Two Years Later

I started this blog in 2010 as a way to share my experience post graduation with a BA in Theatre.  Our field is one without a lot of guidelines so I started blogging about what I was doing post graduation to get jobs and meet people to serve as a sort of idea of the "real world" for soon to be grads. After about 6 months of blogging I shut it down (though those posts are still here now), but two recent events made me want to kick it back up:

I recently went back to work at my alma mater to fill it for the lighting supervisor who was on maternity leave and, even more than before, I felt like many students were lacking any perspective on the real world.  I had also been interacting with some recent grads who just had no concept of how to act post graduation - they genuinely believed people just got the jobs they wanted and could get others into them.  Now being two, almost three, years out of school I'd love to actually help soon to be grads, answer questions, post things you guys are interested in...

Also, I just got a new job on tour and as a tour newbie I want to share things about the tour experience with people who haven't done it.  There are lots of blogs sharing experiences from the road, but I think mine will still be geared towards people who haven't done it, students/recent grads.

My last post was in January 2011... I guess I have some catching up to do before I can just pick up in February 2013...   Stay tuned for that update and for tour fun!

Email Overload (Job Offers and Producing)

I have had a bizarre couple of days of email.

In the last 2 days I have received 5 RANDOM job offers.

1. First, before the new year I was looking for venues for the Festival readings and found a little theatre space in Silver Spring I'd never heard of. It wasn't right for the readings, but I sent them my lighting design resume and a link to my website just in case they were ever looking. The artistic director emailed me back and we said we'd meet after the new year. So Thursday she emails me, says she's looked at my website and noticed I am also a "director, choreographer, and set designer" and she would love to get me involved in the fall production of Man of La Mancha that she is producing. I replied very honestly telling her I am a lighting designer and director. My choreography experience is limited to light choreography for a children's theatre I directed, and my set design experience is minimal. My website contains this information, but it does not highlight or pad it at all. Anyway, I told her if she was still interested I'd love to chat.

2. A local lighting designer I've been dying to work with emailed me. He needed someone to cover building cues for a bunch of different companies in a festival for 2 weekends. He had gotten my name from Brian (who I was associate for in November) and Cory (who I've had a meeting with, but have not worked with yet). I did a happy dance when I read this one. Awesome.

3. Another lady who is the artistic director of a musical revue company emailed me looking for a lighting designer for her production that is coming up in March. Cory had sent her my name as well because he's unavailable.

4. Rorschach emailed me asking if I'd like to ME/ALD their production coming up in March. I met Randy (Artistic Director) while I was still at JMU and like him a lot. The LD is Andrew, who I just recently had a 3 hour chat with about lighting design and other theatrey things. He's great.

5. Round House emailed me an hour ago needing another run crew member for a show in March. I follow spot oped for them once and do overhire electrics calls there.

All of these things conflict so I can't do many of them. I don't have details for a lot of them yet either. But getting the emails was so exciting.

I'm not sure what lesson I learned, except that I am a lucky girl AND networking really is as important as people say it is. Meet people and be nice to them. Genuinely. And don't always be looking for something. Meet people because you want to meet them, not because you are digging for a job from them. I think I've said this a billion times, but it keeps proving true.

Additionally, (and this is probably more interesting to read if you're ever interested in being a newbie producer)

I have been on my Forum email CONSTANTLY trying to get actors for the Festival I am producing. We are producing 3 play readings, one of which we producers are directing. So we split up the other two are are the primary contact for one each. The one I am producing has 5 actors. The director shoots me names of people he wants me to contact, I dig for their contact information (or just ask someone I know who is on their resume), and then send them a note asking them to donate their time. Mitch, the director, is apparently a really really awesome person (why do you think I chose to be the primary producer for his reading) and so people have been eager to say yes. We have one role that has been difficult to fill though and I keep checking my email constantly and sending more emails. Mitch also has been asking a lot for my opinion or suggestions in filling the roles. Since I'm new (which I never told him) I don't know that many area actors. I also send his inquiries to Michael (Forum AD) and Hunter (Festival co-producer) and send him their responses. The difficult part of the whole producing thing has been not being familiar enough yet (which venues, with actors, etc), BUT it's been a great way to GET familiar with all of these things. A bit of a Catch22 I guess, and overall really great. It's also my job to request space (which is way easier than it could be since Forum has space) for Mitch's rehearsals.

In addition Hunter (the other producer and director of Fever chart) and I are casting our own reading. We are double casting roles between our two shows so that has been tricky and wanting to hear from our actors has me checking my mail even more.

So producing makes your mailbox crazy.

The Great Debate at 22

I'm actually not going to do this right now, but I wanted to remind myself to do it later.

I had a conversation with a local lighting designer (a 3 hour coffee meeting!!) and we ended up talking a lot about knowing what you want at a young age. A lot of people have told me it's totally fine (and actually really good) to just explore your options at first and not tie yourself down or feel like you have to make a decision. This LD told me I had to know what I wanted SPECIFICALLY right now and be pursuing it every second with a detailed 5 year plan in mind.

