COVID-19 is creating uncertainty across many communities and industries. The performing arts and live event sectors have been greatly impacted. During these uncertain times, we are going to need strength and connection to get through. It’s hard to know where to start – especially when everything is changing so quickly – so let’s keep it simple.
Have you ever thought about how much time you spend waiting? Waiting for an audition, waiting to see if you were called back, waiting for feedback, a call from your agent, a check… It’s an integral part of a career in acting that you’ll wait. Which is why it’s so important to know if you’re waiting for what you really want.
“Are you really that busy?” People have asked me this question for years and… Yes. Yes, I am. Aren’t you??When I was younger, I was overly stressed because I didn’t have time to meet these assumed social demands with friends and others while juggling at least 7 jobs on top of growing my creative business. I often pulled 16 hour days and always felt like I could be doing more.
Artists are inherently self absorbed because we’re innately aware of our product being an outsource of who we are. And in some arts industries it only intensifies. The inherent ego mixed with the fantasy of what we’re often expecting from our futures leaves us with a whole lot of hidden privilege that we didn’t even know was lurking.
I have calendar notifications on for when to clean my air purifier filters, when to change out my baking soda and when to replace my gym shoes (make sure you change those shoes every 6 months, y’all!). While there may be some bending of the “for best results” dates on the manufacturer’s part to keep us coming back to buy more, I truly believe in consistent maintenance for any product in order to reap the true benefits. Why should that be any different for our product?
My job has taken me many different places lately, where I’ve met many types of people and worked with many various organizations and labor groups. Often, I encounter people who would like to break out of their current role to work for the businesses or tours they’ve met along the way. Frequently there are questions of how to take the next steps to reach their goals. Here’s some advice.
There’s an interesting dichotomy at play when creating a business plan for your creative business where we need all the specificity we can muster up as well as all the flexibility we can give in order to embrace the true benefits of the work. Occasional naysayers to this kind of work will say things like “But you’re an artist – don’t you have to go with the flow? How can you have a plan?” and lowkey, they’re right. But only in so much as if you grip your plan too tightly, you’ll lose sight of the benefits that simply come from doing the work whether or not you even accomplish the specific goals you’ve set for yourself.
In my last blog post, I discussed the ways in which culture influences the media that we create, consume, and how we interpret it. Expanding upon that this month, I will explore how culture affects every aspect of our lives. Every single thing that humans do is cultural. We are a product of the culture that we are raised in – but that’s not to discount the existence of free-will. This means that everything that we do, from what that we eat, to the way we eat is all culturally defined. And there is more variation than you might initially think.
If nothing else, our work asks you to look ahead to the things you want to accomplish. It challenges the notion of “going along to get along” and encourages us to dream and attach those dreams to tangible micro steps allowing us to take control of our careers. For many, seeing the path ahead inspires us to engage with the work because a general sense of “ugh – how will this ever manifest itself?” leads to complacency. To that end, the final piece of our Artist’s Statement is where you’re headed or…your Vision.
Last week we kicked off our month long focus on creating an Artist’s Statement. As mentioned, I take the unique approach of thinking of this as any arts organization would with a focus on your Mission, Values and Vision rather than just a general description of your work. Here’s how to go about creating a mission:
So, let them bring on all their problemsI’ll do better than my bestI have confidence they’ll put me to the testBut I’ll make them see I have confidence in me– I Have Confidence, from the Sound of Music: Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1965
Isn’t it a bummer when someone is always late? Especially when you grow to expect it from that person? Chronic lateness seems to go from being perceived as rude to just plain hurtful. You start to subconsciously realize that they believe your time isn’t as valuable as theirs. Chronic lateness can very quickly trickle into our general businesses as well.
I just saw a post for a gig all over the Stage Management Facebook boards that looked super intriguing to me. The show is called “The Hurricane” and it’s a devised, experimental piece. I love these kinds of shows, guys. They are literally my favorite. My entire Master’s degree study revolved around them. Then I saw it.
A while ago, a stage manager approached me and asked me for advice on getting international work. I asked him to send me his resumé, which came as exactly I expected. It was presented in the format all stage managers are trained to present their resumés in the USA. But here’s the problem; this format means little to nothing for foreign employers unless they are well connected to the performing arts industry in the States.
Burnout is a funny thing. I think it’s very cool we talk about it these days. I think it’s weirdly alarming how common it is.Like – my grandparents have been dead a while now, but I can’t imagine any of them having much to say about burnout. You just do what you have to do, right?
One evening, I was talking to a good friend about work and our successes. I’ve had some important accomplishments recently, and I was telling her how I felt undeserving of the recognition.
Recently I had the pleasure at speaking at the Broadway Stage Management Symposium on the financial panel. There, I was speaking to stage managers of all ages and from all walks of life. In my preparation for the event, I thought a little bit about 21 year old Mel and all the things I wish I had known about this ridiculous, amazing, stressful 100% love/hate relationship stage management career I’ve had for the last 14 years.
If the following list does not phase you, you might be this industry’s next great International Project Manager! I have been working internationally for a number of years and I have learned that these are the skills required to manage this lifestyle. Check them out and see if this is the life for you!
For those looking at commercial careers (AKA profit driven careers), we struggle with the balance of wanting to hold on to the core of our art without losing sight of its depth or importance while playing the game of growing our business simultaneously.
If we are lucky, both our careers and our selves will change and grow for the better. Life has a funny way of evolving and taking us on a different path than we might have ever expected. When I reflect on the dreams I had as a teenager, for example, there have been some that were smashed and excitedly crossed off the bucket list, and others that teenage me could never have foreseen from a reminiscent time of analogue study and scoring notation by pencil.
Applying for jobs and facing rejection are two important components of an artist’s life. Even if tightly linked, they do not always come as a package: a celebratory piece of cake or scream of joy is as likely to follow a new email as a moment of “picking yourself up” (with an eye on that cake). Artists from around the world are in a position where they have to apply for parts, not decide whether or not they are right for them.
As an educator I often question if students understand what full time employment in theatre actually means. We are all too familiar with the plan of moving to New York City, auditioning as much as possible, taking dance classes, and working as a server at a restaurant to make the bills – The Starving Actor Plan.
“OK, so I packed a change of clothes for Dean and put everything he will need for the day in his diaper bag. The stroller is in the car and ready for his walk. There is plenty of milk and his baby food inside the cooler. I laid out his sleeper and sleep sac, and his bath stuff is all ready for his tub. Bedtime is at 7pm. Please tell him I love him more than anything.”
“C’est la vie qui nous mène, on ne mène pas la vie. / Life leads us, we do not lead life,” my grandmother confided in me about twenty some years ago. She was a wise one, and her absence enhances the life she lived so elegantly. I was sitting at the edge of her dusty-rose floral print sofa, trying to grasp her words and her scent all at once.
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you for your interest in the TheatreArtLife Archives, this area is for members only.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.