your inquiry about the day-to-day life of an actor, specifically those of us who seemed to have worked a fair amount, comes at a very scary and bizarre time in the industry for most of us... (that said, i'm pretty big on the whole law of attraction thing and don't want to blame anyone or anything for the unwanted lull in my acting career that i'm hopeful to push through before i die.)
you sited new SAG minimums and you're right: it's impossible for those of us who have yet to truly "break out" to earn a living wage as an actor anymore. (if only someone had told me to invest my money in a house or a business when i had some.)
and now, with the minimums on web content, we can do a web series for what it would cost us to eat lunch on any given shoot day. but actors love to act, and so, often, we say "yes."
if one is blessed with a series regular role on a television (as opposed to internet) show, as i had been many times, throughout the 90's, for which i was and am soooo grateful...then it's possible. TV used to create stars, and of course in some cases still does (ie: grey's atanomy) but these days, roles that were earned infamous but awesome actors, are often offered to famous awesome actors before they even hit the agents desks.
i get it... with something like 785 tv channels and all that web content, networks need to get eyes on their shows. what better way to get noticed by a viewing public than by offering them someone they already know and have accepted into their homes? i love tv, and i can't wait to be re-invited to the party, but let's blog about film... movies are getting harder and harder to make and finance. without a HUGE male lead, even in a female driven story, it's brutally hard for producers to make movies outside the studio system.
this wasn't always the case.
filmmakers need money to make films, the money people need distribution, the distributors need buyers and the buyers need "names" to stand out in a saturated market. the smaller roles that support the namey cast of a feature film, don't earn what they used to. there's a sad "take it or leave it" vibe regarding pay scales, that stings the spirit a bit, if you remember the old days.
i produce. sometimes i make money doing it. for the most part i struggle, with ABSOLUTELY NO LOVE OF ANY WORK THAT ISN'T CREATIVELY MOTIVATED. i pray every night that i may wake up the next day knowing how to draw a blueprint for a high-rise building or how to start and run, full-time, a not-for-profit for all the forgotten and ignored creative homeless people who have talents out their wazoos.
i wish i could quickly type legal documents for some hot shot lawyer to read in an office and get paid for it, rather than slowly hand-write spec scripts for my mother to read in florida for no pay at all.
but alas, i'm engineered to dream about, wait for and chase a great role, on a great show, or a small role in an awesome film, or a big role in a tiny film...so i can do my thing and land a little something onto someone, somewhere.
in closing...how do i make money and survive? well, if the people closest to me didn't have my back, i'd likely be responding to your blog from prison.
Let me just say, Meredith, that if you are ever within hollering distance of DC, beers (or whatever other drink's your poison) are on me. Enid rocked my world when Legally Blonde came out, and I'm so glad you're still acting.