Celebrity Mound

Laid off? Update Your Resume and Take Time to Admire the Gold Sparkly Drag Queen

I thought I’d gotten out. A little over two years ago, I was doing our tax prep. Although I’d had a great year creatively, with 3 films either in festivals or theatrical release, TV work and a challenging play, my reward for that was less than 1/16 of my husband’s salaried income that year. Shortly thereafter, Simon and I had a long conversation over many drinks. I was beyond tired of fighting for film parts I didn’t even want, going to parties in the city or (yes) the Hamptons to chat up directors and producers in the hopes of finally landing a breakout role. I turned to my other life, my at that time 9+ year graphic design career, and decided that it was time to get a job. I’d had many rewarding jobs in the graphics field throughout my time in NYC, but for the first time I was going to put all my energy into one thing. Within two weeks I had the perfect job with a great company and a top notch salary at just the right time. Johan was 14 months old and in the process of weaning himself. The time was right and I leaped.

Going to work in a retail corporate headquarters is a little bit like being shot from a cannon every morning, and I ate it up. There was nothing I liked more than to dive into a project with a venti latte at 9am only to come up for air at around 1pm with a growling belly and cold coffee. Yes, I do eat a normal lunch every day, just not until I notice I’m hungry! My work was very detailed with lots of room for creative flexing — my passions were fed, and fed well. I was happier, and it showed. Instead of looking around for industry professionals to meet at parties, I concentrated on enjoying where I was; a welcome change. It’s more fun to first admire the gold sparkly drag queen at the party rather than wonder immediately if she has a script for you.

All of a sudden, producers from a series I’d screen-tested for a year prior called. They had a green light, a full cast, a crew and were ready to roll. Our lives had completely changed due to me going back to work full time. Did we really want to do this? The producers worked hard to convince us. It was a reality show, so wouldn’t take up as much time as a drama. They’d film evenings, weekends and basically not get in the way. After much argy-bargy we said, “What the hell,” and began a journey that continues today… To read the rest of Alex’s blog please visit:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-mccord/laid-off-update-your-resu_b_176608.html