Ameriville

Ameriville is a touring show that is running for 3 weeks in Maryland. I got the follow spot op job on the show because I had done over hire LX work there.

We went in the first day and were provided with track sheets (there are 2 follow spots). We worked through the show, the SM would call what happened with spots before it happened. Tech was slow. The spots are on the catwalk directly above the center of the house so we cannot have things to entertain us up there with us. The show is 90 minutes without an intermission. There is a talk back after every show. (These are fascinating since the company writes and performs their own work and they have been working together for 14 years.)

Everyone has been really cool about the spots. We were relatively awful at it the first couple of days. No one was angry. The other spot op is typically a sound board op for the theatre and hasn't done lighting work before. The spots at this particular theatre are actually Source 4s in some sort of spot conversion contraption that is really cool. They also have color boomerangs inserted in the gel slot in the front which makes it harder to spot. I'm getting the hang of it and now it's fun.

The company is really awesome. They are all gracious and very talented. I love the talk backs. They are doing the kind of work that I want to be doing later. AND traveling the world with it.

Oh and PS - The theatre in the post below has an ETC Express!!!!!! I. am. so. excited.

And the ME is adding me to his overhire list as well as forwarding my name to the artistic director for future programming and design work.

The Best Thing Ever

Holy. shit.

I just got offered the most incredible opportunity. I am not sure if I can take it yet, but I am so excited about the possibility.

I emailed a designer in the area and told him I was interested in assisting him. He didn't reply for 2 weeks, then he replied and said he had some projects coming up he needed an assistant on and he'd love to sit down and talk portfolios.

I replied honestly saying I was excited, but as a recent graduate my print portfolio is a work in progress, but I'd still love to get his feedback on it. In the meantime he could view my website portfolio.

He didn't reply so I figured he was like "silly kid I need a real assistant."

16 days later he emailed me and offered me an assistant position. He said he was sorry about the delay with his emails - he's planning a wedding. He's designing A Broadway Christmas Carol and won't be there for 6 1/2 hours of tech so he needs an assistant who can cover those hours and be at the rest of tech. He offered money... to do what I really want to do.

I told him I was excited about the opportunity, but I wanted to make sure I was clear on how he uses an assistant before I committed. (I wanted to see if he would have me drafting or updating paperwork, which would be a problem since I no longer have student versions of that software.)

He said he needs someone to write cues (!!!) while he's not there during tech and then lots of other assistant-y type things when he is there (taking notes, tracking the follow spot, etc). He said since I would be writing cues he could make me an associate (!!!) instead of an assistant. (This is nuts, kids.)

I am so pumped about this. So incredibly pumped.

Here's my hesitation: I assumed there would be a programmer (I have no idea what kind of board they have) but I did a little research - aka I texted the people I knew in DC asking if any of them had worked at this particular theatre. V (sound designer) said she hadn't but a friend (a lighting designer, how convenient) had. He said the designers there typically program for themselves.

See, I refuse to take the job if I know I will slow down tech at all when he leaves so I have to be super prepared. And I know I can be prepared by memorizing the paperwork and knowing the plot like the back of my hand. I also know I can pick up on his aesthetic to be consistent and efficient, but if I'm also programming I need to already know the board.

SO I'm waiting to hear what kind of board they have and if this show in particular will have a programmer or not. I asked the designer these questions (and also told him everything sounded great and I was excited to be involved.) I also emailed the ME at the theatre, asking if they employ programmers and sending him my resume (because, hey, if I don't get this job might as well apply for another, also I like programming and could perhaps do it for them in the future).

IN ADDITION I did a little stalking. V gave me the MEs information when I asked her about the theatre so I googled and found him on LinkedIn. I looked at his special skills and he is proficient in ETC Express and Strand520i - both of the boards I know from college. Express is the board I have worked on for every show so far in DC as well. He also has "limited working knowledge" of Eos and Ion - boards I don't know well. I am assuming that since he is the ME of the space he is proficient in its board so it is PROBABLY one of the first two - which I know. SO that'd be great. I am getting to be very excellent at people research.

