For our spotlight on temporary employment services, Back Stage elicits words of wisdom and war stories from a dozen veterans of the temping trenches. Temp jobs can provide the flexibility a performer needs to pursue a budding career, but the wrong situation can also hamstring your efforts, and the actors canvassed have some good advice on how to tell what's right for you. And what should the actor's mindset be in approaching the right temp job? Al Lawrence, president of The Employment Line in Manhattan, offers a unique perspective. He suggests actors approach it as any role for a play: Follow Stanislavski in preparing and building a character, whether it's a computer operator or a salesperson. Consider the job site your stage, the workers as your fellow actors, the supervisor as your director, the company as your producer. Just as with a theatre, consider yourself a collaborative member of the company. And, just as when a play's temporary run is over, leave the job with good wishes to your fellows, and let the "director" and "producer" know you'd like to work with them again.
Robin Bloodworth: Keeping Flexible
Robin Bloodworth has used his striking baritone speaking voice to play everything from classic roles like Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew" and Oberon in "A Midsummer's Night Dream" to Richard in "The Lion in Winter." The list of his part-time jobs between roles has been equally diverse: furniture mover, sign painter, set construction, etc., as well as the typical waiter/bartender gigs. "I had some friends who temped and I thought an office job might be a change of pace, as well as a break from the vampire-like bartending schedule. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of high-end skills. My basic computer skills have improved, but I lack the knowledge of graphics or animation programs, for example, that lead to more lucrative temp jobs."
Bloodworth's singular motive for temping is a simple one. "Far and away the biggest advantage to temping, in my case, is flexibility. I've kept the one relatively low-paying temp job, off and on, for one reason: I can come and go at a moment's notice. I can move my lunch hour to squeeze in an audition, work a partial day, or have an out-of-town job for two or three months and start back to work the day after I return. I've only missed out on one audition I can recall, and that was while working a freelance job where I was committed to deliver a project at the end of the week and couldn't leave. I've been offered staff positions, and while the pay hike is tempting (I have insurance through Equity so benefits aren't quite as much of an issue), I don't think the loss of flexibility is worth it.
"I've worked some high-end freelance temp gigs as a 'facilitator' to consultants. The pay is much better, but the hours are much longer, the stress is higher, and your time is committed until the end of that project. More often, I've worked the low-end jobs: assistant, reception, phones, etc. This is less grueling; there is often time to read scripts, learn lines, etc. This gig, however, works much better as a supplement to income than as the income. In my experience, the high-end jobs have dried up since Sept. 11. As a result, employers can chose between those with the very best skill sets. It is starting to pick up a little lately and the availability of lower-level work has been steady."
Bloodworth feels the strength actors bring to temping is their ability to "act friendly and helpful when you may not feel that way. My regular boss is very supportive and never annoyed with my audition schedule. Needless to say, I give her as much notice as I can." Bloodworth's temp service offers a week's paid vacation per 1,400 hours worked. He finds the only financial problem caused by temping is "dry cleaning. It takes a bite out of your wallet when you temp, and often you get stuck auditioning in a button-down and blazer." The advice this actor would give to anyone new to temping is simple and sensible: "Be nice, be on time, and just apply common sense to tasks and office problems."
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