I felt that there must be a part 2 or epilogue to my post from yesterday.
Life is about choices, and we make them every day. Theatre is no exception to this. We can choose to participate in a project or not, determine how involved we want to be, how much we want the project to take over our lives...
For some people, myself included, there is high satisfaction when the theatre project does take over our lives. There's nothing like that blend of enthusiasm and collaboration and anticipation and passion that work on a performance project will likely bring.
When a theatre project is not there in daily life, or concludes, I may not know what to do with myself! There's an initial feeling of emptiness, then enjoyment of "more free time" ... and sooner or later, the desire returns to be part of a project again.
But wait! There's other parts of life, too! In my case at least, there's grad school, local friends, family, friends farther away, a Buddhist community, engagement in San Rafael, Marin, and the Bay Area, the possibility of traveling around a large and beautiful US State, and many more opportunities. All worthwhile and exciting endeavors in their own right.
Nonetheless, I still feel like theatre work takes a different kind of ownership of my/our time. When I'm not with that artistic process, I feel guilty about it, like a friend is being left behind. If theatre work took human or physical form, I wonder what it would look like, how I/we would interact with it, and if others may notice this feeling, too.
Showing posts with label work/life balance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work/life balance. Show all posts
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
More about work/life balance
Writing that last post, it occurs to me that something rather significant happened recently regarding work/life. Or, rather, work/work.
For those who don't know, I have a day job in downtown Ann Arbor with a media research firm. For the most part, I write newsletters for corporate clients telling them what the news thinks of them. My hours tend to be theatre-friendly (but not sleep-friendly), as I begin super-early in the morning and usually leave in the early afternoon.
I had been at Prime for about two months when I was cast in Sonia Flew. I didn't tell anyone at work for a while, except my close friends. I was afraid that they would see it as conflicting with or distracting from my work, and I wondered what I'd do if they tried to make me choose.
As it happened, the show didn't really impact the job, even when it meant I only got a few hours of sleep before work. During Sonia Flew's run at Performance Network, I caught naps at home between the two (ah, the joys of living, working, and acting in downtown A2); when it moved to the JET in West Bloomfield, I, uh, didn't get as much sleep. But no major conflicts arose, and I thought, if the work folks ever get huffy about me taking an acting gig, I can say hey, I worked on a show for five months and everything was fine.
Fate then forced my hand: the JET invited me to join their yearly production of The Diary of Anne Frank, which it performs for school groups over a short run. (They really pack 'em in - 1000+ kids a show!) I laid my cards on the table: the JET was asking for two weeks of early afternoon rehearsals and four morning shows, the latter of which directly conflict with my daily deadlines. I expected to get shut down, but my boss and the newsletter team found a way to make it work, though I've promised some extra hours (and, in one case, probably a guilt/gratitude-driven dinner or gift).
So, I suppose I lucked out this time. And my office is now fully aware of my double life. Think it was vain (or, perhaps, paranoid) of me to assume they'd, y'know, mind?
For those who don't know, I have a day job in downtown Ann Arbor with a media research firm. For the most part, I write newsletters for corporate clients telling them what the news thinks of them. My hours tend to be theatre-friendly (but not sleep-friendly), as I begin super-early in the morning and usually leave in the early afternoon.
I had been at Prime for about two months when I was cast in Sonia Flew. I didn't tell anyone at work for a while, except my close friends. I was afraid that they would see it as conflicting with or distracting from my work, and I wondered what I'd do if they tried to make me choose.
As it happened, the show didn't really impact the job, even when it meant I only got a few hours of sleep before work. During Sonia Flew's run at Performance Network, I caught naps at home between the two (ah, the joys of living, working, and acting in downtown A2); when it moved to the JET in West Bloomfield, I, uh, didn't get as much sleep. But no major conflicts arose, and I thought, if the work folks ever get huffy about me taking an acting gig, I can say hey, I worked on a show for five months and everything was fine.
Fate then forced my hand: the JET invited me to join their yearly production of The Diary of Anne Frank, which it performs for school groups over a short run. (They really pack 'em in - 1000+ kids a show!) I laid my cards on the table: the JET was asking for two weeks of early afternoon rehearsals and four morning shows, the latter of which directly conflict with my daily deadlines. I expected to get shut down, but my boss and the newsletter team found a way to make it work, though I've promised some extra hours (and, in one case, probably a guilt/gratitude-driven dinner or gift).
So, I suppose I lucked out this time. And my office is now fully aware of my double life. Think it was vain (or, perhaps, paranoid) of me to assume they'd, y'know, mind?
Work/life balance challenge #5 billion
I've planned for months to be in Virginia for the week of Passover. I've arranged this with my day job, with my family, my friends.
I knew that generals for the Detroit area would be around this time of year (although i think it skewed a bit later last time). I wasn't expecting one after another to be announced for that same third week of April.
I've already been told by one theatre to just send a headshot and resume. So: Planning mode. As if the second and fourth weeks of the month won't be chaotic enough...let's hope that, with trusty Droid-calendar/contact list in hand, I'll still get seen enough to do some shows in 2011-12.
4/3 EDIT: Found out that more auditions will be after I get back! Deep sigh of relief. Less scheming necessary.
