Working 9 to 5

Many philosophers have agreed 

That in order to be happy

People need to be gainfully employed

And now that I’ve been unemployed

For the past six months

I understand this more than ever

I’ve never had trouble getting work until now

Being a student

Living in London during a recession

Times are tough

It’s the best of times 

It’s the worst of times 

And is it a portal into my future?

Choosing a career where I am likely to be unemployed for long spells of time

Every actor goes through it

I remember reading Michael Caine’s autobiography

And his depression at watching his friends get jobs around him

His friends not get jobs around him

The despair

And the heartache

And coming to London and giving up everything I’ve ever known

To be living in the hope of the next job

And when I finally get even a tiny bit of work

The relief, the satisfaction

Spending an evening with lovely people

Well-heeled folk with a passion for supporting the arts

The student-actors gathered around the left-overs

Living the bohemian dream

The reality is so much tougher 

Much scarier when you’re not sure how you’ll meet the next rent

Pay for next week’s groceries or travel pass

Because you’re living on sheer determination and hope 

And praying praying praying that all this 

Despair and heartache will be totally completely worth it 

When one day you can say you’re earning your living as a performer

I am an actor

I am living the dream

And it’s even better than I could have imagined

The end.