Meeting New People Like It's My Job

I'm trying to catch up my entire theatre summer here in chunks of blogs so I've just churning out a lot of them and not really filling them out all the way. Here's the most summarized yet.

So basically: meeting people is our job - in case you didn't know yet.

First I met the entire cast and crew of New Jerusalem. Phenomenal people. Phenomenal connections. I went out with them for drinks or meals whenever they all went out. Never decline social time. It's completely exhausting to always be socializing with people I want to impress, but it's also rewarding. We often met up with other people when we went out. "Going out after work" was how I met the artistic directors of Signature Theatre and Open Circle Theatre, Aaron Posner, and a bunch of other really great people.

The Stage Manager, Roy, who is also JMU alum, is the Executive Director of Artists' Bloc, of which I am now a member. He told me about some performance they were doing in rehearsal, I went, loved their mission, and became a member of the organization. Check them out. I met, and am meeting, people by being part of that organization.

Jeremy (the director I was assisting) had meals with me regularly (well, after we hit about the half way mark in rehearsals) and we talked about the show and about everything else. Whenever we talked about my interests he would suggest people I needed to meet or theatres I'd really like. Mostly, people you meet will have suggestions for other people you should meet. People are eager to help newbies who are eager to learn and hungry for work. Jeremy said it best when he talked about being hungry enough, but not desperate. People know the difference when they talk to you. Desperate is not attractive. Neither are ulterior motives. I genuinely want to learn from all of these people, I don't want to overtake their jobs or use them as a stepping stone. They can tell.

Emily knew a lighting designer in town named Martha Mountain. I emailed her and she met me at the J after a New Jerusalem rehearsal and we went out for coffee. It was lovely. She shared her experiences, we talking about the kind of work we liked to do, and she gave me names and contact information of a bunch of people she thought I should meet. Maybe I'll assist her someday.

I emailed all of Martha's people. I heard back from a company devising a new piece and they invited me to sit in on a rehearsal or two. A large amount of people didn't reply.

Then I started making a list of people I wanted to meet or work with, either based on research or just from hearing about them from other people.

I emailed several people on the list or general theatres on the list. I mentioned I was working with Jeremy and specified a reason I really liked their company and wanted to be involved. I've gotten a few "coffee dates" and interviews from that, but not everyone replied.

Oh and I met David Ives.