuit. Do it. If you ONLY do that, it has got to be helping. Eight hours a day will be eaten up in no time.
2011 is a heartbeat away and if I leave you with only one thing about me, let it me this:
Every year I look back and think about what I have achieved over the preceding twelve months. I can honestly say that despite missing out on jobs, having my heart broken and squandering possible opportunities along the way, I am never disappointed when New Year arrives. Never. I have probably acted less in 2010 than I ever have before, but I’m stoked with everything I HAVE done. Counter-intuitively, I have packed up and sold everything in Australia and moved to the States. I have developed many personal and professional connections there, changed house four times and drafted outlines for web series’, both in Australia and the US, as well as a feature film, with the aim to shoot in Poland in the coming years. I have written and acted in my business’ first short film, our business has produced top-notch reels for loads of new clients; our hot new website is almost ready for launch; I got engaged to the most wonderful woman in the world; my Green card is weeks away and – most importantly -I’m still alive! :0)
New year’s resolutions, as the joke would have it “goes in one year and out the other”. Doing is the only way to change your life.
2011 and gonna rock.
Happy New Year and a productive, lucrative and fulfilling 2011 to all.
=pb=
Thanks for putting it all out there Paul. Excellent points & great passion. Have an awesome 2011! Amanda Asquith
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Gatorade for the soul. Thanks PB!
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As always, mate, you're such a tonic to all like-minded folk. Have a WONDROUS 2011! xx
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Happy and a prosperous new year! 🙂
Regards,
Pranam Janney
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Thanks guys. 🙂
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Always with the challenges, the new ways to look at old things. Just what I needed to read as I embark on my new year. Who am I and why am I here? The question I strive to answer. The solution, just beyond my fingertips, tickling at the edge of my consciousness. I will figure it out, but the answer isn't the destination. Rather it is one more stop on the journey. Have a fabulous 2011. I look forward to reading more about all your endevours.
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Totally agree with what you say except for one thing:
"Work (unpaid) begets work (paid). If you doubt me, try it and see for yourself!"
I have done as much unpaid work as I could get and it has never, ever resulted in paid work. Not in this business, not in any other. I have friends in a variety of occupations and only a small proportion ever generated paid work from unpaid work.
Perhaps I'm just a shit actress, and crap at every thing else I've ever tried. I don't believe that is true. Hell, I know it is not true. Yet the same people still keep asking me to work for free.
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Interesting, Karen. Perhaps it says less about the validity of my suggestion and more about the type of free work you've been doing? Or the lack of loyalty in the people you choose to volunteer your services to?
Also, if you ONLY work on a project in the hope they will give you a paid job afterwards you have missed a great deal along the way.
"It is one of the beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely help another without helping himself."
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
What's the alternative though? It is hard to dispute the fact that doing NO work, BEGETS no work, therefore, SOME chance is better than NO chance, surely….
You and I have clearly have polar opposite experiences. I'd be interested to hear from others on the subject.
=pb=
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Actually, I do it for the love of it, never really expecting anything else to come from it. This is true for all things I do for free – for acting, animal welfare and environmental research work, and now directing.
I guess that most of people I've worked for free never get to a position of being able to offer paid work. So your suggestion that it may be the type of free work I'm doing is probably valid.
And the idea that I'm facing a lack of loyalty in the people I've chosen to work for (and who now are in a position to offer paid work) is a tough one to hear but I'm glad you said it. Not something I would have considered. Thank you.
So Paul, perhaps you can write something on what it the 'right' type of free work to do? I could obviously use some guidance, and I'm sure others could as well.
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When I see a quote by Einstein my first thought is of his wife. He could only do the work (play) he did because he had a wife working to feed him, run his household and look after his children. The same probably applies to many other men who we know as great thinkers or artists. Often the women were just as smart but didn’t have the opportunities. Being able to spend eight hours a day working on one’s passion is a privilege. You can only do it if you have shelter, food, no-one who you are responsible to care for. And that isn’t just down to good management, contraception, interest and dedication. Often it is just luck. Luck of being born into a family where you don’t have to care for a disabled person, and luck you are born into a country with a good welfare system.
When you are a woman and have kids the eight hours a day flies out the window. Can you name five women artists who had kids? Writers before about the year 2000 (so excluding Jodi Picolt, JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyers)? Scientists? Anyone who is female and quotable and has kids?
Renee Geyer has had a long career in music. She had seven abortions. No children. BB King fathered 15 children. How many of them do you reckon he actually lived with? Tom Waits says that having kids means it is harder to find the ashtrays. A woman wouldn’t say that. For a female artist having kids means taking a career break for about ten years, and then, in most creative fields, she is expected to justify her creative life, unless she is wealthy. Because women with kids are not taken seriously as artists, and creative work about your relationship with kids, if you are a woman, is not taken seriously. Why is that? Can you name a song about mothering? If a man writes a song about being a dad, he wins a Grammy. A woman whose creative work is influenced by being a mother is considered a marginal artist doing marginal work. (And a bit naff.)
