Richard III

SIMON: I've just opened in a show in Albury at the Hothouse Theatre called The Bridge. My only other professional work has been in a couple of episodes of John Safran's Music Jamboree for SBS. I've done a lot of acting at school and amateur theatre and have performed in two Melbourne Fringe Festivals. I finished year 12 last year and am studying arts at Melbourne Uni.

DARREN: I was born in Brisbane, graduated from NIDA in Sydney in 1988 and have worked professionally since. I've worked in musicals, TV, film, radio, ads and done a lot of theatre, from Shakespeare to contemporary plays.

I'm currently performing in Richard III, my 11th production with Bell Shakespeare, and am now an associate artist with the company. Last year I did three plays and a TV series called Dossa and Joe (written and directed by Caroline Aherne, The Royle Family) back to back. I just came off 14 months of work. I spent three of the last five years on Full Frontal and Totally Full Frontal as a series regular, which I was mixing with Bell tours. I've toyed around with TV and done guest parts in soaps and small parts in a couple of American films.

People who last in the theatre are those who develop very strong stagecraft. They're capable of doing 200 shows on the trot and can make people who've paid $50 a ticket feel like they've got their money's worth.

SIMON: Do you have to do much work that you don't enjoy, in order to pay the bills and to get the good roles?

DARREN: It's a constant battle, particularly when you start off. In the beginning it's important to get your face out there, and that means auditioning for everything that comes along. A lot of times you don't know where your work is going to lead you. So much of the industry works on connections.

SIMON: Is it necessary to go to drama school?

DARREN: There's no definitive way of getting into acting, although drama school helps a great deal, particularly if you're doing theatre. It also introduces you to agents and the chance of meeting and being taught by directors. However, if you grow up doing a lot of community or school theatre, you can learn it other ways. These days there's a big push to go to drama school, but there are people in this company who haven't been. My involvement in this company has happened after many years of being committed to the industry. If you take it on flippantly, it just won't last. With acting, you have to be thick-skinned and a bit obsessive, a bit single-minded about it.

SIMON: When I was 15, I sent my photo and bio to as many agents as I could. I had a few interviews, but the agent I went with was the only one that asked me to prepare something to act for them. How do you find an agent?

DARREN: If you ring an agency - and there are plenty of them - the common response is: "Our books are full.'' It's a catch-22, but the easiest way to get an agent is to get a job to show you're making an income. An agent will be interested if they can make money out of you. In the meantime, as well as submitting your bio and chasing up your application, you can offer agents free tickets to any of your performances.

SIMON: Until I've reached the stage where I've done a lot of work, I'm going to need my agent to tell me about upcoming auditions. I don't know anyone at my level who gets work without one. Also I want to make sure I get more professional work.

DARREN: That desire never changes. A lot of the time you don't know, but if you've got the passion for it, something looks after you. If you keep your ear to the ground and make sure every job you do is your best, and keep a positive attitude, you'll hear about work. The employment statistics can be bleak, but don't focus on those. You could land one ad that can give you a mortgage, or land four days' work on an American film and get enough money to look after you for three months. In between, whether you do acting classes or voice training, yoga, or play readings, so much of the industry is about existing in a place where you're always working towards increasing your skill level and opportunities. Don't sit by the phone waiting for your agent to ring, or in coffee shops with cynical actors lamenting the state of the industry. It doesn't help in any way to focus on the possibility of failure. The people I find continuously working in this industry don't stop and question if they will be successful, they just make a go of it. And your first job unravels that very first thread.