I want to take it so badly.

So there's that.

I'm also working on Ameriville, which has been really exciting. Post about that later.

Navigating Freedom and Hydroplaning

A big part of graduating is learning how to navigate all of the tricky things that come with being free. It's not just about trying to find theatre work and this the ability to navigate freedom directly relates to your success in finding work, I think. At least that's my excuse for using this blog as an outlet for some of my 20something turmoil.

My thoughts. In two parts.

Part I: The New York Times outrage

I spend a lot of my time with people in their late twenties and thirties. I really know very few people who are my age here. Part of the reason is probably because I'm playing small roles in big theatres so I'm working in a circle of older established people, which is so fortunate for me, but keeps me constantly aware of my age. I am, however, coming to embrace the energetic cute 22 year old stereotype I am assigned, as long as everyone knows that energy is married to utter determination.

Then a friend (who is 29) was talking to me about how the "20somethings" have kind of disappeared. She hasn't met any in the 'business' recently, with me as an exception. She brought up this article in the Times. What I took from the article were two things about the 20-somethings: that we are refusing to grow up/be adults and that we are spending our 20s mindlessly exploring while not being adults.

While I am not completely independent from my parents yet (health insurance and college loans) I am out of their house and I have a day job to support myself while I figure out what I want to do. I don't think I'm refusing to grow up at all. However, I am exploring. Because I am not settling. Settling would be a mistake, for me. I don't think this makes me less of an adult; I think it makes me more of one. I am not scared of freedom in a way that would confine me to making choices that keep me safe. People in their 20s have all their options open to them and it's childish to not take advantage if you want them. Yes, I want to travel. But I'm not begging anyone for money to do it. I'm saving out of every week of work. I'm supporting my mindful explorations. I'm fueling the world around me with my 20something energy that radiates optimism (why is that negative now?) and drive. That doesn't make me a child, that makes me a force.

And if they created a government program to support us and ease the transition into adulthood I think that would just further delay it. Though I'd love a bond to travel. hah.

Here's a response to the Times that I read and stole the Kafka quote from: http://thefastertimes.com/voyeurism/2010/08/25/20-somethings-you-are-free-and-that-is-why-you-are-lost/

Soap box done.

Part 2: Okay so that was kind of irrelevant, but this is actually the point

The point is what all of that got me thinking about: why do I feel like I'm a floundering 20something when I'm actually doing really well in a lot of respects? (I call this relevant because I think a lot of recent grads feel a little lost no matter what they're doing.)

"You are lost and that is because you are free." -Kafka

I dove in. I moved to a new city within a month of graduating with the promise of an unpaid month-long job. And now I'm here. And I'm finding ways to open up so many doors for myself. I've met wonderful people. I've managed to be working in a theatre at least once every week. I'm constantly recalculating. I'm learning how to dig into people. I'm making decisions. I'm changing my mind. I love it. It feels like I have every option in front of me and, though I sometimes feel like I should, I don't have to choose one yet.

But there's a feeling of constant hydroplaning (a freedom from traction). I'm not completely in contact with the ground, which is terrifying and completely exhilarating. It doesn't mean I'm not progressing. It just means I don't feel in control of that progression.

The problem is I haven't found a point of stability yet, a point at which I am confident I will regain contact with the ground. Those points are kind of handed to you within the structure of schooling and the life I've lived up to this point. Now I am jumping from job to job: different positions, different theatres, different people. I'm also still adjusting to a completely new place, I know very few people here well enough to really be comfortable, my day job isn't something I want to do forever, etc etc. So, for me, I need to find a point of stability, one thing I know is consistent, so everything else can continue to be flexible. Because I like to hydroplane.

