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Acting by the Number$: Can Theatre Pay the Bills?

Art is awesome. I love making art. All I’ve ever wanted to do was tell stories, the kind that help us examine the human experience. That’s what I believe acting to be, particularly in the theatre. Now from a working actor’s perspective, reality has to come into play. You want to do stage work, it’s your passion, but do you remember all the times someone in your past told you that “there’s no money in theatre”? I hate to break it to you, but that person was right. But there’s a way to survive. You can act for a living. But to me, the only way to do it, is by using ALL of the mediums that are out there beyond the stage.
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How Can You Have a Family and Work in the Arts?

How can you have a family when you work in theatre arts? I am nearly thirty. Plenty of my peers have children, so I could, too, except I work in the arts. The choice to have children or not is made for a myriad of reasons, but the time and financial responsibility isn’t always manageable in theatre. It’s just not that simple in this line of work. There are so many factors to consider.
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Actors and Costume Designers: Building a Perfect Relationship

Clothing is the most intimate and relatable design element in theater. Everyone wears clothing, and everyone has opinions about clothing. Often what we wear says more than any words or actions do: who we are, where we’re from, what year it is, how much money we have, how much money we want other to think we have. These are just a few stories clothing tells in real life and onstage, making the relationship between the actor and the costume designer one of the most important. As you share your discoveries of your character, the costumer can share theirs and you can build a strong character together if you follow five simple steps.
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Surviving Tax Season as an Artist

When you work as an artist, tax season blows. With a slough of 1099s and income that is often earned from various states, artist taxes are some of the most complex. Meanwhile, we earn gross incomes small enough that we often can’t afford accountants. Instead, artists are left to struggle through seas of forms, cross our fingers that we’ll avoid an audit, and hope against hope that we can eek out a refund. Before panic sets in, take a moment to relish in the fact that YOU MADE A LIVING AS AN ARTIST. Now, get smart, submit your paperwork, and get that refund!
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Community: A Theatrical Necessity

Community engagement must be a part of every theatre-making process. There is no theatre without an audience. The audience is as much a part of a play-making experience as the artists—so how do we incorporate them more actively into what we do? We must work with them – and I’ve learned, in so doing, that working with the community teaches me just as much or more about the play on which I’m working than anything I do in the rehearsal room or on stage.

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