Am I a Waitress or an Actress?

I like to call myself an Actress but in reality I work far more as a waitress and definitely earn more money as a waitress.

A casting director once told me, “You can’t call yourself an actor unless you are getting regulary paid work for acting.”

So the fact that I have been trained in acting and that most of my past work has been profit share for fringe theatre show or my own work I have put on in tiny theatres, where I most definitely didn’t pay myself, does this mean I’m not allowed to call myself an actress. Is it just seen as a hobby.

If your parents put you in adverts and shows as a child or your family are in the industry, it is much easier to succeed as an actor. Looking at famous actors IMDB’s they all seen to have their first jobs at a very young age unlike me who is still plugging away at auditions. This isn’t always the case, especially for British actors but the majority of the time it is… I’m not bitter, Promise!

It’s hard to make a living from being an actress and for me working as a waitress is a must at the moment, no matter how much I cringe at saying that's my job and becoming increasingly annoyed at the pubic! However I have clear goals put in place this year so hopefully my luck will finally change. All I need is that paid acting job and I can keep the waitress part of my life a secret for a while.