Being a Successful Actor, Poet or Artist

Many actors give up in their acting career, turned off by agents that do not represent them or are just looking for a collection of pictures to show off in their books. Here are some ways for the actor to stay afloat and even get paid for what he does.

1. One way to get around the dilemma of getting work is by thinking outside of the system. If the actor feels he is not being duly represented he should represent himself and contact casting houses on his own.
2. The actor should always update his portfolio. This means he should have a current picture of himself and an updated resume.
3. The actor should keep abreast of current workshops that come into town and I am not talking about the mills that are only interested in espousing their names and do not offer any employment outlets for their students
4. The actor should consider creating his own medium. That means working on plays for fringe festivals, directing his own work and applying other artistic talents so that he can reach a wider audience.
5. He should also avoid those who throw in negative karma. There is one poetry person in Montreal who was turned off by my mentioning that I wanted to advertise my poetry through poetry readings, which is a normal thing to do. At the same time she is busy promoting herself through poetry reading forums where she collects 5 dollars at the door for every visit (which is not bad making scheme in itself). I could never get on her presentation list as a poet although I have been an avid producer and presented my work elsewhere too. There are poetry-readings to be done at other centers where this person is not in charge and other cities!
6. Poets should look into publishing their work through on-line presses, which could be cheaper as well as small local presses and even translate their work into other languages. It helps if they are fluent in another language to cut costs doing this.
7. Artists should never give up contacting businesses to see if there aren't any funding programs available that will commission the artist for paintings in their offices or foyers. Sometimes a printing company might offer its space for artistic work that they would print into chapbooks.
8. Many companies use artwork for advertisement purposes. I had come across a young artist who exhibited his work at a local gallery but then discovered that his work was incorporated into a Via Rail advertisement.
9. Always reinvent yourself. Look how Woody Allen no longer panders about love relationships gone wrong. He now films other genre. This is what the artist should do and he dies not have to have a big name to make a change.
10. Accept advice like in any other field. Never remain close-minded about what you already know. The world changes, as do acting methods, art styles and poetry forms.