Finding meaning in creative work is deeply important for actors and other artists. Many, if not most, actors are not able to work as much as they passionately want to, or get the acclaim for their performances that would assure them they are doing something of real value.

Conscious choices to make their work - and their life away from work - mean something can fuel an artist's creative expression and power.

One thing that can deflate energy and power is depression, which can be brought on by a lack of meaning.

Therapist and creativity coach Eric Maisel, Ph.D. emphasizes the need for creative people to nurture meaning to stay on top of depression.

In his book The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Person's Path Through Depression, Dr. Maisel notes that most creators "feel miserable if few or none of their creative efforts succeed."

He noted in my interview with him that lack of success and recognition are "profound meaning crises that must be addressed with all of our heart and all of our energy."

Creativity coach and author Jill Badonsky points out that a talented artist who does not express belief and confidence in themselves can flounder, and someone less talented but with that belief can flourish.

Part of what makes anyone confident in what they do is a feeling that it is meaningful. Maybe that is especially true of actors and other performers.

Mare Winningham commented about playing Amanda in a stage production of Tennessee Williams' classic "The Glass Menagerie" (at the Old Globe in San Diego) that it has been rare for her to find such deep, complex roles.

She said, "So often during the last 30 years, you're trying to make something better than it is. You're trying to find richness where there isn't any. You're trying to find complexity where there is none. You're trying to make something more than it is. Here, you don't have to do that. It actually makes it easier that Amanda is so multifaceted. It's a welcome relief."

And probably more than a relief, that sense of meaning energizes and inspires.

Gabriel Byrne comments, "So many actors feel that their work is themselves, and if they're not working, they're somehow kind of worthless, then life doesn't have any meaning because they're not doing the thing that they love. But the lesson I've learned is that life comes first and acting comes second."

He thinks it is vital to keep developing other skills and interests beyond acting: "To read, to go to movies, to not lose faith in yourself, to not despair, to not doubt, and to keep a regular discipline in your life."

And if the quality of acting roles (when you can land them) is not providing enough meaning, other forms of creativity can. Winningham, for example, also expresses her talents through singing and songwriting.

In addition to acting and directing, Dennis Hopper is a photographer and painter. He has said, "Like all artists I want to cheat death a little and contribute something to the next generation."

But Eric Maisel warns that nurturing meaning is not just seeking out peak moments or grand significance. He notes people have to do many things that may have no strong meaning in themselves, like sending out headshots or helping get publicity for a community theater production.

Those activities can be part of your meaning-making efforts, to support the creative work you believe in. It isn't a matter so much of finding meaning, but of actively making it, to keep you energized and inspired.