Struggling to Make Ends Meet? You're Not Alone.

In today's celebrity-obsessed, red-carpet culture, it's easy for day-to-day working actors to get lost in the melee. This past week New York Times theatre reporter Campbell Robertson profiled five performers about their struggles to make ends meet in the Big Apple.

Their stories may sound familiar:

- "I am joyfully watching childhood friends get married, buy property, things of that nature," said 34-year-old Obie Award-winning actor Roslyn Ruff who has no savings to speak of. "That's just not in the cards for me right now."

- Chet Carlin has worked in the business for 40 years and still grapples with what it means to succeed in the industry. "I probably spent most of the first 10 years saying, 'You know, if I don't make it in 10 years...'" says Carlin. "But then what's 'make it'? It's difficult to define."

- Then there's 36-year-old Damien Baldet who recently banked $140,000 a year touring with The Lion King. "It's more than I've made combined since I started working when I was 15 years old."

Read more here.

-- Brooke O'Neill