Performance: For Love Or Money?

Recently I was presented with a conundrum.

I received an offer of work - to all intents and purposes a cause for celebration - but this offer raised issues both personally and professionally. It's probably fair to say that most performers get involved in their preferred art form and train hard to progress with it because of a passionate love for what it is that they do. This invariably youthful enthusiasm is something we all strive to maintain in order to retain the vibrancy and energy of our work. Hence my dilemma: the new contract offer was to do the same identical work as I had done for most of the past two years. Do I accept simply because having work is better than not having work, or do I decline simply out of fear of becoming professionally stagnant?

Some may argue that it is always possible to keep performances fresh and exciting and that doing so could possibly be the hardest aspect of our line of work - therefore, as a working professional I should push myself to find the extra nuance and tonal colour to make myself a better performer. Unfortunately there is a little more to it than that. The offer comes with a strict living environment that was the cause of a lot of personal discomfort and unhappiness that directly affected the strength of my work and well as my physical and mental well-being.

Many may read that and say that the choice is obvious: how could anyone elect to suffer emotionally for the sake of getting paid? It is true that it would seem illogical to make a choice that would actually worsen one's inner balance, but ultimately another contract is another opportunity to do something I love and be able to live whilst doing it - it may not intrinsically provide me new avenues to express myself but shouldn't we be prepared to sacrifice certain liberties in order to have our time to make the most of our art?

This situation is ongoing, please let me know your thoughts.