Wake up. Pray for work. Pray to Shakespeare. Sit in local pub in long coat. Receive call from agent and get part in latest Marvel film. Learn lines for five hours. Shoot self-tape hours before it is due. Pay rent. Buy mansion. Walk around city in character, scaring children and stray dogs. No matter the path: a day in the life of an actor is never boring. But what exactly can you expect? What’s accurate and what’s a well-trodden myth? Today, we’re going to explore exactly that…
A day in the life of an actor is a unique thing: no two are quite alike. Some days might entail juggling auditions and day jobs, others might call for long hours on set or late nights at the theatre. Actors need to be ready for each and every one of them, while recognising that there is no set path for them to live their lives.
To accommodate the multitudes the actor’s life contains, we’re not just going to take you through one hypothetical turn of the globe. We’re going to look at a few different scenarios that you might encounter as an actor—remembering always the countless variations on each of these that will be.
So set your alarm, silence your phone and switch off the reading lamp. Next you awake, you’ll be in very different shoes…
The Job Hustle Day
Our first day in the life of an actor is all about the grind. It’s a day of multiple responsibilities—the kind that can deliver excellent results, provided it’s not overdone in your calendar.
7am – Warm-up/Exercise
The day begins with some vocal and physical warm-ups. The ten-to-fifteen minutes you invest in your body and voice every day are going to keep you sharp and honed for any potential jobs that might arise.
It’s also a great time of day to fit in some kind of exercise: a session at the gym, a run, Pilates or even a swim if you live someplace wet enough.
9am – Audition Hunt
Once you’re fed/showered/dressed (all very important when you’re working for yourself or from home) it’s time to check in on any audition/job opportunities. You trawl the casting networks sites, research theatre companies directly for upcoming notices.
If you find opportunities for later in the year, mark them in your calendar so they don’t creep up on you. An open call at a major theatre company is something you’ll want to prep for: better to know about it now than later.
10am – Showreel Development
Earlier in the year, you made the decision to work on your showreel. Rather than setting aside a weekend to do it all in a panicked rush, you’ve set aside a few hours a week to work carefully towards the goal.
Today you looked at the ten scripts you’ve put aside as potential scenes to include, and cut them down to a shortlist of five. You even began to do a little script work on the surest choice of the lot: in front of camera, to practice framing and technique.
12pm – Self-tape for Commercial
Don’t put that camera away: it’s self-taping time! Your agent sent through an audition for a car commercial the night before which is due this evening. You read the sides, work through the lines and end up with three takes you’re happy enough to send to your agent.
2pm – Day Job
In the afternoon, you work a few hours at a local café as a barista. It’s a good job—pay is fair, tips are helpful, and they know that as an actor you may need to step away from the occasional shift.
Yes, you’ve gone from one type of work to the next. But there’s something refreshing about the kind of work where you don’t need to end-game a long career in the arts. You can lose yourself in the repetition of the job and give your brain a break.
7pm – Theatre Workshop
At a time when most people are sitting down to dinner or clocking off a particularly long day, you’re off to a local theatre! Late last year, you offered your services to a playwright to read their latest work at a small, public showing. You may have even spent a weekend pulling the work apart and giving feedback.
It’s not a paid gig, but it’s a great networking opportunity with a company you’ve long admired. The fact that you’ve donated your time means that you now feel on an equal footing with the people in charge. You’re not an actor talking to a producer: you’re two collaborators. And you’re able to call on this relationship when pursuing future opportunities.
10pm – Tackling the Canon
You’re feeling wired after the reading—far too excited and inspired to sleep! So you wind down for the evening by reading the rest of that great, classic play you’ve been working through.
Like exercising or warming up, a daily read of something is a vital part of an actor’s development. And that’s to say nothing of how enjoyable it is to get lost in a truly captivating piece of writing.
The Theatre Day
Our second day in the life of an actor is another biggie (in fact, none of them boast particularly desirable hours.) This one details the efforts of a theatre fanatic—and a busy one at that!
9am – Rehearsal
You’re headed for a 9am call at the theatre to rehearse a new production. Actually, since the call is 9, you probably arrived closer to 8:30 so you could perform some vocal/physical warm-ups in the space.
It’s, let’s say, two weeks into full-time rehearsals. So after two weeks of intense character study and ‘table work’ on the script, you’re up on your feet and blocking the piece. You’ll need to pay close attention to what your character says and does, and take copious notes before the day is done.
4pm – Rest/Recharge
Rehearsals finish. Since you’re working that night, you make the choice to stay out rather than go home (lest you collapse onto the couch and not get up again.) You decide on a long walk—to get in touch with nature after a day inside being slowly dehydrated by air conditioner and instant coffee.
Even on a busy day in the life of an actor, chunks of ‘nothing’ aren’t uncommon. The trick is to use them decisively to relax, recharge and centre yourself. Especially if you have something taxing ahead of you yet to come.
6pm – One Hour Call
At six, you’re expected to be at the theatre before your show that night. Performing a show while you rehearse your next is a lot to juggle, but you’re a few weeks into this run and the theatre feels more like home than a workplace at this point.
