All of the sidehustles so far have been very dry — dogwalking, tutoring, driving people around. What if you want to see your name in lights? Luckily, there’s a way forward! This week is going to be all about performance sidehustles, and how to make your money on the big screen.
Movies are constantly searching for extras, needing them to pad out backgrounds in highschool hallways, or battlescenes, or just crossing the road. You don’t need any prior experience to get hired as an extra, but it usually helps to be friendly, outgoing and adventurous, as you’re going to have to be in front of a camera for a few hours. Extras usually get paid minimum wage, but due to the nature of shoots you could fit them in at night after work, or in the early morning on a weekend. Plus, you get the shot of meeting a celebrity, if you’re lucky!
If it’s later in the year, try out for a haunted house. This takes a lot less experience than auditioning for a movie or tv show, as you’re covered in a mask and usually don’t have any lines to deliver other than “BOO!” People who work in scare houses can get paid a lot, thanks to the odd hours and strange line of work, meaning that it can be a perfect sidehustle for someone with a standard nine to five.
And after you’ve wrapped on the haunted house, why not try your hand at playing Santa? If the beard fits, at least. Schools, malls, and sometimes even parks will pay good money for you to dress up as Jolly Old St. Nick every year and talk to kids, hand out presents, and laugh a few ‘ho ho hos!’ for good measure. Mrs Claus could also make an appearance, if you ask about it, meaning that you could drag any of your unsuspecting friends into appearing as the whole jolly family.
Photo by Katherine Barcsay from Burst.