I knew that generals for the Detroit area would be around this time of year (although i think it skewed a bit later last time). I wasn't expecting one after another to be announced for that same third week of April.
I've already been told by one theatre to just send a headshot and resume. So: Planning mode. As if the second and fourth weeks of the month won't be chaotic enough...let's hope that, with trusty Droid-calendar/contact list in hand, I'll still get seen enough to do some shows in 2011-12.
4/3 EDIT: Found out that more auditions will be after I get back! Deep sigh of relief. Less scheming necessary.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Live/Work Situations in the Theatre
Recently I have been reflecting on the value of live/work situations for myself and others in the theatre/performing arts world.
Without realizing it at the time, college theatre life gave me excellent grounding in the process of living and working together with like-minded individuals. This process had a tune-up in 2003-04, when I lived in Donut 1 and knew everyone else in the donut at least moderately well, even though they weren’t all theatre concentrators. However, things really hit their stride for my final three semesters, from The Shape Of Things all the way to Future’s Secret, when it seemed like everyone in my immediate college life was involved with the current theatre project in one role or another.
Of course, some of this was planned in advance, such as taking the room in Mod 64 with a bird’s eye view of the theatre and being able to come and go from home at a moment’s notice and role out of bed to work during some days. We had a duo of power between Mod 64 and 65 that year and the cast/crew parties seemed to alternate mods for a while. I gather the setup was replicated for at least the next 2-3 academic years...
But what's becoming particularly clear is how my professional work ethic has been affected by live/work situations. In my current living arrangement, things are pretty ideal. I can walk to work at the amphitheatre 1/2 mile down the street. When rehearsals begin for Les Liasons Dangeruses in May, they will be 1/2 mile the other direction down the street. Monthly meetings for the company are generally within a 3 mile radius of where I live. I can also work from home on a certain amount of projects for the company.
For school, the setup is similarly easy. I board a commuter bus right outside my front door that travels down the street to the ferry terminal, then board the ferry for the 30-40 minute crossing of the San Francisco Bay, and then final to a subway that stops right in the block where my school is located. When going home in the evening, I walk 3 blocks to pick up a bus that goes back north over the Golden Gate Bridge and will drop me right at my front door back in Marin. Although I am frequently irritated by the transit agency’s lack of monthly travel passes (COME ON???!!!), the daily cost of $8.75 round trip is relatively reasonable.
What I’m noticing now is that this ease has positively affected my work ethic. I feel happy and excited to work with the theatre company because they are so close and I am ingrained in the fabric of this local community - I can walk nearly everywhere. I did not feel this way during my brief stint in Silicon Valley commuting to local theatres and schools and into SF by train. I also frequently felt the slog of commuting from the East Bay into SF when I lived in Richmond and had to commute back and forth 4-5 times per week.
I wonder if other people might feel this way about their work life - happier or more committed when it is close by or fully integrated into their life. It would be an unusual thing to bring up in a social setting, but I do think there is some truth to it.
Without realizing it at the time, college theatre life gave me excellent grounding in the process of living and working together with like-minded individuals. This process had a tune-up in 2003-04, when I lived in Donut 1 and knew everyone else in the donut at least moderately well, even though they weren’t all theatre concentrators. However, things really hit their stride for my final three semesters, from The Shape Of Things all the way to Future’s Secret, when it seemed like everyone in my immediate college life was involved with the current theatre project in one role or another.
Of course, some of this was planned in advance, such as taking the room in Mod 64 with a bird’s eye view of the theatre and being able to come and go from home at a moment’s notice and role out of bed to work during some days. We had a duo of power between Mod 64 and 65 that year and the cast/crew parties seemed to alternate mods for a while. I gather the setup was replicated for at least the next 2-3 academic years...
But what's becoming particularly clear is how my professional work ethic has been affected by live/work situations. In my current living arrangement, things are pretty ideal. I can walk to work at the amphitheatre 1/2 mile down the street. When rehearsals begin for Les Liasons Dangeruses in May, they will be 1/2 mile the other direction down the street. Monthly meetings for the company are generally within a 3 mile radius of where I live. I can also work from home on a certain amount of projects for the company.
For school, the setup is similarly easy. I board a commuter bus right outside my front door that travels down the street to the ferry terminal, then board the ferry for the 30-40 minute crossing of the San Francisco Bay, and then final to a subway that stops right in the block where my school is located. When going home in the evening, I walk 3 blocks to pick up a bus that goes back north over the Golden Gate Bridge and will drop me right at my front door back in Marin. Although I am frequently irritated by the transit agency’s lack of monthly travel passes (COME ON???!!!), the daily cost of $8.75 round trip is relatively reasonable.
What I’m noticing now is that this ease has positively affected my work ethic. I feel happy and excited to work with the theatre company because they are so close and I am ingrained in the fabric of this local community - I can walk nearly everywhere. I did not feel this way during my brief stint in Silicon Valley commuting to local theatres and schools and into SF by train. I also frequently felt the slog of commuting from the East Bay into SF when I lived in Richmond and had to commute back and forth 4-5 times per week.
I wonder if other people might feel this way about their work life - happier or more committed when it is close by or fully integrated into their life. It would be an unusual thing to bring up in a social setting, but I do think there is some truth to it.
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