A Day in the life...

Of a non-equity actress in NYC.

My family and friends always asked me what my life looked like in NYC and I was always hesitant to share how hard it really was. How early I had to wake up and how late I worked most days.

I've never really seen an honest play by play of a day in NYC by a non-eq actress, so here we go😀

By the way, for my non-theatre friends, Equity is in reference to The Actor's Equity Association that protects actors and their rights. There are essentially two ways you can join, either you are given your card or contract that automatically puts you in the union, or you can join what's called the EMC program and you work 25 weeks professionally to get your card. At most auditions, Equity is always seen first, then EMC, and then if time, non equity.

Sounds easy right? Not so much, but that's a post for a different day. The only thing you need to know for this post, is that non-equity actors essentially have a 50/50 chance of getting seen by directors and casting directors.

So let's dive in, shall we?

Usually the Sunday before each new week, my roommate and I would make a list of all the auditions we wanted to hit that week. So, with that in mind, I could possibly be going to a couple of different buildings each day.

4:30-5:00 AM: Wake up and get "dressed"- sweats and TONS of layers if it's winter as you can kind of see below. I couldn't find the selfie with one of my worst morning outfits...but that's probably for the best😂

So glam, I know. 😆

5:00-5:15 AM: Take the train or an Uber and hopefully get to my destination at the latest by 5:30.

5:30 AM: Go to Pearl, Pearl 519, Ripley Grier, or The Actor's Equity Building (these all refer to places that hold auditions, but also hold rehearsals, classes, and practice rooms.) There are more places like this that sometimes held big auditions, but these are the main locations.

6:00 AM: Last year, I lived close enough to go back home and go to sleep, but when I first moved to New York, I had to leave with all of my things stuffed in a backpack for the day and find a diner or Starbucks to hang out at until it was time to go back.

9:00 AM: Check Audition Update (a website where actors update other actors on the status of auditions for the day) and see if there were any rumblings of Non-eq getting seen. Usually, there was nothing except how long lines were for EMC and Equity appointments, so I would start to get ready.

9:45 AM: I would head back to the audition building and wait in a usually overcrowded, overheated room, as seen below. Here's a video I took early one morning. I was waiting in line, and to be honest, this is very tame compared to open calls and other auditions I went to.

10:00 AM: The time that calls start most of the time. The first people seen would be Equity, and if they had openings, EMC. And only after they called all Equity and EMC waiting, then a non-eq could squeeze into a group.

Noon: This was usually the "make or break" hour. It was right before lunch and the monitor would tell us to either "come back after lunch at 2" or "Thank you, but they would not be seeing non-equity today." Let's say for today's purposes, they told us to come back.

1:00- 2:00 PM: Lunch either at home, or the cute cheap diners that surround the middle to late 30's. (Streets) My favorite place was called Andrew's Coffee Shop (so cute!).

2:00 PM: Get back to the building and wait for as long as I possibly could. Often times, auditions would go too late and I would have to head to work. This is when things either start moving quickly, or running behind. By the end of most audition days, what started as a 32 bar cut day can often end as an 8 bar cut day.

4:00 PM: Yay!! I got seen. Hopefully, this was a day that I at least got to sing 16 bars, which for my non-music friends, is about 30 seconds of music.

4:30 PM: I either head home to get changed for work, or go straight to work if I'm opening Hostess that night.

5:00 PM: Get to my steak house and get ready for a shift. That included plotting tables, getting the restaurant ready, and preparing coat check.

(Here is a (sad)😂 selfie of me at work waiting for people to get their coats from coat check at midnight)

11:00 PM-12:00 AM: This was usually the time I would get off from work and head back home. If it was any later than midnight, I would usually Uber home, but most days, the subway it was!

12:30 AM: Made it home, shower, and bed. If I was super hungry, I'd eat something (I know, so bad), but most days I was exhausted and would go straight to sleep.

5:00 AM: Ready for another day of auditions and work!

So that was what a typical day looked like for me. I'm exhausted even just writing this. 😅

This is just a tiny glimpse of what a day could possibly look like for me. I didn't even mention what juggling five or six different auditions at three different locations would look like, that most of the time these shows are often cast beforehand, or that being non-eq can be quite frustrating.

Comment down below if you've had days like this, which I'm sure many of you have.

Also, let me know if you'd like to hear more about the audition process, or more of NY life!

<3

Em


What I'm listening to: "Toast" https://open.spotify.com/track/5hlwCtGdtDBzXeMBJpD5IK?si=lqkVaXeuTX6EfHGldQ0wyQ