Let Me Entertain You
“There’s no business like show business like no business I know.” sang a loud redhead. She shouted it so the whole audience (and then some) could hear. (Did you know that Ethel Merman’s early success was due to the fact that she could sing so loud she could be heard without a microphone in the back row of the largest theatres?)
This adage has been engrained in all of our heads. It’s a business. Filmmaking, acting, dancing, painting, writing…it’s a business first and foremost. What are you getting paid? How much did your film gross? Did you qualify for SAG health insurance this year? What do your paintings sell for? Did you get an advance on that book? How much did you get paid for dancing in that music video?
I say to hell with that. It’s an art first and foremost. BUT to eat you need to have some business with your art or more likely your artistic skills.
The ballet dancer that shakes her rear for a music video or the Shakespearean actor that puts on the gorilla outfit for a car parts commercial or the violinist that plays at weddings is not fooling themselves. They do not think “look at my wonderful artistic ass.” or “I really feel my honest emotions came through when I jumped on that tire.” or “I really nailed the Chicken Dance song today and took my music to a whole new level.” NO. Sorry, but if you hear an artist say any of those things, know they are either being incredibly sarcastic or have finally lost their minds. Either way, please get them out of the apartment and buy them a drink.
None of these people are selling out either. They are renting out the skills they learned for their art and in return they get to pay the bills, have the ability to continue to pursue their craft and still afford steak and sushi.
NOTHING is wrong with transferring your skills over to a way to earn money so you can enjoy your life but SOMETHING is wrong with thinking the two always go hand in hand or you need to make it seem that way in order to justify earning money. Yes, sometimes, you can get paid to be part of or create something truly artistic and imaginative, but most of the time, that’s not where the money is. An artist needs to eat and needs to pay his/her/their bills. Period.
Finding a way to make it enjoyable and doing in a manner that incorporates aspects of what you love to do is amazing. There is no business like the paying bills business sang a not that loud redhead.