Turning down a gig

Had to turn down a gig because it turns out they were shy (or really, in this case, remiss) on letting me know in advance if this was a paying gig. I cannot afford to work several days without pay. I volunteer enough hours at the two organizations I deal with and that's enough. I wrote a nice simple "thank you for this WONDERFUL opportunity but I must regretfully pass" number. They tout it like it's the next Scorcese flick when in reality a lot of these miniprojects never see the light of day.

I recall several weeks ago how one ad practically sneered, begging to be bombarded and shut down by tons of angry emails, about the acting being about art not about money. Hello? I think I wrote about this. Some production companies got their camera equipment by what, simply wishing? SOMEONE had to fork over dinero, my friend.

In any case, after asking about the project -- and finding out they had apparently misplaced my initial information -- I asked about whether this is a paid project -- and it took two days to get an answer. When they finally came back, the coy response was buried under all the information of "you got the gig! congratulations!" turns out, ZILCH.

There's no guarantee of whether this project will ever be seen, and I believe it was placed with the compensation listed as TBD. Either to be discussed or determined. Either way, it implies that some money is coming in some form in some way. Instead, it's a freebie they want and that I am "allowed" to use this for my reel.

yeah. I'll ask the other five people who said I'd get something for my reel where the hell my shit is. I'm still waiting, MONTHS later. And I'm not supposed to get upset about it or annoy them too much by checking in one too many times.

Shit. But at least I got paid for those other gigs. Imagine me chasing after these people for the film that probably no one will ever see? It was clear that they were just looking for people to come and fill up a club for some wannabe band. Yeah, another band. I'll pass, thanks.

Some will stoop so low to get club attendance.

Meanwhile, I'm supposed to get an update email from the fast talking casting coordinator -- it's supposedly scheduled for this coming Monday Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. A paid gig, thank goodness. Then another gig I have booked definite for Wednesday Thursday and Friday out in Jersey. It should be a full week. I'm also waiting on another gig which may outbounce the earlier gig by several hundred dollars. Whichever solidifies first with me is where I tend to go. I'm trying to get noticed by other casting agencies to drum up more work. So I'm feeling good.

I'll be running a couple of quick errands today. Did laundry yesterday. So overall, a productive leading up to the weekend.