Author Topic: PROFESSIONALISM: When you ought to have experience but you don't think you do...  (Read 3828 times)

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sarahbear42

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So what I'm posting reflects relatively badly on my current/past employer, so I'm hoping that there's an understanding on here that one can tell it like it is to a certain extent...

I've been out of school for a year now, and during said year I was an intern at a mid-size theater in my area. At this theater, intern doesn't really mean intern-- everyone they hire is an intern, and if a job needs filling it's filled in-house, they never bring in anyone who isn't fresh out of college. Everyone from the Managing Director down came to this place as a 22 year old with stars in their eyes... and nobody ever, ever leaves for another theater as far as I can tell. (So most people's opinions from this company aren't going to count much from a networking point of view as far as I can tell.)

Of course, my stars got washed out relatively quickly when their PSM left, and I, one of a whopping 3 stage managers left in the place, and definitely one of the more experienced SM's (which should tell everyone something), got left with the entire mainstage season. No ASMing, nobody to ask questions of or help me with mistakes. It got interesting when 3 of my 5 shows were done with the Artistic Director as either cast or director... a painful place to be in at a company where the 83-year-old Artistic Director is also regarded as something akin to a god, and she also loves arriving for performances sometimes as close as 10 minutes to curtain time... and you can't say anything to her about it... But it was pretty much fine... I've learned a lot this year. But it's all been learned via falling flat on my face.  

In college I was always the SM and never had an ASM (I always got picked to do the smaller shows that "didn't merit" an ASM), and then I did this internship, where I SM'd 5 shows and had ASM's who either had never done any theater whatsoever before coming to this company fresh from highschool, or were from other departments donating their employees to Production for a show.

So now I'm wrapping up my final performance at this theater. I almost quit at least twice, but I decided to live out my contract nomatter how stressful things got. I could have stayed on for more seasons if I'd wanted to, but the atmosphere there is incestual at best and downright abusive at worst, and the pay works out to about $2.15/hour, so I decided to take my chances. I've got a part time gig with an orchestra that pays decently, but I also want to keep doing theater-theater.

So my question is... how badly is all of this going to hurt me? I think I look pretty good in my resume, but I know I just don't know much about stage managing beyond my own weird little style I've made out of trial-and-error and various books. I'm really worried that I'm going to end up falling flat on my face and making a fool out of myself since I've never actually worked with another SM who had any level of experience!

Any thoughts greatly appreciated. :)
« Last Edit: Jun 09, 2009, 03:06 am by PSMKay »

Maribeth

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I don't feel like it should "hurt" you. You had an experience, working at a particular company, and now you're moving on. Use the experience you had and learn from it, and move forward. Look for other jobs that you will learn from - ASMing is always a good way to learn, no matter what your experience level is.

Plus, working in a less-than-ideal situation often can motivate you to creatively problem-solve, and that's a big asset for SMs. Instead of presenting it as a negative aspect of your experience, you could use it to your advantage- figure out how this season has made you a better stage manager.

Just be open and willing to learn new things, and adapt the things you learn to work for you.  :)

spikesgirl

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First off - you did a great job!  You worked out your contract and that will say a lot right there.  In this business, all we have is our reputation and when you start breaking contracts, it doesn't take long for everyone to find out.  Sometimes you need to take the really crappy jobs to able to appreciate the better ones.  My first job included three shows during a summer run and when we sat down to figure it out, we earned about $.03 an hour that summer - but we managed to survive it and that was the whole point. 

Like anything else, theater demands that you pay your dues and you've started on that road.  Take all that you've learned during that period and use it to make you a better SM.  This is one of the few jobs that doesn't necessarily require a degree, but it does demand that you be able to think on your feet, deliver your product and hold everything together - you've done that. 

So, take the band job and keep your eyes and ears open.  Something will come along, probably when you least expect it.   Keep up on the latest trends and shows, attend theater and always be ready to jump upon an opportunity when it presents itself.

Good luck!

Charlie
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