The eight hours a day for a performer is trickier than for other artists. To perform you need an audience. You can’t do it at home. And to get the audience you need work. Even so, that doesn’t equal success. You can work on your passion eight hours a day until the end of time but if no-one ever sees or hears your work, what is it all for? And we all know the best actors aren’t the most successful. Networking. Personality. Looks. Luck. All play a part. Owning the means of production? That’s the way to go. Good luck.
About doing it for free. I have a writer friend who says that giving it away devalues what we do. He always charges. By me giving it away I make it harder for him to charge.
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Paul, what a wonderful way to open the year and kick start me into action. I really feel that 2010 had the same effect on me, and I very much did what you did. I immersed myself in opportunities that will continue to kick along this year, and eventually lead to more paid work.
Karen, your comments really interested me. I actually have done unpaid work that has resulted in paid opportunities so sometimes, with the right director and production, it can lead to more.
And Motherhugger, give me a few minutes and I'll find you some inspirational women with kids who are out there working. Immediately off the top of my head I know that Miranda Otto is a mum and still works 8+ hours a day on her craft (My family know her well so I know this is true). Yes I know she would be considered wealthy but not the same as big Hollywood stars. And other women over here in London are also forging forward with their careers with incredible support from their husbands. It is possible. It's all based on what we believe we can do.
I'm really excited about 2011!
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Thanks Ange!
Cath, your points are great to hear! Essential to have in the discussion. I’m so glad you’ve introduced this into the conversation. You, of all people would know how difficult (impossible, you might say) to find those eight hours a day and there are many readers here who I’m CERTAIN feel exactly the same way but don’t necessarily feel they can voice it.
My argument has two strands to it:
1) If you aim for eight hours and get ONE, you're better off than aiming for nothing and getting exactly that.
2) Eight hours could simply be observing, planning, creating plans in your head for when you DO have time.
The idea of working for free, I agree, can (in some cases) devalue the work. But I offered a guy a job in a play years ago and it was profit-share. He told me that he had placed a ‘premium’ on his abilities and that wouldn’t work for him. No worries, I thought, that’s an interesting take on it. He hasn’t worked in four years. The play was a hit, we all made money and each Actor had casting after casting from it. I offered him a role again later on screen and he told me the same thing. The work we shot got into a festival. In any case, he would have been working, meeting new people, making relationships. If I didn’t work for free EVER, I never would have met Tristan who became my best mate, business partner and partner-in-crime when we write and direct together. I would NEVER have met him. I understand the idea of highly prizing your friend’s work, but unless they work constantly, the theory may be their shackles. I also think that once you choose that philosophy, you void any right to lament lack of career progression. My two cents.
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Despite the advantages you attribute to being male in modern (actually, pretty much any) society, I am now in the minority in the world of The Arts. I am a white, straight, middle-class male. Funding does not go to me. It doesn't go to me because people like me have dominated the NON-ARTS world since people lived in caves (although we were slightly hairier back then…). The inequity is something I could lament but since I’m a person of perceived privilege, who would listen? So why bother. I appreciate though, that I am lucky to have such trivial complaints when people are dying of starvation or being raped and suffering untold agony from brutal dictators in other parts of the world. Thing is, a lot of the ‘women behind the men’ and ‘mothers with no time’ were/are from privileged society too, so their complaints could be as trivial as mine….
Unfortunately, as a man, I will always be accused of not understanding the plight of women in the world but I hope that anybody who knows me will see that I've done more than a lot of people I know to break down barriers and help people get where they want to go. I trust you know that, you've known me since I was 18.
I maintain though, that eight hours a day is something you do without even realising it. I guarantee you that your mind is spending far more than eight hours a day finding ways to repair the inequity between sexes in society and attempting to encourage resilience and independence in women and teaching them to follow their dreams (despite the massive obstacles to their progress in society and – as you point out – in The Arts). This is a passion AND a priority for you. What I’m saying to you is that if someone NEEDS to be an artist, a scientist, a cupcake decorator, a mum – they WILL BE. They will find the time. And if someone simply WANTS to be, then they will definitely need to find the time because, as you point out, there are so many people with greater advantages. Let’s work out how to do it though.
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Finally, despite the importance of the points you raise, I fear that some mothers could read your words and think that it's all just too hard. I've certainly encouraged women before in a similar discussion to find ways to get what they want DESPITE the disadvantages and I'd love this to be one of those forums.
PS – Einstein is only one of thousands of society-shapers that you could name that were able to do what they did with a ‘good woman’ behind them. I believe though that if he didn’t have a ‘good woman’, the guy would have done the same thing in a room on his own. He wouldn’t have starved to death. I mean hell, the guy had duplicates of the same suit so he didn’t need to think about which one to choose! If the major argument is that men don’t support women enough in their artistic (at least) pursuits, then you’re spot on in a lot of cases. Not all, but a lot. Do you have any ideas for men and women that you could share here to begin to correct the balance? I know there needs to be a paradigm shift for men, but surely there is a great responsibility on women, too, for stating what they want and taking control in their lives?
Thanks for your contribution.
=pb=
Xx
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