Seth Burnham struggles to keep his acting dream alive

Burnham developed a daily cafe routine. Each morning he awoke in his cramped apartment, fed kibbles to his cats, threw on his sneakers and walked across Glendale Boulevard to Kaldi Coffee & Tea.   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Seth Burnham, left, and Hayley Williams, right, perform together during a rehearsal of “First Love/Worst Love,” part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival in May.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Seth Burnham waits for a rehearsal of “First Love/Worst Love,” part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. He says he came to Hollywood “even though there’s a part of me that just wants to live in a small town and spend my time tending a garden.”   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Seth Burnham, center, performs with an ensemble during a rehearsal of “First Love/Worst Love.” After three years of living in Los Angeles, he has played a carjacker in a cable TV comedy and had a small role in an independent film.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Seth Burnham during a rehearsal of “First Love/Worst Love.” Since his college days in the early 1990s, the acting quest had taken Burnham to several cities.   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Seth Burnham didn’t want fame; he wanted to simply be a journeyman, a working actor, appreciated for his skill, making roughly the same yearly salary as a union electrician.   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Seth Burnham, an actor still waiting for his big break, takes a call in his one-bedroom apartment in Atwater Village. He survives on credit cards and his wife’s salary as a medical resident.   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)