NewEnglandFilm.com

Is your name Julia Roberts, James Cameron or John Mayer? If the answer is ‘No’ and you are a member of an entertainment industry union, how do you make a living between gigs? Waiting tables is one option. Bike messaging another. How do you pursue your life passion while making a living? Perhaps you might turn to the national non-profit Actors’ Work Program (AWP), which helps struggling industry professionals find jobs that not only interest them, but also help them pay the bills.

Created in 1986 by actress Joan Lowell, The Actors’ Work Program provides support, training and job placement to over 9,000 entertainment industry members throughout the country.

Early on, Lowell recognized the necessity for mature and aging women in the industry to remain vital and active members of the community. To combat the ageism she saw in the industry, Lowell sought out Career Counselor Ronda J. Ormont and created a place where Union members could meet and discuss career alternatives through education and training. They quickly realized a need to expand their outreach to the whole entertainment industry, not just women.

Originally supported by Actors’ Equity Association, they branched out with support from government programs including scholarships and grant money for training and education outside the industry.

"The focus [was] on assisting actors to gain new skills for employment as well as identify and pursue possible sideline or second careers," says AWP Career Counseling Supervisor, Patricia "Patch" Schwadron. As such, AWP is a lifelong service that accommodates situational changes and job changes.

In 1998, they joined forces with The Actors’ Fund of America, allowing AWP to grow with the changing job market. The Actors’ Fund of America was founded in 1882 to help entertainment professionals (writers, directors, editors, dancers, engineers, designers, actors, etc.) receive personal and professional help as needed. Successful industry members wanted to help fight the prejudices facing theatre actors.

"What makes AWP so interesting is that it is the artistic community taking care of its own," says Schwadron. Whether providing financial assistance, counseling, or training, The Actors’ Fund wants to ensure social equity for all entertainment workers while retaining their dignity within the community.

The Actors’ Work Program is one of many programs offered by The Actors’ Fund of America. Assisted Living centers in both New York and Los Angeles provide housing and social services to the elderly, the disabled, and persons living with HIV/AIDS. Career counselors will work to identify skills and interests so that members living with HIV/AIDS can continue in entertainment or pursue other areas of work.

The Actors’ Fund Human Services Department provides social services, using grant money to help with health care and living expenses. Because of the critical support The Actors’ Fund gives, entertainers are eager to give back This September musicians such as Josh Groban, Lara Fabian, Adam Pascal, Julia Murney, and Norman Lewis will perform a benefit concert to help raise money for The Actors’ Fund. Celebrity auctions and money raised from special theatre performances are donated to the Fund, allowing it to continue growing and making a difference in its clients’ lives.

"By becoming part of the Fund, we have been able to expand our reach to more entertainment unions and to broaden the range of support from immediate job searching to developing new strategies to support the project life of the industry to preparing for and pursuing a meaningful second career," Schwadron explains. Known as "the nation’s premiere employment and training program," AWP caters to the uncertainty of the performing arts environment. A broad skill base is essential in this economy, allowing union members to find sideline and project work.

"There is no job security for [actors, dancers, directors, craft service workers] so the industry, the unions, and The Actors’ Fund are trying to work together to assist members in becoming resilient and diverse," Schwadron says.

The Career Counselors at AWP work with individuals in person, by phone, and via email. Tuition assistance, access to reference materials, and updated job listings are available to clients. The only qualification for assistance is that individuals belong to an industry-based union, such as AFTRA, AEA, AFM, or IATSE, to name a few. Individuals who are interested must also attend an orientation. Every Monday, new member orientation takes place in their New York City and Los Angeles offices.

"Our clients find us through their unions and lots of word of mouth," Schwadron says. While the main goal of the Program is to assist in finding sideline or secondary work while still being involved in the entertainment community, more and more they are finding alternate work outside the industry that will supplement their passions while maintaining their income and lifestyle.

"Our program really reflects the current labor market," Schwadron says. "Since 9/11 we’ve had about 18-30 new members at our weekly orientations. Industry work is down at the current time and people are looking for full-time work, often out of the industry, that will provide them with benefits." The Actors’ Work Program helps members refocus on stability and goals.

"They have to accept the expectations of the work day take the sideline work seriously and throw themselves into finding new skills and opportunities. There is not as much contingency work out there right now. Temping is gone in New York City. The hospitality industry, restaurants and bars are all competitive," Schwadron says. "The job market is starting to look like acting work. You’re moving job to job with loss of insurance and housing. [That’s why] we have program support and staff, a managing director and Career Counselors that help with full-time and part-time training and placement. It’s not like 10 years ago when you could walk into a temp agency and get a job."

AWP sees some returning members as well. "They want to know what it means to leave [the industry] for a while and come back, ‘How do I return?’" Schwadron says. "Members who first came in the early years and who have returned in recent years are delighted to find that we are not just about ‘getting out.’"

The Actors’ Work Program helps brainstorm possibilities and offers an array of seminars throughout the year that work toward keeping union members active. Upcoming seminars include: Where Are The Jobs And Who’s Getting Them, Getting/Completing Your Degree, Sideline And Parallel Careers For The Entertainment Industry Professional and The World Of Arts In Education.

One particularly successful recent program is the STARRR Cohort – Substitute Teachers for the ARTS and 3Rs, a pilot program employing professional actors as licensed substitute teachers, grades K-8, in two schools in the South Bronx.

"These substitute teachers bring a self-contained ‘Drama Across the Curriculum’ program to the classrooms they are covering, enriching literacy and English Language Arts Standards instruction. AWP has been instrumental in recruiting candidates for this new program. The pilot program has been so successful that more schools in the area have expressed interest in the program, resulting in further recruiting from our membership," Schwadron says.

Schwadron wants to emphasize that The Actors’ Work Program is not just for union members in New York and Los Angeles. "Since AWP works with entertainment industry union members, it makes sense that most members would be found in New York and Los Angeles, where most of the union work is clustered. However, because individuals have varied reasons to relocate to other parts of the country, we are available to assist those members in identifying career strategies that meet their needs, wherever they decide to live." Schwadron relates the national appeal to a recent local interest, "We had an actor from Boston in one of our recent orientations. He was looking to transition into teaching full-time and acting part-time." AWP is interested in being available to any member in need. "We also have a part-time social worker in Chicago that offers financial assistance and health care for the Mid-West.

"While the general ‘civilian’ population questions the legitimacy and seriousness of a professional career in the arts, The Actors’ Work Program not only understands the choice, but focuses on the critical process of protecting and strengthening the individual artist’s resiliency and commitment to impacting society through creativity, performance and entertainment."