Working Conditions Acting demands patience and total commitment, because there are often long periods of unemployment between jobs. While under contract, actors are frequently required to work long hours and travel. Evening work is a regular part of a stage actor's life. Flawless performances require tedious memorizing of lines and repetitive rehearsals. On television, actors must deliver a good performance with very little preparation.
Actors often face the anxiety of intermittent employment and rejections when auditioning for work.
Directors and producers often work under stress as they try to meet schedules, stay within budgets, and resolve personnel problems while putting together a production. In 1994, actors, directors, and producers held an average of about 93,000 jobs in motion pictures, stage plays, television, and radio. Many others were between jobs, so that the total number of people actually employed as actors, directors, and producers over the course of the year was higher. In the winter, most employment opportunities on the stage are in New York and other large cities, many of which have established professional regional theaters. In the summer, stock companies in suburban and resort areas also provide employment.