Long before Whitney Houston traded in her vocal pipes for a crack pipe, the chick had it right: children truly are our future.I received an email from a young actress named Rebecca, who had already become disillusioned with the biz thanks to a bitch of a co-star in a play she was doing.
Rebecca then came across my blog and felt impelled to email me. And if her timing as an actor is nearly as impeccable as the timing of her email, she’s going places. I received this just as I was about to head out the door to help out on my friend John’s film.
Here’s a streamlined version of her message:
Hey Matt,
I happened upon your blog today and read your post "Allow Me to Introduce My Friends." I just want to thank you for taking the time to make the post.
I'm a sixteen year-old actress. I love performing, but I recently had a rather disheartening experience. I'm currently participating in a progressive play of sorts at a living history museum.
It came to light, just last night, however, during the first time that one of my scenes was performed during the evening, the woman who enters the scene and makes her speech did not appreciate us performing our background "aside" action.
I have always heard about the "selfish" people in the industry, but I had never really witnessed it first hand until last night. I was not initially upset, but as I keep thinking about it, I find myself disappointed. She gave me the impression that acting is an industry in which selfishness and dog-eat-dog competition naturally result. She performs for a living, and when she blew up in our faces, she gave me the impression of an actress that has lost the joy of acting for the sake of acting and instead performs for the sake of recognition. I realized that I don't want to be part of that kind of environment/mindset and I don't want to end up that way. When I read your blog post this morning, however, my faith that there can be a sense of camaraderie, a sense of fun, and genuine showing of unselfishness in the acting industry, which I always knew existed, was restored. Thank you.
As silly as it sounds, your little compartmentalized piece of the Blogosphere has done some good for one lost, little, disenchanted sixteen year old. :)
Thanks again and best wishes,
Rebecca :)
When I spoke to the Rotary Club last week, a woman asked me if I were to ever have kids, would I encourage them to pursue acting. My answer: my kids would be free to do anything they wish. Except watch reality shows. Or root for the Red Sox. Or adopt a dog smaller than 75 lbs. Or text the word "lol". I could go on.
