Expecting a meal and getting a Tic Tac
TL;DR
We often put so much focus on booking the job, but the truth is that this business can still disappoint you EVEN WHEN you book the job.
Changing your expectations and reframing the experience can end up being an important survival tool.
Let’s talk about something that happens ALL THE TIME in this business.
I’m going to start referring to it as Tic Tac Syndrome, based on a story that a client of mine recently told me.
This particular client is my definition of a true pro — she does ALL the right things to sufficiently prepare for a job.
She’s also been working in this business for a while now and knows the drill. There aren’t many things that surprise her in this industry.
AND YET, this is still what happens when she books a role...
In her words:
“When I go to do a guest spot on a show, I go in thinking it’s the meal and end up being thrown a Tic Tac!”
In other words, the reality of the situation doesn’t live up to her expectations.
How many of you have experienced this exact same thing?
I know — MOST of you.
The truth is that this business is notorious for serving up Tic Tacs to artists. And that can be truly demoralizing.
The entertainment industry is unique in that every project comes with a different experience — different people and numerous different elements are involved. No film shoot is the same. No stage production is the same. No writing room is the same.
This makes it next to impossible to know what you’re going to get when you land a gig — there are too many X factors involved.
So, like any rational person would, you hope for the best. And, also like most people, you probably let yourself think, “This could finally be IT. This could be the meal I’ve been CRAVING.”
And then you get a Tic Tac.
And the next job? Another Tic Tac, of course. And the next one? You get the point.
Back to my client…after we laughed the kind of laugh that ends in tears (not the good kind) because it’s just so damn heartbreaking to go through this time and again, I asked her, “What if this is just how the business is? What if it never changes? How do we reframe this experience so it’s palatable?”
We often put so much focus on booking the job, but the truth is that this business can disappoint you EVEN WHEN you book the job.
So how can you reframe the experience? A Tic Tac will never satisfy as a meal. But what if you were more prepared for the Tic Tac?
It sounds defeatist to say that you should lower your expectations, but it’s really about being pragmatic. And the upside is that you will be pleasantly surprised when you are given an actual meal as the job experience.
With that said, keep these four things in mind:
Remember you ALWAYS have a choice. You can leave the job or speak up to someone at the job about the way you are being treated, if that feels right to you.
If you can’t stomach another Tic Tac experience, then it’s time to take a break. Maybe you need to invest some time and energy elsewhere to fill up your creative plate, so to speak, and get that meal you absolutely deserve. There’s no shame in this. And remember: this isn’t a forever decision.
No one is forcing you to stay in this business. I know this one sounds a little harsh, but you chose this. And in choosing this, you need to take ownership of that decision with open eyes to the parts of the industry that we’d rather not acknowledge.
This is going to happen again, but you can reframe the experience. Basically, accept that the likelihood of this happening again is high. So how do you want to meet this moment the next time?
For my client, she decided to reframe this by playing into the solution, not the problem. In her words: “When I go to this job and I’m number 68 on the call sheet and they mispronounce my name and I have windburn from how fast it all was, instead of it ruining my entire day I’m going to say, ‘Well, that got me $2500 closer to my goal of buying a house.’”
By looking at these jobs for what they are — jobs — and not creatively satisfying meals, you’ll be able to stay in this game longer and healthier, and build an actual career out it.
Plus, it'll be all the more satisfying when the moment comes that you’re expecting a Tic Tac and you’re finally offered a seat at the dinner table.
Betsy