I slowly realized that the benefits and enjoyment of each activity were greatly diminished by the multitasking. Watching a movie with my boyfriend while updating my website didn’t really count as “quality time with boyfriend” and the work on my website took twice as long since I was distracted. As a multitasker I saved very little time. I didn’t add more hours to my day—I just made the hours I actually had less enjoyable.

The expectation to dedicate 20+, 30+, even 40 hours a week and be offered a daily or weekly stipend to ‘offset the cost of housing and living expenses; is simply absurd. Institutions “providing opportunities” like such are only doing harm to those that can’t afford to work for you.

Ultimately, life as an actor means wrestling with the idea that the success you desire may never materialize.  I think we can all agree based on the evidence that you have a better chance of getting a seat on the first manned mission to Mars than you do of booking a lead in a Marvel franchise.  So the question becomes – is that OK with you?

We don’t question the eight-show-a-week model, or the demands of score, or the press events the actors are expected to attend. We blame the actor. The show must go on. If it doesn’t, that actor is either lazy or they have bad technique. It’s a lose-lose situation.

I’ve always found it fascinating that when I tell people I’m an actor, they think that means I lie for a living.  On the contrary, I’m a truth-teller…how can we know what our truth is if we don’t give ourselves time to simply be?

After 20 years of performing professionally, I took a step back from my acting career out of frustration and a bit of confusion and asked myself WHY. I finally listened to a few curious voices that had been knocking for years and decided to pursue one of my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.