Non-union: Blessing or Curse?

I was sitting around with a lot of fellow actors heatedly discussing the unions and the varying opinions. It was quite the passionate conversation and very educational. I always enjoy listening to people that have been doing this longer than I have and by this I mean life, not necessarily acting. But acting is interesting too I suppose. That was a joke. Anyway, maybe it's not bad that I'm not currently union because there is a whole world of work available to me because I'm not. All of the SAG actors present had to turn down some good paying jobs because they were SAG. So in some instances, what's the point of a union if it actually prevents you from booking and making money? Yes, I understand it also opens a lot of doors. It's just this new perspective. I can live my dream and act and not necessarily be union.. Something about that excites me.

I also realized that I am living my dream right now. Yes, it is the beginning of the dream, not the end of it, but the same dream none the less. Let's look at this weekend. I had coffee with a producer friend of mine, was in a dinner theatre show, hung out with some other actor friends. This is what I want to do all the time: perform and have fun friends that I enjoy. Of course, when most people get the snapshot, they think on a far more glamorous level. But, that's basically what I did this weekend and for now, that's good enough for me. I'm happy. I could do this every weekend and be fulfilled. I'm starting to catch the vision for performing and just enjoying what I do. I guess because everyone is always asking what else I'm doing all the time, I feel the need to have to achieve a certain level of fame. But why? I think that's changing in me. I'm doing what I love, what I was made for and from this day forward, I refuse to let anyone make me think it is "less than."

I'm also thinking about the concept of movement verses progress. Just because you are moving doesn't necessarily mean you are making progress. However, can progress happen without an initial movement in the first place? hmmmmm.....

I also want to read more actor autobiographies, like actual books with actual pages written by the actors themselves and just about life, all of it. I recently finished John Lithgow's book, Drama: An Actor's education. I loved that he talked about his family, the politics of  an educational drama setting and the uncertainty of the beginning years. But the book was about life and not acting, in fact, the acting part was downplayed quite a bit. I think he addresses about 10 years of his working life on Broadway in a page and spends chapters talking about the uncertainty of his journey. What I loved most was when he said, "Acting is pretty great, but it isn't everything." That will stick with me.