Being an Actor is Like Being in a Bike Wreck

Jul 18, 2011 by     No Comments    Posted under: City Life, Uncategorized

So there I was, pedaling down Montrose on my magenta mountain bike, when BLAM! The driver of a parked Oldsmobile opens her door into the street without looking and I collide with it, sending me toppling over my handlebars and onto the hard asphalt below.

An unknown amount of time passes. Maybe a few seconds. I open my eyes, and I’m lying on my stomach trying to remember how my arms work. The back of my head is throbbing. Pedestrians have stopped to lend a hand, and curious restaurant patrons are peering at me through the windows of Taqueria Mr. Salsa. I manage to get to my feet and stumble over to the sidewalk.

A woman asks me, “Oh my god, are you okay?” I am confused, unsure of what has just happened to me, but I manage a nod. Somebody is telling me an ambulance is on the way. “No,” I insist, “I’m fine. Don’t call them. I don’t have insurance.” One of them alerts me that I’m bleeding from the back of my head pretty badly, so I give up arguing.

Flash forward to later that night. I’m lying in a hospital bed, having gone through the complete gamut of tests and procedures. Other than the five shiny staples holding the gash in my head together, I’m surprisingly fine, but they’re keeping me overnight for observation. I had snuck a quick tweet about the accident during the ambulance ride to the hospital, so now I’m surrounded by my amazing social-media-addicted friends. I’m hungry. It’s been nine hours since I last ate, but a nurse comes in to tell me that I’m not allowed to eat anything for another 12 hours. Damn…

As my friends filter out of the room and I’m left to enjoy actually having cable TV again, I can’t help but think how all of this relates being an actor in a really funny way.

  • You might be cruising now, but things could turn sour at any moment. Keep your eyes open!
  • Confidence in yourself is good, but you don’t know everything! Sometimes you gotta shut the hell up and listen to other people!
  • Social media websites actually do bring people together! Who knew?!
  • Surround yourself with great people, and you will accomplish great things. Like not dying. And having clean clothes to wear home.
  • Sometimes a day off is just the thing you need to make your head stop hurting.
  • Get used to being hungry. It happens!

Hope everyone’s being safe out there. While I’ve been out of commission, I’ve been checking out some cool new resources for Chicago actors, so expect some actual helpful content soon! 😉

~JVB

 

Joe Von Bokern is the Chicago contingent of this blog. Find out more information and view his materials on his website, or read the rest of his blog posts.