Friday 9 January 2009

Turning Down Work

...is ALWAYS a nightmare. I was offered a job yesterday for a theatre company based abroad. That's impossible at the moment for a number of reasons, so I had to call the guy this morning and let him down. At least he took it well.
They say as an actor your greatest control over your career (and there's little enough of that, really) is your choice whether or not to take a job - you always have the final say. What they don't tell you is how hoity some people get about you exercising your choice. A guy who everyone seems to have worked for once offered me Prospero in "The Tempest" at his pub theatre in (far) North London, and just wouldn't take no for an answer.
It was mainly the profitshare (for which read guaranteed practically unpaid) factor, but the prospect of providing my own costume and doing six shows a week in front of an average audience of nine really didn't help.
He couldn't believe I was turning it down. "But you've done three shows in a row here - you're just getting started!"
Mmmmmm.

No comments: