HOLLYWOOD - I
told myself I'd never do it again - especially after graduating college
with a B.A. - the stress, the degradation, the sweat, blood and tears.
But I've swallowed my pride and am doing it once again.
Yes...
I'm talking about waitressing. EECK!
"Waiting tables goes hand-in-hand with acting," everyone told me. It's true. This is the only job I know of that doesn't require
a college degree, gives you cash to take home at the end of the day
and is part-time.
Every server at my new job is an actor, so it's nice to be in the same
boat. Most have been at it for years. Discouraging, but I'm getting
great advice about auditioning, agents and how to cope with the stress
of anticipation and rejection from them.
I'm learning a lot about people skills as well - dealing with hundreds
of people with their myriad of temperaments. Each new table is like an
audition, having to smile and give them what they want in order to get a
good tip.
Guilty secret: sometimes if I don't know the answer to a menu question
and it's really busy or I'm just plain lazy and don't want to run back
to the cooks for the millionth time that day - I'll smile and make
something up. They believe it. Ahh, acting.
It's strange to be waitressing again. I'm in a very different place than
I was the last time I did this. I was studying in school for a career in
film production.
I've since found out my degree wouldn't have helped me very much. It's
who you know and what you know, not where you learned it.
My idea of Hollywood and the film industry was so distorted back then (from
the media and my own glamorous fantasies). It takes dedication,
perseverance, belief in yourself and overcoming your ego to make ends
meet... in the beginning.
