Things I wish I’d known when I started my acting career

When I finished my HND Performing Arts course I had no idea what I wanted to do, I just knew it wasn’t waiting tables, that’s for sure! Four years on, I am self-employed  – the managing director of STR Productions and this is my take on surviving in this highly competitive creative world.

Create your own opportunities

Acting and performing is a very competitive industry —there are a lot of people grappling for a comparatively low number of jobs. Unless you’re one of the lucky ones, you will need to work to make your own opportunities. This was the main reason l became self-employed.  I don’t think it matters if you have a degree or a masters, there isn’t a job waiting for you when you leave university. So, I made my own work. It annoyed me that there was so many people, like me, struggling. I decided I wanted to change that. I love what I do now and how the work changes – every day is different.

Be inspired

College taught me how to buckle down and get work done. I was fortunate enough to have a great lecturer in drama that really supported the students and showed everyone that there are various roles to work in within the theatre industry. Initially I thought the only option I had was to be an actor, until I became aware of all these other opportunities.

Raise your aspirations

The turning point was definitely, when my lecturer gave me the chance to do a week-long workshop, meeting people who worked in various roles in the theatre world. I remember walking out after the week thinking, I am going to start my own company!

Identify your values

My business is called STR Productions and we support various artists from writers, actors to musicians. We promote equality and inclusion in the arts, regardless of gender, sex, background or what people look like, we offer them the same opportunities. It is sad that I have seen many people turned down because they ‘don’t fit the bill.’ We also want to change perceptions about the creative worth of actors. People can’t live on exposure – they need to earn a fair wage. It’s about respect.

STR Productions create events; from music nights to productions and make them affordable to people in the area. Parts of Ayrshire are some of the most deprived areas in Scotland. We offer work for everyone. If someone comes to us and says they have an idea, say they have written a script, we give them the tools to create a play out of it. We have created a network of people, that support each other in making more work, and in return this supports local venues by bringing more people through the doors to generate more income.

Because you’re worth it

What makes my business unique is everyone is paid! I honestly hate people asking creatives to work for free. You wouldn’t ask a plumber or a joiner to work for 15 hours for free so why do people think it’s okay to ask a creative to do it? Everyone we work with we try to change their mindset from thinking, “If I do it for free I’ll get recognised”  to “ Ideserve to be paid”.

If we all decided one day we weren’t working for free, rates would get better!

Our customers range from private clients, councils to individuals. We run a tight ship because reliability is everything. If someone is paying us to do a job, we do everything we can to make sure they get what they want, on time and for the budget they have. Budgeting is extremely important!

Creating opportunities in Ayrshire

There are not a lot of opportunities in Ayrshire for actors but we are working hard to change that. In an area where there was absolutely nothing we are slowly creating opportunities for event work, writing, acting, directing, training, music etc. Undeniably there are opportunities in the creative market outside of Ayrshire.

Build your network

The main challenge in the performing arts industry is finding work. Creative arts isn’t like a normal job, where you send a CV and that’s that.  Mostly you find work through networking – it’s all about who you know. If someone likes you, they will recommend you. Also, it’s a heavily saturated market. It can get quite competitive for anyone in the creative industry, especially when there are so few paying jobs.

On the business side – the good thing with working in various places is that you meet a lot of wonderful people that you learn from. Be mindful and choose your business advisors carefully. 

Learn resilience

For my business to thrive I need to be reliable! I honestly cannot emphasise that enough. Work hours can be downright crazy for creatives, but you can’t be late or leave early. Definitely do not apply to do work and then never follow up! Only apply if you know you can do it. Which brings me to passion. You really need to be passionate about what you do because it’s is hard, and if you don’t have passion and are willing to keep trying then you will find that you’ll drop of the map. Tenacity and resilience are essential in this business.

Be sociable

You need to be social and nice. I know that probably sounds obvious but spend that extra half hour to mingle at an event, it won’t kill you. As for being nice, I know many employers who never hire people again and those people are left wondering why. It’s because of their attitude. You can be the best actor, musician or lighting tech but if you spend the whole time moaning about it, you’ll get the sack and blacklisted. People talk and employers hate it. No one will tell you that either.

Never stop learning

Lastly, leave your ego at the door. Don’t be afraid to admit you’ve made a mistake or you don’t know how to do something. Everyone is always learning, we never stop. Making mistakes is how we learn so swallow your pride and ask. I have had to teach myself all about running a business and I’ve learned from throwing myself out there, and picking it up on the job.

Teamwork makes the dream work

I run everything behind the scenes but I work with a team of amazing people. They all have their own talents and I think that is great. I have assistants, graphic designers etc. Sometimes opening the doors to other people brings fresh ideas and that’s always welcome. As a director, you need someone to say your idea sucks and another idea is better. That’s okay – it’s about being humble and accepting outside help. There is more to be found in a sea than a pond!

We need people like you

We are always open to people to join! I look for people that have the confidence to work on their own, not be afraid to voice their ideas and to be dedicated. I’m going to bring up reliability again. I just can’t highlight enough how important it is. If word gets around you are unreliable, no one will want to work with you and please trust me, word definitely gets around. Just now, we are looking for lots of people, to create and run various workshops/classes, help with event work, actors, theatre work and more (if you are interested in joining us please get in touch!).

Straight talking

In the future, I would like to start get into workshops for business that cover a lot of the topics I have discussed here. Looking at how to market yourself, capacity building, creating electronic press packs for a band, how to run events and get people interested in what you have to offer. I think a lot of that is notoriously hard to get straight answers to, and I would really like to help people who were once like me, totally lost in all the online advice.

The rewards of being self-employed are, you get to be your own boss. If you don’t like how some things are working out, you can change it.  I love the responsibility. Also you can choose your own work, when you work, and ultimately you are doing something you love.

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