The one hour call allows you to get into costume, set your props, do hair and make-up and ready yourself however you like for the show ahead.
7pm – Performance
You are roughly twenty performances into this run, and the show feels as fresh and exciting as ever. No matter how you feel about your life around this—be it personal, or the process of rehearsal for the next project—being on stage is electrifying.
10pm – Post-show Routine
Every serious actor has a routine to de-role themselves and step away from work for the evening. For you, it’s a hot shower in your dressing room and a late night kebab at the food truck opposite the theatre.
You haven’t always done the post-show routine well, but you’ve worked at it. Now you can return home feeling satisfied—if completely exhausted from this day! That said: you wouldn’t change it for anything.
The Film Set Day
Film shoots are the epitome of the phrase ‘hurry up and wait’. There’s long hours of nothing, followed by frantic flurries of action and blocking and fighting the clock. But they’re a hell of a lot of fun. No better way to run away and join the circus (besides literally doing so.)
5am – H/MU Call
Yeah, so film jobs equal gross hours. You’ll likely be getting up before you go to bed, just to get on set and have your hair and make-up done by professionals whose pep and work ethic at that hour is vaguely magical.
Luckily, an early call means breakfast is provided, so you can load up for the day ahead.
6am – Filming
Filming is slated to begin promptly at six … except there’s a bit of a delay due to some weather complications. Also, they need to move up a certain shot to better deal with the lighting situation. And actually would you mind waiting while the director tries this one thing they don’t have time to do?
You’ll spend a lot of time waiting around on set. The trick is not to let it get to you, and instead embrace the long hours as an opportunity to knuckle down with the script and make some truly exciting choices to bring to set.
Acting on film is its own art, and luckily something you’ve read about on StageMilk in the past. At the very least, you remember that it’s all about trusting your director, your fellow cast and creatives. Film is the ultimate team sport.
5pm – Wind Down/Prep
After an eternity, the day ends. You’re called again the next day, meaning that you’ll need to head home and spend some time prepping the scenes for the following day. Sure, you could do that on set the next day—but you never know what the schedule might do from one day to the next. So get a jump now and be prepared.
Finally, it’s time to wind down. The long hours of a film shoot require plenty of rest and wellbeing; try to limit the amount of wild nights out you have with your ragtag film family—especially when you’re on location.
The ‘Actor’s Life’ Day
Our last day in the life of an actor is a little bit different. This is less about the hustle, or any actual acting jobs. It’s about finding balance and purpose in those quiet times: the times between gigs when it’s easy to lose sight of the goals you’ve kicked, or even the path in front of you. These days can be some of the hardest. That is, unless you make the effort to use them well and cherish them.
7am – Warm-up/Exercise
Working or not, it pays to wake up and keep your instrument in shape. Take quiet days in your life as a chance to focus on technique and execution of warm-ups. Is there an aspect of your warm-up that requires a little extra effort or attention?
9am – Day Job
At nine, you start a shift at your day job. While you’re not necessarily on a film set, you’re still working in your field by working as a drama teacher—running weekend workshops in screen acting. It’s rewarding work, and is surprisingly beneficial in your own development as an artist. When you teach: you have to know your stuff, and be able to stand by your opinions on your craft.
The dirty secret about professional actors and day jobs is that they’re a necessary thing, and everybody works them. You are never defined by the work you do to pay the rent. You’re certainly never defined as an actor or not because of it.
3pm – Professional Development
After work, you head to the park with a couple of printed scenes and a red pen. Having joined StageMilk the month before, your membership affords you the chance to send work in for feedback (among other things.) And quicker than you might say the words “shameless plug”, your tape is almost due!
So you spend the afternoon working on script analysis, focusing on the different beats in the scenes as that’s your current focus. Often, it’s in these quiet moments of study where you do your best work on your craft. The deadline isn’t (t0o) pressing, and you get to develop your skills at your own pace.
6pm – Dungeons and Dragons
After that, you retire for scene study with some actor friends. Well. Sort of. You head back to yours to host a tabletop role-playing game which, despite being more than a little nerdy, is actually a terrific tool to practice acting and storytelling skills. What’s more, it’s a great and creative way to strengthen your artistic community. One dungeon at a time.
9pm – Watching a Classic Film
And since we’re planning a pretty epic day, let’s top it off with watching a classic film—something to inspire you into creativity and keep you thinking. Maybe your friends stick around, maybe you’re rolling solo. Either way, a film is an incredibly enriching way of relaxing you as an actor, and expanding your mind in the process.
A Multi-faceted Journey
So there you have it: a day in the life of an actor! Or perhaps: a day in the life of four actors. Actually, it could very well be four days in the same life: acting is like that. It’s a twisting, turning adventure that promises nothing more than a lot of uncertainty and excitement.
Some days will go as planned, some days will surprise you in the greatest of ways. The days you have to plan for are the ones that kick you while you’re down. They’re out there and they’re coming. But they pass. And there’s no telling what the day after that (and so on) might bring.
Good luck!
