In 2004, following a serious but fortunately not long-term debilitating stroke, I made the difficult decision to give up my Equity Card and step away from the career I had always dreamed of in the performing arts.
Having studied Acting at Rose Bruford College, I – like so many other bright-eyed hopefuls – had set forth into the world with all the naive dreams and aspirations of a drama school graduate in their early twenties. However, like for so many others it didn’t go to plan and I spent most of the following 18 months working in an assortment of crap jobs – with a role in telesales one of only a few which actually involved a script.
The stroke was the proverbial ‘straw’ that broke my acting career’s ‘camel’s back’.
I have since carved a reasonably successful career in PR and Marketing and last year set up my own consultancy. However, behind everything has been a nagging feeling that there is some unfinished business between Acting and myself. So, after over a decade away from the arts I have decided to revisit my dream and see whether this time I can ‘make it’ (or at least see how far I can get).
So, how does one get back into one of the most competitive careers in the world?
The honest answer is ‘I don’t know’. I know that isn’t a particularly constructive answer but at this stage it is all I’ve got!
I do have friends still in the industry, who’s brains I can (and will) pick and there are a myriad of books I can read, however, I think the majority of my strategy will involve making it up as I go along.
I think back to that dashing – albeit innocent – young man that graduated all those years ago and hope that my frown lines and (occasional) grey hairs give me some advantage – if nothing else purely from a life experience point of view.
So, with a copy of An Actor Prepares under my arm, a compulsory bottle of Evian and an acute awareness that it is going to be a long – and no doubt difficult – road ahead, my adventure begins ….
William Baylis 