Free From the 9 to 5, Freelance Actor Prefers Change
John Keller works in New York City and internationally as a freelance actor while serving as the Director of Education and Outreach at CoLAB Arts and a teacher. He has taught theater at all grade levels in a variety of residency programs as well as at Rider University, Westminster Choir College and is currently teaching Global Theater and Theater for Social Development at Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts. Throughout the years, he learned how to balance freelance work without feeling overwhelmed.
Did you expect to be freelancing after completing a Masters in Fine Arts in Acting from Mason Gross at Rutgers?
It’s kind of impossible to think of life as an actor without thinking of life as a freelancer.
How do you balance your freelance acting with administrative work at CoLAB and teaching at Rutgers?
It’s a constant negotiation. You end up mapping it out in certain ways… [For instance] I teach at Rutgers but I only teach in the fall. So in my mind, I can’t leave the state of New Jersey or the New York metropolitan area in the fall. So if I’m traveling and working in a theatre in Florida for example, I can’t do that kind of work in the fall months because I’m committed to my class at Rutgers. I’m working in the Arts department at Rutgers so they understand what a freelancer’s life is and they value the fact that as a teacher, I’m still practicing as a professional.
Are there any struggles of a freelance schedule as opposed to the traditional 9 to 5?
To be quite honest, there are periods of my year where I’ll have 12–16 hour days. But if you’re a freelancer, you cover your health insurance individually. I’m fortunate that most years I work enough hours that I get my health insurance through my actors’ union, but that’s not always the case.
One of the big struggles is time management — that’s a universal freelance struggle. But you also have to make sure everyone you’re working with has an understanding of your schedule and that you’re communicating to them your availability.
The other side of that is that you also have to balance your personal life. I’ve never had a 9 to 5 in my entire life, but all of my friends, family and romantic partners have understood that. It’s all about time management and balance. I’m in my late 30s and I’ve only understood the importance of balancing your time management in the last couple of years.
How does the Actors’ Equity Association play a role in your work as a freelance actor?
Even though I’m a freelance actor, I will never not work a union contract. The union sets up all of my work parameters, like how many hours a week a producer is allowed to ask of me, what the safety protocols of a theater should be — all of the process stuff you would need to define as a freelancer.
All of the benefits are handled through our union: my retirement, pension and healthcare. The union collects money from producers who pay into health and pension, and a certain number of hours I work during a year guarantees me a certain number of months a year of health insurance. I’ve been pretty fortunate to get full years worth of health insurance.
Did you ever feel you were missing out on the 9 to 5 lifestyle?
I understand why people love the 9 to 5 because of the structure and that time is your own when you’re not at work, but I’ve always loved change and having a variety of things to do. I might be working a job that’s regular for 8 to 10 weeks and it’s just enough to feel like this is fun and I’m getting used to this pattern, but after that much time, I’m ready for a change. I also like the independence of it, setting the terms for what my work is.
