AIRAN SCRUBY
Editor in Chief
He slept on couches in Rockwell Towers for a while after graduation, then stayed at a professor’s empty house. There were nights spent in his car, and Jason Murphy quickly learned the hard way that a degree in theater and television production from Pepperdine was not enough to make it in Los Angeles.
“I learned that I had to either get a day job or get a night-time job in the food industry to survive,” he said.
Murphy said he found an agent by early fall after graduating in the spring of 2005, but it was still necessary to attend bartending school. He works as a bartender for a catering company to pay for groceries and make the rent while continuing to pursue acting and improvisation comedy on the side.
He said that while bartending and tips cover his living expenses, any frivolous habits had to be cut out after college ended. Murphy also said saving any money for long-term goals is not possible for him.
“You just have to take a blind leap of faith and try your best to land on your feet,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he had no back-up plan when he graduated, but maybe he should have.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 5 percent of theater majors, or students who major in related entertainment fields, can make a living at their craft alone.
The vast majority rely on secondary work to pay the bills, and almost everyone who majored in entertainment of some kind gives up their dreams of stage or screen to work a regular job in another field, due to difficulties with saving money for long-term purchases or retirement while working in the entertainment industry.
A lucky few find a way to make a living doing what they love.
Hilary Rushford, a 2002 graduate, was one of the few. After majoring in theater, performing in all four fall musicals and other plays, co-directing Dance in Flight and participating in numerous other activities with the theater department, Rushford had not planned to try her hand at performing after graduation.
“I envisioned myself teaching high school theater and doing community theater,” she said. As graduation neared and friends encouraged her to reconsider, Rushford said she realized she did want to try.
“I realized if I didn’t take a year to try and focus on auditioning I’d always wonder,” she said. Four weeks later, Rushford was cast in “42nd Street,” as part of a touring company of the Broadway show. She now tours as part of the company of the Radio City “Rockettes.”
Rushford said that, while she always loved entertainment, she didn’t believe it was possible for everyone to make a living in the industry, even when talent is on their side.
“You have to show up, be prepared, train, stay focused, give your very best,” she said. “From there it’s all about your height, hair color, whether you fit the costume.”
Rushford now lives in Manhattan when she is not touring and is living the dream of many theater students as a successful (and employed) performer. But she said that even when she’s employed, it can be tough to make ends meet.
Rushford works catering jobs and nannies on the side when she is between jobs and collects performer’s unemployment when possible. She said she is usually able to support herself entirely with entertainment-based income but for most in her industry, this doesn’t mean financial security.
The average entertainer who can find full-time employment works a 45 hour week, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the work can be grueling.
Rushford recounted a Saturday production schedule on her online blog. After 12.5 hours, four shows, 28 costume changes and eight different hairstyles, she left her day with a limp in one foot (part of a larger problem that affects both of her shins).
The bureau reports that the average entertainer employed in such circumstances can hope to make about $25,000 each year. Most leave the field after 10 years.
Rushford said she understands how fickle the business can be. She isn’t saving for retirement, and doesn’t plan to do so during this phase of her life.
“I am well aware that it’s something I’m sacrificing to pursue this career at the moment,” she said.
Contributing to money pressure is pressure from her body. The pain in Rushford’s foot may go away this time, but a dancing injury could remove her from entertainment at any time, and age will take its toll on her career eventually.
As a result, Rushford doesn’t see herself continuing as a performer for more than 10 years, she said. She hopes to pursue a master’s degree in acting and teach theater at the university level one day.
Henry Price, a professor of music at Pepperdine, said that while some can make a living following their love of performance, many move on to careers in different fields.
“Some music graduates go into business, medicine and even law,” Price said.
Price said that while many Pepperdine graduates have gone on to achieve success as performers, and that his own students have become members of prominent opera programs or students at prestigious graduate programs, those who wish to pursue such a career have a long road of hard work ahead of them.
“My advice to young singers is to follow your dream, but to back it up with real work,” Price said.
Current students beginning to consider work on stage are aware of the difficulties of making their way in a competitive industry.
Senior Amanda Rocuzzo said she knows that hard work is necessary to succeed in acting, but she has not begun to audition yet. A theater major with an emphasis in directing, Rocuzzo is compiling a list of graduate schools she is interested in and is participating in school productions to gain experience.
“My dream job would be to stage manage professionally and work my way up to directing,” Rocuzzo said. “I do think that with hard work and talent that success can be achieved.”
02-01-2007
