Transcription in English
I’m Hanna, a freelance actor and recently graduated screenwriter, so I’m in quite different stages in these two careers.
After graduating as an actor, I was employed at the city theatre for three years, and, after that, I became a freelancer. I’ve received artist grants for screenwriting, but I haven’t yet got a real fee for it. But I am an actor because I have more experience in that field. However, I dream about focusing more on the screenwriting someday.
It’s good that I have two professions. I know that, if I don’t have work as an actor, I can write. But, right now, I’m in such a lucky position that I have a lot of work as an actor. Of course, the work that brings income comes first. Freelance work entails a constant fear of “what if this ends, what if I won’t get more work.” So you just greedily take all the work you can get. And writing takes time. If this won’t stop, if I always get more actor work, it means that I will always put screenwriting in second place. I’d like it to come first, but it would take quite bold decisions at some point.
I have acting assignments in theatres and in front of camera. In theatres, the rehearsal period lasts for about two months, and the performance period comes after that, so I’d say that an assignment in a theatre lasts for a year or so, but I don’t work every day. Of course, I can take part in several productions at the same time. I once worked in four productions simultaneously.
The production staff take care of the schedules. I give them my contact information and they communicate among themselves. They always ask if I have any limitations and I tell them, but, if it gets complicated, they discuss it among themselves. In principle, freelance actors first find out about the schedules themselves, but, if there are a lot of moving parts in them, I ask that the productions negotiate between themselves.
I have no other work. Previously, I have received earnings-related unemployment allowance. I think I applied for it twice and got it both times. It was for periods of a month or two. The system has worked for me. It’s been clear to me that I apply for benefits for a certain period of time and then end it. It can get a bit more complicated if you have some work but not enough. But what I had was a clear period of unemployment that ended at a certain point. But I don’t think it’s difficult at all. It’s a really good system, to have some kind of security, and that’s why I haven’t become an entrepreneur, because they don’t have that security.
I have a profile online where I update current pictures. The Actors’ Union has a database of performers where I send my information. I message producers and theatre directors, and sometimes I approach managers via email. In addition to these contacts, I’ve also sent my information to numerous casting directors. Casting directors are in an important group in terms of actors’ employment.
But, right now, I’m in a lucky position where my phone keeps ringing, so, lately, I haven’t done pretty much anything to make myself more visible.
What has helped me get camera work is speed meeting events. You can contact employers there. I get information of the events through the union or the association. I joined the union even before I’d graduated, and, when I became a freelancer, I joined a freelancer association.
Theatres comply with a collective agreement, but the audiovisual industry is a wild west. They’ve tried to draft a collective agreement there too, but producers aren’t interested at all. You really have to hold your own there. The union has clear recommendations about minimum fees. Last time, I had a horrible pay struggle. The producer implied that the fee that I was paid before and that the union recommends was somehow outrageously much.
This here is the most difficult thing. In the summer, when I had the grant, after I finished writing the first version of my screenplay, I thought that okay, I now have a chance for a paid vacation. To me, this is the most challenging thing about being a freelancer – vacation time, actually having a vacation. I’m not good at it. Practically, work is my entire life. And I don’t know where my free time starts and work ends. I have problems pausing and deciding that alright, I’m on vacation now.
The best things are the versatility and the feeling of freedom. That nice tingling which I get from the versatility, a feeling that something exciting can happen to me soon.
I find it nice that the crew keeps changing. Compared to a fixed-term employment, as a freelancer, I love being a person who brings some new energy to the established work community and who’s also free of all the schisms that exist within the group. For me, the crew is the crew at that moment. I always meet new people with a blank slate.
The worst thing is remembering to rest a little too late. I’m constantly on the move. I know my schedule for a maximum of six months ahead. So, there’s a conflict between the versatility bringing the excitement but also stress. At the same time, it’s the best thing and the worst thing. But I love it more than I dislike it. Surprisingly, I enjoy the suspense. I had no idea about the stimulating side of the uncertainty. In the end, I realise that I’m pretty much hooked on it.
But I recommend that you interview people. I mean, get to know your freelancer colleagues who know these two sides of the lifestyle. They know how to compare them. Seeking peer support is important. In principle, as a freelancer, you are so detached from all the communities you enter. It’s important that you have one of your own, a stable one. For me, it’s our association. Also friends, of course, since many of them are freelancers. So, I recommend finding support.