I don't know if that makes sense. What I mean is, I loved that I was overwhelmed at school and did everything - I jumped from electrician to designer to director to assistant and loved it. BUT I knew that in the morning I had class. For a couple of hours I regained contact because I had something that happened every week that I could expect (and people I knew would be there); it served as an anchor (albeit sometimes an annoying one) for everything else to swirl around. There is nothing in my post-grad life like that yet.

I think that anchor can be anything really. A person, a group of people, a place, an activity - something you know is consistent. Something that makes you feel safe for just a second. That second of safety fuels the ability to not be in contact with the ground the rest of the time.

Because I like hydroplaning. I need to spin and discover and wonder and be free. I'll slam into a choice when it's time.

So... post grad life lesson - find an anchor on a long leash so you can contact the ground once in awhile? Or stay out of the rain.

Sidenote: I think for a lot of other recent grads the problem is the opposite: too many options can freeze people. So instead of hydroplaning they are unmoving on a road soaked with possibilities. The car works. The downpour is purifying. Buckle an anchor into the passenger seat and go.

Update (Follow Spot, Arena, Gala)

So I found out at least one person reads this! Hooray!

So I wanted to update,

but I don't really have much to say...

I am currently working as a follow spot operator on this: http://www.roundhousetheatre.org/newsitem/ameriville-press-release/

Last night I attended the Forum Gala which was very cool. I am officially a company member which I'm stoked about and may have already mentioned.

I'm sending in my contract for the AD position at Folger tomorrow. The first read is Nov 15, rehearsals start in March.

I have a very big theatre gap in my season. I don't have any projects November - February. This makes me nervous, but I'm sure things will happen. I'm not being too passive about it.

I mentioned to the PSM at Roundhouse (where I'm follow spot oping) that I'd like to get involved in their Education Department and she said she's get me the information for the heads of the department and mention me to them.

I am on the overhire list at Arena Stage. The ME called me and asked me to come in so he could show me the space. They have a brand new space (3 actually) that they moved into this summer. So I did. He showed me around the theatres and then we sat in the house as they built Oklahoma (yes...) and he talked to me about the electrics schedule for the next few weeks and said I could come in any day I could get off my day job. He also said I could even just come in the mornings before my day job starts at 1. I'm excited about doing that next week.

Also - I cleaned out my theatre file box today. I have every piece of paper from all of Dr. Beck's classes still. I threw some out. I also found my job recommendation letters from Kate and Dr. Beck which almost made me cry. haha.

So I'm just hanging out.

One Way to Find New People to Work With

Whenever you finish working with someone (it's final preview for Scorched) always find a casual way to ask them if they have any suggestions for other people you should work with.

I was emailing another LD and asked Brian (Scorched LD) if he knew him. He didn't and asked why. I told him I was looking for more people to work with and he started making a few suggestions, telling me that when I email to tell them I had just worked with him and we had a great time. The sound designer for Scorched overheard and started suggesting people too.

People want to work with people that are fun to work with. The only way to know? They've worked with someone you can ask.

Whenever I find people I'd like to work with I always check out their resumes and see who they've worked with.

Three reasons:

1. If they've worked with someone I know I can ask the mutual friend about this new person to see if I really want to work with them AND if I do maybe the person I know will offer to be a reference.

2. I may want to work with some of those people on the resume that I don't know too! If I'm looking at a really well established designer, I want to assist some of the people that have assisted him before I assist the well known designer.

3. It never hurts to be specific. If I've seen something they've done, heard about it, worked at a theatre they worked at, or worked with someone they've worked with, I reference it in my email. It shows that I am not just mass emailing a bunch of designers. Also, as Martha Mountain told me, people always respond to flattery.

Social Networking aka Stalking

In other news, based on my recent outburst of adding a bunch of DC Theatre people as friends in the last few months facebook is making awesome friend suggestions for me. I don't friend them, but I definitely look them up when I see our mutual friends are all established DC people. Sometimes I check out their websites, I just emailed a lighting designer facebook suggested. I didn't tell him how I found out about him, of course. That'll be a story for years from now when we are life long friends laughing over scotch. Anyway, thanks facebook!