Carving Life Out of the Hustle
Particularly in the United States, the glorification of the hustle is inescapable. People brag about how busy they are and how little sleep they get. Running on coffee with no time for rest or self care is seen as a badge of honor. It is no less pronounced in the acting industry. I vividly remember emerging from my B.F.A. program under the distinct impression that any minute I spent not auditioning or preparing for an audition was not only a minute wasted, but somehow a moral failing.
I understand the urge to impress on young actors how much work they need to put in. Some of it is just realistic. Drive and self-motivation are absolutely essential in a career with no job security. However, constantly pushing yourself to burnout is not sustainable and will hurt your career in the long run.
Beyond the core reasons to seek respite (you’re a human being before an actor, and you need and deserve rest), there is artistic merit to broadening your life beyond work. An actor out of touch with life is hobbled. The wider your range of experiences, the more you have to draw from. But carving out space for life is easier said than done. With rising cost of living and a looming recession, any time not spent hustling to survive is becoming a privilege accessible to fewer every day. It will look different for everyone.
The first thing to do is to reframe how you view rest. This continues to be a struggle for me. But if you don’t truly value rest and respect your right to it, you will not protect it. Get fierce about your free time. Guard it. There may be opportunities here and there that you have to sacrifice in order to spend time with family, take a trip, or do other things to enrich your life. Give yourself permission to do so. Not every acting opportunity has the same weight, and work that you do when you’ve pushed yourself past your limit will not be your best work anyway.
Don’t just hold out for the big stuff. Make sure you’re getting small consistent doses of life outside of the industry. Creating small rituals for yourself (yoga in the morning, time to read at a favorite coffee shop, weekly baths) can help fuel you through long days or stretches of work. Foster connections and friendships that don’t just revolve around acting.
Remember you’re allowed to negotiate. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If your brother’s wedding is during a run, ask if you can have an understudy for a night. They may say no, but they may not. Sometimes there is room for compromise.
Balance is difficult to achieve. Many of us have been conditioned to value output above all else, which can skew how you value other aspects of your life. But making space for yourself is worth it. You are worth it.
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