Men @ Bumbury
Wed, 17 Sept 2003, 11:36 amWalter Plinge6 posts in thread
Men @ Bumbury
Wed, 17 Sept 2003, 11:36 amI have just noticed that "The Men" is going on in Bunbury; I thought it was a Professional show?
But Bunbury might have changed their rules for this year, I haven't checked yet.
Any Idea?
Thanks
But Bunbury might have changed their rules for this year, I haven't checked yet.
Any Idea?
Thanks
Re: Ah, NO, Arno
Sat, 20 Nov 2004, 09:41 amArno Vann wrote:
>
> I honestly thought that no actor in Australia could actually
> be classed as "earning a livelihood in live theatre". If
> someone has/does I'd love to hear about it.
Hello Arno. Here I am.
(and the fact that I exist makes me believe I can't be the only one...I think your paradigm needs to be expanded).
> Unless someone can prove to me that some actor has made a
> living in Australia acting in theatre over a lifetime without
> some other income support I would have to say there is no
> such thing as a professional actor in Australia! (Not my
> fault - the definition is stupid.)
I agree with the last part...your definition may be stupid. (For a start, surely there are other professionals - builders, sportsmen, librarians, sales reps, etc, etc...whatever - who sometimes have other income support over their lifetime, yet would you use this to stop calling them a professional in their field of expertise? So why does this limitation of yours apply to actors?)
Looking at my records over the past two years, my entire income from ALL sources has been comprised of -
Theatre, live comedy performance, theatre workshops, and composing music for theatre: 81.08%.
Radio Commercials: 5.08%
Investment income: 6.96%
Gifts: 0.33%
Working in Outdoor Pursuits 6.55%
Investment income probably doesn't count because anybody can (and should) invest their savings no matter what their primary source of income is...and it's not directly related to the actual work I do.
I'd be inclined to put the radio commercials in the 'performance' category, but you seemed to be specifically separating live theatre from film/radio/TV. (I've got some income due to me for some recent film work, but that hasn't factored in these figures yet and anyway it's the first film role I've had for 12 years so it's hardly representative).
Gifts account for bugger-all. (No offense, Grandma...I still appreciate the money at birthdays and xmas!)
There have been the occasional payments for writing, but they were either ongoing royalties for a play I co-wrote, commissions to write music or lyrics for theatre, or fees for contributing theatre reviews to a magazine...so I can confidently class it all as 'theatre'. Same with my workshop fees...I consider tutoring the odd drama workshop counts as earning an income from theatre. I only do a handful a year.
That leaves 'Outdoor Pursuits' which for me is a combination of teaching scuba/snorkeling, and taking kids on camps where I go hiking, caving, abseiling, mountainbiking, kayaking, etc. Okay, I earn an income from it, but it really is more of a hobby...just stuff I love doing in my spare time. At 6.55% of the total it's hardly a crucial part of my income, but it means I can afford a few nice toys every so often (the iPod, the GPS, the Guitar synth, ..!)
> The key here is what defines a livelihood. I'm sorry but
> several years in a row doesn't cut it for me let alone a
> single 12 month period. Let's face it, while it may be
> possible to earn a (constant) living in New York or London
> (or other parts of the world) treading the boards, it just
> ain't a total career in OZ just yet. More of let's face it -
> it's almost impossible to make a livelihood out of acting
> here period.
Hmm. Well, MY definition of a livelihood is : paying my rent, phone bill, electricity bill, water bill, petrol & car maintainence, food & entertainment expenses, clothing, insurance, medical, travel, household appliances, education, work equipment & expenses, and EVERYTHING ELSE.
And for me, all of this gets covered by the 86% I earn from live performance and radio...i.e. if I didn't earn the other 14% I could still cover everything required for my livelihood.
As far as 'cutting it' for several years in a row...I believe these figures are fairly indicative of my entire working career, which has now almost spanned 17 consistent years. In fact, I've probably done less theatre these past two years than previously, so if I had the income figures at hand the percentage of theatre income would actually be even higher!
> Don't get me wrong - the talent here is enormous! It's just
> that none of our cities are big enough to support a dedicated
> theatre-only acting-only staff given the variety of
> entertainment available to modern society (and I think it
> would be unfair to exclude someone from acting when they had
> made a 'livelihood' from, say, directing.
Yet here I am in little old Perth, contradicting everything you say. And I reckon there must be a fair number of others doing better than me from acting; although in the Eastern states their percentage of income is probably also spread amongst film, TV & commercials, something I get precious little of here.
