Hello Friends,
As an actress, teaching artist, and writer; I’ve found that amongst other things, a lot of my days seem to follow the theme, “hurry up and wait.” On one particular day of “hurry up and wait,” after work and before rehearsal, I found myself with some time to kill near the Mecca of resources for New York City actors, The Drama Book Shop, (located at 250 W40th street between 7th and 8th – there’s my plug, now go…but read this first!) While asking myself the ago old question of do I buy a play or an acting technique book OR an acting business book; this unassuming little book, white cover, with just three words on it caught my eye. The book is Actor. Writer. Whatever. (essays on my rise to the top of the bottom of the entertainment industry) written by the witty and clever Mellini Kantayya. As an “Actor, Writer, Whatever” myself, I felt a moral obligation to purchase this book and support the cause. I undoubtedly got my eleven dollars worth!
Funny before it even started, Kantayya put forward a disclaimer, informing her readers that not only were names changed, but this book is “memoir-ish” letting us know that there was some embellishment (after all isn’t there always,) and gently suggests that her stories “should be taken in the spirit of listening to an old guy at the end of a smoke-filled bar spinning yarns of his glory days; the tales grow taller in the telling.” Through short essays and sharp language, Kantayya takes us on her journey as an “actor, writer, whatever.” Amazingly, I was not only able relate to everything she wrote, but she somehow managed to put my own thoughts and experiences into words – how did she do that?!
In the introduction, Kantayya debunks the tried and true overnight success or the rags to riches stories by reminding us; “At any given time 97 percent of the 120,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild are unemployed. Ninety-five percent of Sundance films don’t get distribution. Good novels, poems, plays sit in dusty desk drawers everywhere. This is the plight of the rank and file Actor. Writer. Whatever. These are my people. Fuck the over-night success freaks.” Can I get two cheers for solidarity! Page one, I was hooked.
Kantayya sets us up for of her brilliant capture of the life of an “actor writer whatever” beginning with her less than pleasant experiences with pretentious acting teachers as an undergrad. She continues to shed light on the harsh reality of this career choice, through her essays reflecting on support jobs, her success stories, the unsolicited advice and criticism of people she deemed to be under qualified and over critical, and pretty much the gamut of experiences. As we read her essays some what chronologically, the reader gets the idea of the less than glamorous side of pursuing a career in the arts while trying to balance her own personal life, finances, and mental health – which for the “actor, writer, whatever” are always in a pretty compromised state. There is an underlying juxtaposition that while trying to follow your dreams, reality can be a smack in the face!
Kantayya’s essays are laced with a healthy dose humor, self-deprecation, and irony, that is laugh out loud funny, as in to the point where my fellow subway riders where definitely intrigued by what I could be laughing at so boisterously in public. We go on this journey with her, ride her highs and lows, and as the reader, I couldn’t help but look inward and examine my own experiences. Despite the seemingly exacting depiction of life as an “actor, writer, whatever,” Kantayya manages to tell the truth while also illustrating to her readers her own acceptance of the ups and downs of this career.
As an “actor, writer, whatever ,” when I tell stories of my experiences, I’m often met with the response of, “you should really write a book about all this.” Wel,l what do you know, someone did, and she did it way better than I ever could! With an uncanny ability to put her life experiences and thoughts into words is a great lesson; life as an “actor, writer, whatever,’ may be a tough road, it may give the word irony a run for its money, but if you can live to tell the story, you’re not doing half bad!
Live, Love, Learn,
What a wonderful thing to stumble upon. Thank you.