By Katherine Bourne

My first love as an eight-year-old actor, proudly singing “I Love to Laugh” as Groucho Marx in my summer camp play, was theatre. Twenty years later, that hasn’t changed. That love has also expanded to film, which is what has largely taken up my time both as an actor and a producer in Chicago, and now LA (at least that was the case pre-lockdown). When I think about myself falling in love with theatre as a young person and the actor I am now, the main difference I see is this: Strategy.

The way I think about making art has changed from being rooted in feeling- and not caring very much if I get paid- to something more thoughtful. Not necessarily better, because I think there is something beautiful and exploratory about work done just for the love of it that I never want to lose. However, as a professional actor with bills to pay, I have found that applying strategy and value to my work is a practical necessity that is not soulless or “selling out”, it’s fun.

I keep coming back to this question: How does viewing myself as a business in addition to a living breathing artist affect my strategy? I intend to cultivate a lifelong career as an actor and artist. I think it is our job as working actors to recognize that practicality, as well as artistic integrity, is crucial when it comes to building a career that feeds the soul and also pays the bills.

If I was a Business… I would market something people need.

So often as an actor I go into an audition feeling like I am participating in a game of chance- and it would be untrue to say there isn’t an element of that, especially, I’ve found, in film auditions. “I hope I don’t have the same hair color as the lead,” etc, etc, etc… it is easy to go down this rabbit hole and become overwhelmed in the process by all the unknowns, to cross my fingers and hope I am what they want. The thing is, there is a danger in focusing too much on what others want rather than on what makes us different, and irreplaceable.

When I began thinking about my acting career as a business I am running, I needed to have a real talk with myself about where I see my value in the room. What it comes down to is whether or not “they want” my color of hair is not my business. My business is to come into the audition room prepared, open, and pretty damn sure that if my values and assets align with theirs, then I’d be a great business partner for this project. Remembering that I possess the skills and attributes that people need gave me back some semblance of control, artistry, and intention. I believe that there is a need for me, and someone will be so glad to have that need filled.

If I was a Business… I would have to differentiate between “Want” and Need”.

Like many artists, I struggle with doubt, and when I moved to a new city only to discover a lot more closed doors and “no’s” than I anticipated, I felt out of control for the first time as an artist. I was clear on my goals and what I wanted- to be a working actor- but with so many closed doors, it was difficult to feel empowered. I had a hard talk with myself and started to ask, “you know what you want. But what do you need to get there?” What does your business need to get to the next step?

I broke it down more simply: I need casting directors to know me and invite me to audition for them. I need more on-camera experience. What can I do today to start meeting these needs? Knowing what I needed gave me actionable moves that empowered me to move forward in a way that, while not completely devoid of emotion, at least put me in the driver’s seat of my own career.

In other words, I take advice from Littlefinger from Game of Thrones: “Every time I’m faced with a decision, I close my eyes and see the same picture. Whenever I consider an action, I ask myself, ‘will this action help to make this picture reality?’ Pull it out of my mind and into the world, and I only act if the answer is yes.”¹

I know he’s a bad guy, but he has a point.

If I was a Business… I would clarify my values.

Sometimes, the reason you say yes to something is simply that it pays, and you need money. The reality is, many of the choices we make at the beginning of our careers are either stepping stones or for money. This is a hard business, and I don’t think there is any harm in that. What you choose to work on is your choice. That said, remember you always have a choice. This is your business — your terms.

When I was a bit younger, I showed up to an audition I felt uncomfortable with for a number of reasons. I justified it to myself — my agent had sent me out on it, I was new to the agency, new to the town, and at the end of the day, I didn’t feel like I could say no. I spent the whole time in the waiting room dreading going in, and praying I wouldn’t book it. I ended up leaving that audition feeling dirty and knowing that I not only wasted the casting agent’s time, but I also wasted my own.

My big takeaway from that experience is that it helps to know what your boundaries are before you are asked to do something that gives you pause. If you find yourself in that uncomfortable position where you don’t feel like you have a choice — even if the director is just about to call “action” — you have a choice and can say no. This is a business made up of humans, not meat-puppets.

If I was a Business… I would find partners.

Businesses also regularly partner with other businesses, so by our logic, we have to find other artists and support each other. A year ago, I performed a short play for a showcase. The team involved worked together so well that we decided to turn that play into a film. Next week, I’ll be giving notes on our first cut. Finding collaborators and other actors to partner with isn’t just a smart strategic move, it brings real joy to my career.

Performing in the Women’s Theatre Alliance Showcase in 2017.

Still from Cool for Five Seconds, a short film to be released in 2019.

A note on this: look outside the box. Having friends that are also collaborators is a wonderful thing, but you don’t necessarily have to be best friends with someone to have a fruitful collaborative relationship with them. Remember, you are running a business, and the wider the net you cast, the better.

If I was a Business… I would market myself.

The game is changing for artists simply because there is so much available at our fingertips. If something if not made yet and you think you can do it, the reality is that you probably can, on some level (especially if you have a smartphone). It is always better to show someone your idea than to tell them, and we have the tools to show people who we are as artists relatively easily, and at low to zero cost. Take advantage of it.

Building my Instagram, website, and thinking strategically about how I want to present myself to potential employers and collaborators in headshots is something that at one point seemed soulless and very anti-art. However, I have found personal marketing to be a way I can find authenticity in strategy.

The whole reason I became a producer was so that I could make work for myself. I love acting so much, and I wanted to do it more than I was being given opportunity to by others. Through producing I have begun to learn how to promote myself, and my main takeaway is this: it is so much easier and so much more fun to promote yourself when you aren’t promoting a lie. In the same way that it is easier to have a conversation when you are speaking about something you are passionate about, it is easier to bring your business to others when you aren’t feeling like an impostor who is pulling the wool over someone’s eyes. It is marketable to share (and celebrate) your unique point of view. This goes for social media, headshots, anything that can be used as a marketing tool for my business.

I don’t think this is the same thing as telling everything on social media and giving others total access to you. Curation matters. That is what businesses do in their marketing- businesses have to let others know exactly who they are and what they are about in a narrative that makes sense. It benefits us in the long run when we run our business from our own specific point of view and unique spirit.

Follow Katherine’s adventures on Instagram at @katherinebournetaylor or her website, Katherine-Bourne.com.

Originally published on April 15, 2019; last updated August 2, 2020.

¹ “The Winds of Winter.” Game of Thrones, Season 6, Episode 10, HBO, 24 Apr. 2016.