A New Way to Find Jobs

Although I’ve been dating an actor for over a year now, I recently found out what my favorite part of dating an actor is: finding work. We both not only find things that the other might be interested it, but we speak positively about each other to other theatre artists, making more people want to work with us.

Here’s a few examples of both:

Whenever I see an audition for something I think he would be interested in/great for, I always send it to him. I want him to do well, so providing him the extra opportunities to succeed is well appreciated. Sometimes he doesn’t agree with my findings and he doesn’t feel he is a good fit, others he isn’t available. But when I find things he does like and can do, sometimes he does get cast in them. Right now, he has a callback for a show that I found and would be great for him. If he gets it, it’ll be one of the biggest productions he will have been apart of since he started doing theatre professionally.

As for me, I found out recently that any show he gets cast in, he loves to talk about me and how talented he feels I am (needless to say that in itself made my day).When he talks about me to other directors and producers, sometimes I’ll end up getting an email from them saying how would you like to be apart of an upcoming show. Sometimes I’m too busy to take up the opportunity, and others I didn’t feel were right for me. However having a partner that helps me find directing work does make my life so much easier and I truly appreciate it.

While some of you might be thinking “but I’m not dating someone in theatre”, someone who loves you as a theatre artist doesn’t need to be a person romantically interested in you. If you can build a network of people who love working with you, they will find ways to help you find work as well.

One thing I always do is email people I know are great to work with opportunities that I feel they would be interested in. If you have shown me that you are great to work with, I’ll send you possibilities to expand your experiences and network. The fact of it is: if I know you are good, I want you to have as much of a successful career as possible. I’ve helped younger artists get connected to internships and  shows, and for artists that are older than me (and sometimes even theatre companies), I give them my knowledge on ways they can move forward. Theatres to try, festivals to be apart of, people to work with. I just love helping people find their next step(s)!

Doing that for others not only makes me feel good that I’m helping them, but often times it makes others want to return the favor. I’ve had people send me opportunities they think I’d be interested in from internships to shows, and while sometimes I don’t apply and other I get the job and love it, I simply appreciate the fact that others appreciate what I enjoy doing for them enough to want to help me in return.

OK, maybe this isn’t exactly a “new” way to find work. In fact networking is probably the #1 way. However, I found new ways to network that are beneficial on both sides. Plus to me, it’s better to give then to receive, although getting as a result to that is a great added bonus.