I broke.
It was a hard decision, and it wasn’t a hard decision, but it shows how very complicated this career can be, and the further you go down the path, it doesn’t get easier, it just gets messier.
RuthNY is very right about making sure as you book ahead, you book not only the type of jobs you need to take (for health weeks, for rent, for life), but the jobs you want to take. But, I am afraid no matter how well you plan, there is always going to be a gig that trumps the one you have in hand.
It’s just about what’s the “breaking” point.
Mine was across the board a better gig in all categories - 30% better pay, 20% longer contract, larger staff, more well known director, more well know theatre - but the two things that it really come down to had to do with one thing - the future.
My future and the future of the project.
The show I am breaking a contract to do is a musical, and for those who have seen my resume, and know of my work do know I have spent a large part of my professional work doing classical theatre. Also, I have happened to move to New York City - and they seem to do quite a few musicals here. So, to help my marketability in this market, I have been looking to get a musical on my resume.
Second, this show has a (slight) possible future life (I mean - at this level, I guess they always say that.) So, it’s a bit of a gamble . . . but why not. Even if I knew it had absolutely no life of a run after my 9 weeks on the show - I would still do it - but with that attached to it - why the hell not? And in the end, it’s a new relationship with a new theatre - and that may lead to new work.
So, I called the production manager of the job I had to leave, and we had a very good call - short and sweet, he understood completely - I was leaving for the right reasons, and giving him 10 weeks notice - to find a stage manager based in New York - where there are quite a few stage managers. We left with the door open that in the future, I could return.
How to move ahead in the future . . . I don’t know. I think I am not going to book too far in advance, especially based in New York. If I am going to take a job outside of NYC or book ahead of time, it has to have two hooks . . . not just a gig, but a gig with some other plus, some other thing - high profile project, fulfilling a gap in my resume, fulfilling a gap in my calendar, doing a show in specific geographic region I want to work in, working at a theater I want to work at, working with a specific director I want - I need a strong hook to keep me attached to the project - because at the end of the day - you don’t want to be known as someone who continues to jump contracts.
But at the end of the day, there are gigs better then other gigs, and you might just be dumb to let them go by.