Kirsten Vangsness is an example of someone who would’ve- and did- act for free if no one paid her to do it. And that has paid off well for her. In addition to her regular role on the hit primetime TV drama, “Criminal Minds,” she is highly sought-after for high profile projects on stage and on the big screen.

Current part:  I play Garcia on CBS’s “Criminal Minds.” I also just finished doing a play called “Kill Me, Deadly” at Theater of NOTE in LA. And I have a small part in an independent film about the Chicago 8 which is so-far called THE CHICAGO 8.

College & degree:  I went to Cypress Community College for two years and then graduated from Cal State Fullerton as a theater major.

Internships:  None.

Acting while in school (professional or amateur): I acted within the school’s program and also had done community theater in Orange County since I was 14, usually appearing in two or three plays a year. However, I was terrified to do theater in Los Angeles at this point. I was a couple of years out of college before I ventured into the LA theater world.

Day job while you were working towards being a working actor: Oh, there were so many… I worked at fabric store, a book store, a group home. I was a substitute teacher, a (terrible) waitress at a murder mystery dinner theater. I wrote grants. I was a bubble scientist, a hostess, an assistant to an actress…

First post-graduate acting job (un-paid): I did an Ionesco play at the Curtis Theater in Brea. As I mentioned, I did a lot of plays. It was not uncommon for me to be doing more than one at a time on different nights.

First paid acting job: A Diet Dr. Pepper commercial. That’s how I got my SAG card. (I was Taft-Hartlied). It was my third professional audition and I landed the part. So I was optimistic about future opportunities, but it was about five years before I got another paid job. Then I got a string of three or four commercials, often as a conservative business woman, which I found odd.

How did you get repped? Someone came and saw one of my plays at Hudson Theater and approached me. (I am awful at the marketing side of the business- this agent was not at the show to see me.)

What was your “big break” (or series of breaks that got you working)? I did a part on the show, “LAX,” and then went back to doing only plays for close to a year (getting plenty of call backs, but not getting the part). And because film and TV casting people never knew what to do with me (I didn’t look like an ingenue, but wasn’t old enough to be considered a character actress), I figured it’d be until I was fifty before I’d get paid, if at all. And I was at peace with it.

But then (right after testing for, but not getting, a part on a sitcom), a casting assistant friend of mine called and told me, “I want you to come in and read for this drama series. You won’t get the part. It’s written for a man. They’re changing it to be a woman, but the character’s named Garcia and, well, you won’t get it, but come in anyway.” Great.

So I went in and just had fun with it. And ended up going to Canada and shooting the pilot. It was a co-star, the smallest part on the show. And I totally didn’t understand the technical lingo. When I left, though the producer was reassuring, I was convinced I was awful and they’d recast the part. But, of course, they didn’t.

Do you continue to train (acting classes, coaches, workshops)?  I have private coaching, but more than anything, the theater is my training. Theater is like a class.

Has ageism been a factor in your experience as an actor?  No, but I’m a character actor so people aren’t going to make the same assumptions about me (guessing my age, etc.). I am also still in the young range. 

Have you used your acting career- or are you planning to use it- as a way of branching into producing or directing? I am a writer, so I am pursuing that and I assume the producing will come out writing. I have a lot of projects that I’m working on with a writing partner.

Eureka moment: When I realized I could (that I should) show up exactly as I was instead of waiting to wake up and be this “perfect” actor going about their “perfect” day. It helped me not care when I went in the room whether I did it “perfectly” or not. Because I knew everyone acts like they want to see perfect, but no one wants to see perfect. And from then on, instead of judging my success on whether I got a job, I thought, “Does it bring me pleasure? Am I getting better?” And when I stopped caring about being perfect and just let myself be myself, people paid attention.

Most significant role: I loved doing “Fat Pig” at the Geffen. I’d always felt being as thin as possible would be the key to getting a good part, but for that role, they were telling me to gain weight. But it was also the most difficult part I’ve done. It was hard on my ego and on my body, having the extra weight and not being able to do anything to get rid of it, not knowing if I would be able to get rid of it when the run was done.

Favorite part or project: I loved shooting “Criminal Minds” and doing “Kill Me, Deadly” at Theater of NOTE at the same time. During the day, I’d be Garcia and at night, I’d be a siren, singing torch songs. In general, “Criminal Minds” is my favorite. This is like school to me. I’d never been on a job for more than a day before this.

Describe a typical work day: In general, I like to keep things pretty unglamorous. I’m a plumber, a teacher, doing my job. When I’m not shooting, I spend a lot of time sitting around on-set. I write in my journal, listen to music, run lines.

