Top 10 Resting Jobs for Actors
- Call centre operator. It’s a classic. Telesales, market research,
customer services, these are the kind of jobs that actors are apparently
good at because all you need to be able to do is talk to people on the
phone. Call centres love actors and they can be very flexible. Just
don’t expect to have a soul when you’ve worked there for any length of
time. I lasted six months and then decided never again. Personally I
would rather slice my toes off than go back to that line of work, but
for some (particularly young) actors it works really well.
- TA. Nope I don’t mean the Territorial Army, although you may want to
consider this as another option if you’re good at movement and fencing.
Being a TA, or Teaching Assistant, can be a great in between job for
actors if you like children. Flexible and at times challenging, this is a
good option for lots of people. The pay is quite low however so make
sure you go with an agency who won’t completely fleece you.
- Workshop Facilitator. Many a canny actor offers their own workshops
to schools/adults and if you have the skills and the experience go for
it!
- Role Player. It takes ages to get in to a role play company unless
they are looking for your specific casting type, but if you persevere,
it’s worth it. Role play generally pays quite well, but be prepared for
early mornings, repetition and /or emotional trauma. I’ve done role-play
for police training and there’s only so many times in a day you can
confess to be abused by a family member!
- Waitress/Waiter/Bar tender. This is pretty self explanatory. Find a
pub/cafe/restaurant where you like the staff and the tips are good and
you’re sorted. You’ll probably have to do a lot of hours to make the
rent though so make sure it’s bearable.
- Receptionist. My favourite so far. If you’re taken on as casual
staff/temping it’s flexible enough and can almost be quite pleasant!
- Promotions Worker. Some people (ie tall men and good looking girls)
are great at this. For the rest of us it’s hard work. I still have
flashbacks of handing out free newspapers that no one reads at 5am
getting pushed and pulled by grumpy commuters. However, if you’re a
glamorous type you might end up giving out shots in a bar. Apparently
that can be fun…..I’m not convinced.
- Box Office/Front of House Staff. This is a good one. although
there’s often not a huge amount of shifts going in some theatres.
However you do get the chance to see lots of plays….However you do get
the chance to see lots of plays that you’re not in so make sure
you’re ok with that. I once witnessed an angry out of work actor forced
to watch some D list celebrity in an Ibsen play for the twentieth time
and it wasn’t a pretty sight.
- Teaching in Drama Schools/Supply Teaching/Language Teaching. All of
the aforementioned teaching need training to some extent. To be a supply
teacher you’d need to spend a year doing a PGCE. It’s a huge
committment and you have to be genuinly interested and good at teaching,
but for some people this works very well.
- Access Work. This is flexible and often very interesting. As an
access worker I have worked with several people who have disabilities
and need an able bodied person to assist them in various ways. For
instance I have worked with visually impaired people who need me to help
guide them and describe things for them. You are there as an extra
support and it’s your job in this role to keep very much in the
background and not to take over, so don’t do it if you’re loud and
wacky! There can be a fair amount of waiting around until you are needed
and it can be a tiny bit frustrating for some people not to be able to
contribute much, but if you don’t mind this it’s a great job.
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