Of course, none of this is to say that I'm rolling in money, because I'm certainly not. I live pretty frugally (although I like to eat well, and I do tend to splurge on the aforementioned toys!), and I don't have a family to support...definitely a critical factor. But on the other hand, I've just had loan approval to start building a house...
So I'm sorry to sometimes sound like a theatre know-it-all, but as you can now see...I can afford to be!
Cheers
Craig
>
> I honestly thought that no actor in Australia could actually
> be classed as "earning a livelihood in live theatre". If
> someone has/does I'd love to hear about it.
Hello Arno. Here I am.
(and the fact that I exist makes me believe I can't be the only one...I think your paradigm needs to be expanded).
> Unless someone can prove to me that some actor has made a
> living in Australia acting in theatre over a lifetime without
> some other income support I would have to say there is no
> such thing as a professional actor in Australia! (Not my
> fault - the definition is stupid.)
I agree with the last part...your definition may be stupid. (For a start, surely there are other professionals - builders, sportsmen, librarians, sales reps, etc, etc...whatever - who sometimes have other income support over their lifetime, yet would you use this to stop calling them a professional in their field of expertise? So why does this limitation of yours apply to actors?)
Looking at my records over the past two years, my entire income from ALL sources has been comprised of -
Theatre, live comedy performance, theatre workshops, and composing music for theatre: 81.08%.
Radio Commercials: 5.08%
Investment income: 6.96%
Gifts: 0.33%
Working in Outdoor Pursuits 6.55%
Investment income probably doesn't count because anybody can (and should) invest their savings no matter what their primary source of income is...and it's not directly related to the actual work I do.
I'd be inclined to put the radio commercials in the 'performance' category, but you seemed to be specifically separating live theatre from film/radio/TV. (I've got some income due to me for some recent film work, but that hasn't factored in these figures yet and anyway it's the first film role I've had for 12 years so it's hardly representative).
Gifts account for bugger-all. (No offense, Grandma...I still appreciate the money at birthdays and xmas!)
There have been the occasional payments for writing, but they were either ongoing royalties for a play I co-wrote, commissions to write music or lyrics for theatre, or fees for contributing theatre reviews to a magazine...so I can confidently class it all as 'theatre'. Same with my workshop fees...I consider tutoring the odd drama workshop counts as earning an income from theatre. I only do a handful a year.
That leaves 'Outdoor Pursuits' which for me is a combination of teaching scuba/snorkeling, and taking kids on camps where I go hiking, caving, abseiling, mountainbiking, kayaking, etc. Okay, I earn an income from it, but it really is more of a hobby...just stuff I love doing in my spare time. At 6.55% of the total it's hardly a crucial part of my income, but it means I can afford a few nice toys every so often (the iPod, the GPS, the Guitar synth, ..!)
> The key here is what defines a livelihood. I'm sorry but
> several years in a row doesn't cut it for me let alone a
> single 12 month period. Let's face it, while it may be
> possible to earn a (constant) living in New York or London
> (or other parts of the world) treading the boards, it just
> ain't a total career in OZ just yet. More of let's face it -
> it's almost impossible to make a livelihood out of acting
> here period.
Hmm. Well, MY definition of a livelihood is : paying my rent, phone bill, electricity bill, water bill, petrol & car maintainence, food & entertainment expenses, clothing, insurance, medical, travel, household appliances, education, work equipment & expenses, and EVERYTHING ELSE.
And for me, all of this gets covered by the 86% I earn from live performance and radio...i.e. if I didn't earn the other 14% I could still cover everything required for my livelihood.
As far as 'cutting it' for several years in a row...I believe these figures are fairly indicative of my entire working career, which has now almost spanned 17 consistent years. In fact, I've probably done less theatre these past two years than previously, so if I had the income figures at hand the percentage of theatre income would actually be even higher!
> Don't get me wrong - the talent here is enormous! It's just
> that none of our cities are big enough to support a dedicated
> theatre-only acting-only staff given the variety of
> entertainment available to modern society (and I think it
> would be unfair to exclude someone from acting when they had
> made a 'livelihood' from, say, directing.
Yet here I am in little old Perth, contradicting everything you say. And I reckon there must be a fair number of others doing better than me from acting; although in the Eastern states their percentage of income is probably also spread amongst film, TV & commercials, something I get precious little of here.
Of course, none of this is to say that I'm rolling in money, because I'm certainly not. I live pretty frugally (although I like to eat well, and I do tend to splurge on the aforementioned toys!), and I don't have a family to support...definitely a critical factor. But on the other hand, I've just had loan approval to start building a house...
So I'm sorry to sometimes sound like a theatre know-it-all, but as you can now see...I can afford to be!
Cheers
Craig