Welcome to Hollywood ! What’s your dream?

Sure, plenty of hard-working Americans balance two or more jobs (when the economy allows) just to make ends meet. And many of those folks live in Los Angeles. But in Hollywood, which is more an LA subculture than an actual physical location, the second job is where your true identity lies.

By day, you are Clark Kent, office worker. And by night, you’re not exactly Superman, but you’re living the dream. I know plenty of people with unassuming jobs (e.g. Maintenance man, Lobbyist, Human Resources Manager), who are reaching for the stars… they work side jobs as actors and musicians of course, but also as a writer/researcher for a TV show, a comedy writer, a set designer, a stuntman…

On the flip side, the folks I know who work in the entertainment industry full-time seem miserable. There’s constant rejection – whether they’re receiving it or giving it out. They work ridiculously long hours, there’s no stability or predictability in the job. And to top it all off, the money isn’t really any good unless you’re super huge in your field. And if you miraculously get to that level of fame and stardom, where people are recognizing you in the super market, wouldn’t that be annoying?

I think so. And that’s why I don’t want to be the next Tina Fey or even the next Christina Hendricks (her red hair is fake anyway, and mine is real!). I want to be Tom Kenny. “Who’s Tom Kenny?” you might be asking, and that’s half of my point – relative anonymity. Tom Kenny is the voice of SpongeBob. Voice over as a career sounds pretty fantastic to me – no makeup, no heels. Just you, in a box, talking to yourself for a few hours to earn a paycheck. And let’s be real: I love the sound of my own voice. Plus, if you get to the level Tom Kenny’s at, you can almost literally phone it in – he has a recording studio in his home.

So tonight I start a class in voice over. Of course, I’m too comfortable in my life as a middle manager to take the chance on an entertainment career, but I think it’s a good back-up. You know, just in case things don’t work out at my desk job, I can always fall back on my skills as a voice over professional (waitress). That’s how it works, right?