Later, when I feel like sitting here for a long time, I'll present what people have said to me on both sides of this argument and spit out some of my own thoughts now that I've digested a whole bunch of other people's.

Regardless of either choice it's important to remember what everyone I've talked to agrees on:

it's theatre. Most people don't do it, see it, or care about it. You are certainly not in it for the money. It is not life or death for you or anyone else (we can talk about Spiderman later). SO if you are not having fun and enjoying yourself, don't do it.

Videos I Want to Share

I spent a lot of today on my own work, sussing some things out, brainstorming, and watching a lot of TED talks (which wasn't part of the original plan, but awesome nonetheless). Here are some of my favorites. The third one down is imperative. It's so good.

Seth Godin on the tribes we lead | Video on TED.com

Amber Case: We are all cyborgs now | Video on TED.com

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

Another non-TED video that is shorter and just as important. This whole website (aid on the edge) is pretty fascinating:

We Need Balance

And a couple that are more directly about theatre:

Stage Matters

Ben Cameron: The true power of the performing arts | Video on TED.com

Watch them if you have time

Share thoughts if you watch them :)

My First Directing Project in DC

Because I am co-producing the Naomi Wallace Festival I get to direct a piece in it!

One of the plays we are producing a reading of is called Fever Chart and it is a series of three "visions." The other producer of the festival and I are splitting them up and I'm directing Vision 2. I'm excited.

More information on that when it gets into full swing!

Hey 2011 - I'm a Producer Now

So I have had a gap in my season from December - March for some time and I wasn't actively fighting to fill it. I figured it would give me a little time to adjust to living in a city (I still haven't really taken time to do that) and work on my own projects.

Fortunately I keep finding things to do.

I am co-producing a Festival!

I had a meeting with Michael (artistic director at Forum where I am a company member) and told him I would like to shadow him a bit and learn more about producing. Instead, he made me co-producer of a festival I didn't even know that they were planning. They want to do a festival of Naomi Wallace's plays to lead up to the opening of One Flea Spare by Naomi Wallace. I said "okay!"

First, we had to secure venues. I was co-producing with another guy who hadn't produced a festival and wasn't involved with Forum, but had been around in DC longer and knew a lot more people and venues, which was great. They wanted to do the festival for free so we were trying to find free venues, which was really difficult. People love to not reply.

Venues were a pain, but we eventually secured them.

Then the company choose 2 directors and then let us direct the 3rd play together. We each paired up with one of the directors and became the primary producer for that show. I had secured rehearsal space for my director as well as actors. He let me know who he would like and I contact them. He also bounces ideas for casting off of me (which I'm not much help with since I don't know them, but I usually find a way to field the question to someone else and still get back to him with something useful.)

Anyway - so I'm learning to produce. It's good. Lots more to it than I described, but if you want to learn about it - ask.

Always Stay For the Party

After the experimental theatre piece I described below (it was called Euphoria) there was a party (that was kind of still part of the performance, but you didn't HAVE to stay). I didn't want to stay. I wasn't in the mood. But I did. And I'm glad.

I got to know some of the cast better and made some friends I still see. Plus, I did some networking. The other assistant director for the show and I had become good friends - he just graduated from the directing program at NCSA. There is quite an NCSA mafia in DC - they even have their own production company (No Rules) that takes their productions back to NC and then up to DC. They're blossoming pretty quickly and doing exciting work.

So new ncsa friend introduced me to their artistic director and production manager. I had contacted their production manager back in September with my resume because the LD for Scorched had suggested that I assist him. (He is also a local Lighting Designer). We had talked about meeting, but it hadn't worked out and then out conversations kind of petered out. I had also sent my resume to No Rules as a designer.

So I had a decent conversation with the Artistic Director about devised work and it's relation to Euphoria and their company. I introduced myself to the Production Manager and told him of our email plight, which he soon remembered and apologized profusely. We said we would catch up soon.

I emailed him the next day asking when he was free for coffee. We set something up

The morning of our meeting my parents were in town to take me home for Christmas and I was so tempted to cancel because I just wanted to go home, but I didn't. We had coffee. I made sure I had a clean copy of my resume and had pulled favorite images onto my computer from the internet (the cafe didnt have wifi) in case he asked to see any.

Note: If you bring images make sure you have something specific to already say about them, don't just wait for questions. Have it already planned, or you will fumble.

I am now assisting him on his next show (which is actually at Forum, which is great because I had already asked the company to assist whoever ended up designing that show). He also offered me a paid job board oping and programming for No Rules next production, which conflicted with the ALDing so I couldn't take it. PLUS he said he'd check out my portfolio and consider me for a future project at No Rules as a designer.

Awesome.

So always stay for parties. Don't give up on people you really want to meet. And always go to meeting you don't feel like going to.