Tip No. 6: Get paid not to act

Photo Assistant: Ryan Van Ert; Groomer: Traci Fein

Trista Smith’s steadiest acting gig so far was the one that paid her, for the most part, not to act. The 29-year-old actor spent nearly eight months understudying both female roles for the Chicago cast of Forbidden Broadway: SVU at the Royal George from May of last year until January. Smith made it onstage a few more than 40 times during the 300-show run.

“There’s a lot of sitting around,” Smith says with a laugh. And a lot of the sitting around took place at the theater; she and the male understudy were each expected to sit in on the show twice a week for the full run. “I was still laughing out loud for about a month into watching it,” she says. “And after that, I stopped laughing, but it was still entertaining. After about three months, it wasn’t really entertaining anymore, and it was just my job.”

It was a job she was more than happy to do. The long-running Broadway parody’s style suited Smith’s musical-comedy talents (she does a mean Ethel Merman) like few shows in Chicago could. Only Hell in a Handbag Productions, where Smith is an ensemble member, regularly goes for a similar aesthetic.

“I realized I’m not going to get to do a show like this [often],” Smith laments. “You get to play all these different characters and every time you come on, you’re making people laugh for a different reason. I want to be the person who gets to play 12 different parts, because that’s what’s fun for me.”

Of course, being on call every night can make life difficult. “I got the call at intermission once, the first time I ever went on. I went to the restroom, and the stage manager came and found me and said, ‘You’ve got to go on. Val can’t sing the second act,’” she says.

“I had a day job as well, and the theater would give me a call for [shows like] a Wednesday matinee. So I’d get a call at 9:30 or 10:00 while I’m at the office, like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to come in,’” she recalls. “So now I have to go talk to my boss and say, ‘I’ve got to go do a matinee. Be gone for about three hours.’ And for nine months, every weekend plan I had was tentative.”

Despite the time commitment, understudy gigs meant valuable credits for Smith’s résumé. “I think that just sends the message out that, Hey, I’m versatile, I can do whatever you want me to do,” she says. “And anytime you understudy with people, if you get the chance to go on, you show them like, Bam! I just nailed that right there.”

Next gig Since Forbidden Broadway left, her schedule’s wide open.

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