I’ll describe what turned out to be my last day on “Criminal Minds” for the season. Despite a five o’clock call, I’d stayed up late learning lines for the whole episode in spite of only being scheduled to shoot one scene the next day. I drove to work, put on my costume (with lots of Spanx first), and then someone brought me breakfast (which is really cush, I gotta say). I was in hair and makeup for an hour and a half. We rehearsed, then I went over my lines more, then we shot the scene. Then, because of some schedule changes, they decided to shoot all of my scenes for the episode, but I was ready because I’d learned them the night before.

Best thing about being a working actor: It feels like the punchline to the longest joke you’ve ever heard. Money doesn’t make things better, though it simplifies things. But it’s just so satisfying. I’m surprised I can go wherever I want, that it’s my world. I still feel a little like I snuck in.

Worst thing about being a working actor: You have a lot of eyes on you. There’s something weird about it- you use a lot of emotional and spiritual energy acting and I find being on television, people make judgments about you and have ideas about you, either approving or disapproving. It’s easy to get caught up in becoming externally motivated, accepting this attention that’s unrealistic for real life. I have to remember, that’s not me, that’s a character. They’re not excited about me, they are excited about what watching you brings up about them. I’m happy to be a conduit for people’s imaginations, but I’m not responsible for their happiness.

Brush with greatness: After a performance of “Fat Pig” one night, I was concerned about a moment in the performance and was looking for the director when this woman said, “May I talk to you?” She had led me into the dressing room and the door was closed before I realized it was Helen Mirren and she was paying me a serious complement.

Sidelines: My mom is a 6^th grade teacher, so I go in and teach improv and help them write plays. I also write. And cook soup.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: Be brave enough to figure out exactly what you want- as close as you can- and figure out what that would feel like and try to recreate that feeling in your life. But don’t worry about your dreams changing or evolving- that happens- just go with it.

Also, never never never never think that you are “less than.” Have respect for yourself, you are an artist, you are on the cutting edge. Art is where everything begins. There is such value in being an artist and people shouldn’t forget that.

Next move: I am going to finish writing this thing that I am writing for myself and I’m making a short film with my theater friends. (Staying in touch with my theater friends is where the gold is.) I’m also going to make sure that my character on “Criminal Minds” has the most amazingly satisfying story lines for the length of the show and then just keep making magical, empowering, wonderful things. Do the movie with Wes Anderson, the one with Christopher Guest. Do my performance artist piece that will go to Broadway and London. AND be an executive producer and the lead in the feature film version of the “Wrinkle In Time” series.

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Since we profiled her earlier this year, our “Making It Happen” actress, Jiffy Reed, has been very busy pursuing her acting career. She has shot an episode of CSI: New York, traveled to Detroit to attend a film premiere, participated in several photo shoots, met with potential reps (though so far, no match- agents and managers, take note!), shot a short film called THE NEGOTIATION (see bottom of post for link), and she just returned from Florida where she was the signature model in a runway show. Oh, and of course, she’s been auditioning, auditioning, auditioning…

The following is a recent blog post from JiffyReed.com which is reprinted with permission:

This was a really fun experience, from start to – well, I don’t know if it’s finished yet, but I’m sharing it with you anyway.

I submitted for this short film over a month ago via Actors Access.  The story sounded very cool, a horror/thriller, and the bonus was that it would shoot in St. Louis, my hometown.  I looked up the director, Eric Wilkinson on IMDb, saw that he was a working artist with credits (a great way to do an initial screening on potential projects, I say) and clicked the “submit” button.

Cut to a few weeks later, and I’ve been called in to audition.  Did I mention that in my submission I let them know that I am from St. Louis and can work as a local hire?  Perhaps this helped me get a foot in the door.  The director offered to email the script if any auditioning actors were interested – I requested a copy immediately and thanked him for sharing – so many times, you have no idea what kind of story you’re getting into until they offer you the job – at least at the indie level.

The story is great!  I liked my character, and I liked the scene I would be doing for the audition.  I took notes on the whole thing, memorized the lines, prepared some ad-lib lines just in case, and stayed in touch with the director as he sent update emails before the audition date.

Day of the audition, I got there early, sat quietly in one of the chairs provided in the waiting room, and stayed in the moment.  The scene called for a lot of emotion, as my character’s life was at stake, so I used a tool called “silver bullet” – sort of a “what if you JUST found out (blank) had happened to you/someone you love?”  I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say, I felt very prepared when I walked into that audition room.

Everyone, including the director, was super nice, appreciated my preparatory work, and seemed to enjoy the choices I made in the scene (to quote the director:”nice choices!”).  After that, I walked out of the room, out of the office, to the parking lot, got in my car, and let it all go – an important part of the process for me.  If I don’t let it go, it might bubble up later at an inopportune moment…  such as bawling in the middle of an ad for auto insurance… awkward.

Jiffy’s short film, THE NEGOTIATION, can be seen here.