Out-of-Work Actors (Blame Omorosa!)

The Screen Actors Guild today released statistics showing a 10% plunge in episodic television roles last year to 34,431 -- a loss of 3,523 roles from 2003 -- as primetime reality programming increased from 15 to 22 hours per week. This is terrible news for all of my acting buddies...however, if you're dedicated enough to eat bugs, date a bimbo or a himbo, work for a tyrant, or go stircrazy, you can still follow your dreams of acting on TV!

I should be more upset about this than I am...actors need work, and non-professionals taking jobs from trained people in the field is just wrong. But entertainment is a supply-and-demand business, and if people don't want to watch dramas or comedies -- or if the dramas and comedies are not compelling enough to retain audiences' interest -- there's little that can be done by actors to improve their lot. Feast or famine, and this is famine time.

I believe that reality television is a sublime editors' showcase...it shows how an editor can create story where there isn't one, how the tricks of dramatic tension can be appropriated in the control booth. It borrows the power of documentary and pairs it with dreams of riches and success...it's intoxicating.

There's still a place on television for scripted shows, though. (Look at the successes of CSI or Lost to see how storytelling can still find an enthusiastic following.) But rather than complaining about reality shows taking up airspace, the Screen Actors Guild should be asking David E. Kelley, Stephen Bochco, and Chris Albrecht why they can't seem to recapture market share...or come up with a decent idea.