The offstage jobs and hustles that honed them
It’s no secret that making a consistent, full-time living solely as a theater performer is a tough ask. Actors Jordan Andrews and Omar Uddin know this all too well. While they’re now in positions that allow them to work with theater companies that pay well and help sustain careers, that wasn’t always the case.
At different points in their lives, they had to either take day jobs to make ends meet or pick up side hustles to give themselves a bit of a buffer.
Living paycheck to paycheck
Andrews, who plays Al DeLuca in the upcoming Manila staging of “A Chorus Line,” was fortunate enough to grow up in London with parents who provided schooling and all the training he needed. But then, adulting happened.
In his mid-20s—after shuttling between theater work in the UK and the Philippines—he moved to Los Angeles to also try his luck in television and film. To supplement his income, he worked a retail job in a boutique, where he helped tailor and fit suits for clients attending weddings and red-carpet events.
One of the most memorable people Andrews fitted for a suit was Neil Patrick Harris, whom he vividly remembers dressing in a pair of grey slacks with black pinstripes and a red tuxedo jacket. Glamorous as it may seem, life was anything but.
Besides, he quips, he wanted to be the one being pinned, not the one doing the pinning.
Andrews lived paycheck to paycheck and still sometimes had to miss several auditions—because, well, rent comes first. “Living solo in LA, I had to become an adult talaga. There were times I didn’t know how I could pay my rent,” he shares. “Meals and gas were super budgeted, and every cent was accounted for. It was hard.”
Thankfully, one way or another, he managed. “You just have to work hard and persevere,” says the 30-year theater veteran, who started out as a child actor, playing Tam in “Miss Saigon” in London’s West End in the late 1990s. “I’m so proud I survived all those years and grew up.”
The universe listens
Unlike Andrews, Uddin—one of local theater’s fast-rising stars—has yet to find the need to rely on a day job to bridge the gap. But by growing up juggling school, stage rehearsals, and amateur singing competitions, he quickly learned the value of saving for the future.
“I was too young for side hustles back then, so what I did was join barangay contests. And then I would set aside whatever I won,” says the actor, who made his stage debut in 2017 in Virgin Labfest’s “Bata sa Bus Stop” and Peta’s “Tagu-taguan, Nasaan ang Buwan?”
Now, he’s set to play Moritz Stiefel, one of the lead roles, in the upcoming staging of “Spring Awakening.” Rehearsals for such plays typically happen on weekdays, he says, so on weekends, he accepts performing jobs for corporate events—and yes, even birthday parties.
“I dress up as different Disney characters. Their favorite is Pumbaa, and they love it when I put on a deep voice,” Uddin shares—quite amusing given that he used to play young Simba in the 2018 international tour of “The Lion King.”
“That’s what I use for my everyday needs. I’m just happy the universe is giving me what I need,” adds the 18-year-old actor, who also notably starred in “Bar Boys: A New Musical.” “It feels like the universe is listening.”
Building character
It may not be immediately obvious, but experiences like these build discipline and character, which ultimately seeps into the roles they play. Case in point: When Andrews starred in Joseph the Dreamer—a play about the uncertain stretch between wide-eyed beginnings and the pursuit of the big dream—he channeled the struggles and disappointments he had faced in chasing his own dreams.
“You start out with bright eyes and the feeling that you can take on the world. But a lot of things will happen, and it’s not always easy… sometimes we don’t even know if what we’re doing is right,” Andrews says.
But the discipline he has built gives him a strong core to rely on when the going gets tough. You can dock him for his acting, singing, or even his looks—but you won’t find anything to fault in his professionalism.
“That’s the thing I always protect. I’m always on time, I always know what to do in rehearsal,” he says. “We have fun, but kapag work, work. That’s what sustains us in theater.”
Meanwhile, Uddin finds that venturing beyond theater—the connections it fosters, even through the tiniest side gigs—can only make you more empathetic. He puts himself in his characters’ shoes to tell their story better for the people who need to hear it, and then applies that understanding to better connect with both others and himself.
“You have to empathize not only with other people, but also with yourself. Sometimes I forget who I really am because of all the roles I’ve played, so I try my best to ground myself, remember who I really am, and learn from it,” he says.
