What is acting?

When most people learn that I'm an actress, they ask, "What are you in," probably assuming I do theatre or film.


Just so you know, dear Reader, there are many other acting opportunities out there that pay better than theatre and take less time. Granted, they aren't Shakespeare. Most do not involve character analysis or digging deep within to find emotion.


Recent projects include:
A photo shoot for the National Restaurant Association. They had an e-learning project, and needed actors to portray diners and waitstaff in a restaurant, among other things.
Corporate role playing for a training program involving high-level executives.
A bawling bride for a corporate scavenger hunt.

It is this last upon which I wish to elaborate. I had to sit in the park across from the Sears Tower, dressed all in white down to my sneakers with rhinestones and up to my wedding veil, waiting for teams receiving clues via cell phone to pry 2 passwords out of me. I was supposed to cry.
As one team of around eight peppered me for information, a former corporate America client came up to me.

"What are you doing? Are you ok?" she asked. Cleary she feared for my safety and sanity. "If you need me, you know where to find me," she said.

I called her after the event ended and assured her all was well.

Sure, it would have been nice if she'd seen me in a movie or a national TV commercial instead of crying in a public park with my wedding veil flying in the breeze.
Maybe someday.