The challenge becomes a line in the sand that only a few actors will be able to cross, leaving behind those who tried but could not overcome the challenge. That line then becomes the moment in time where you knew just how much you wanted to be an actor or when you realized that what you were being asked to sacrifice was just too great. Those moments still happen to actors throughout their careers, but it seems that the early struggles are the most difficult, revealing your weaknesses and forcing you to confront them with the strengths you hope are there, too. Here’s a short story to illustrate this.
Let Me Tell You a Story
Once there was an actor named…Shane, and when he was a student at drama school he, along with 30 other college actors from across the US, journeyed to London to attend the fall classes at the British American Drama Academy. This was his “senior semester abroad” from the college where he was working toward his BFA in acting. Like many of the other students he had scrimped and saved all summer to afford the trip and was thrilled to be traveling overseas and to have the opportunity of training with these wonderful teachers in England.
Shane’s excitement was short-lived, however, when he realized that after using all his scholarships and savings along with the bit of money his folks had been able to spare to pay for the classes and a room at a student hostel, he was left with a grand total of $300 to live on for the next five months. To say he was stunned would have been an understatement.
Growing up, his father had constantly said to him, “Always have a Plan B. You never know when Plan A is going to blow up in your face.” Now here he was without a clue as to how he would come up with a Plan B. Shane couldn’t work as a waiter in any of the pubs without a permit, he couldn’t ask his folks for any more money and if he didn’t come up with something soon he was going to end up catching a flight back home.
So how badly did he want to be an actor, anyway? Was it worth this? Was the vague promise of future success important enough to put up with this very real hardship in the here and now? Shane had come to that moment, that hurdle, that line in the sand.
The Subway Cowboy
The answer to his problem came a few days later from a singing Scotsman. Shane was going down to the subway when he saw this man playing guitar at the bottom of the escalator. He was singing, in a very strong Scottish brogue, a Country & Western tune; sort of like, Fat Bastard sings Hank Williams. As Shane passed by he looked down at his guitar case and saw that it was full of money!
Now in the time-honored tradition of young college actor dudes everywhere, Shane had been playing folk guitar from the age of 14…his motivation being mainly to meet girls. He had brought his guitar to London with just this purpose in mind, but now realized it was to be the instrument of his salvation…so to speak. So, every Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening and sometimes on a Sunday, Shane would put on his boots, jeans and a Western shirt and journey down to his spot at the Oxford Circus subway station to sing and play to the passersby.
He would make enough to eat on and have a little pocket money for the rest of the week…and Shane did that for the next five months.
These Boots Were Made For Walkin’
Now some student actors, when they hear this story, might say, “How cool! Living the life of an artist on the edge and making it happen!” But for Shane, there was very little about it that was cool, or even fun…especially when the weather turned colder and his fingers would go numb or his voice would get tired.
What Shane would probably tell them, is that was the moment when he walked across that line in the sand. The experience changed Shane in so many ways; it forced him to confront a whole host of fears, it made him realize how strong he really was and finally, he started to take his work as an actor far more seriously. Yet as hard as it was, he wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything.
So, you want to be an actor? Then get ready to cross that line in the sand.
To read another article on the concept of actor tenacity, go to: An Actor's Tenacity - The Three “T’s” of a Successful Actor
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