Author Topic: The Next Great Adventure  (Read 5042 times)

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ejsmith3130

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The Next Great Adventure
« on: Jun 01, 2014, 09:56 am »
So big plans on the horizon for me, and I'm a little scared to say the least. I will be taking a break from Stage Management, and working in the traditional sense, to move with my husband to rural Alaska where he has accepted a teaching position in the bush. This has been about 6 months in the making, and he just accepted the position this week. I had already signed on for next season with the theatre I work at, and according to my math, would be getting my Equity card by the end of next season. Now that is all changing. The super independent feminist side of me is freaking out a little bit, and I'm not going to lie; I totally cried when I wrote my resignation letter to the theatre. I have just under a week left on what is now my last show with them. After two years I had become extremely comfortable working with amazing people doing some really great theatre.

And it all comes down to one thing: money.

If the theatre could provide enough for us to stay we would. But it doesn't, and never will. I knew that when I got married, that once my husband found a full time teaching job (although it has taken almost two years of looking) it would trump any income I was contributing. Last year we worked 6 jobs between the two of us (stage management counting as one) and we still made less than what he will be making in one year as a teacher in Alaska. And that doesn't even factor in 100% covered health benefits and the fact that they subsidize our housing. We never weren't making it- in fact we were doing well, with a comfortable 2 bed apartment in the suburbs, nice things and not having to worry too much about money. But in the end I was consistently working 60+ hour weeks, with days off few and far between. When this teaching job presented itself it was very tempting.

There will be no work for me in the small village that we will get to by bush plane, but I plan on doing all of the creative projects that have been on the back burner because "I don't have time". Maybe this is my blessing in all of this. I'm not saying that I won't go stir crazy and accept a job touring or in a town that will pay to get me there, but at least for the beginning I am going to have a lot of free time.

We have talked a little about this before on here; compromising careers for family and such, so I just wanted to share my story. It's interesting that I'm really excited about having a break, and taking a couple years or so to really build a sustainable base for a family. Had you asked me a couple of years ago if I would do something like this I would have thought you were crazy. My career and theatre were the most important things, and I was okay living out of a suitcase and giving up everything for it. Now that is much less appealing. I got married. I want a family. I want a home. It's not wrong to want these things, and know that theatre has to take a backseat for a while to achieve that. I also read an article from another Philadelphia theatre artist having some of the same revelations. Charlotte Ford is a successful local actress/theatre creator, and what she wrote really resonated with me, and actually made it much easier to support my husband in this endeavor. You can read her story here: http://blog.fringearts.com/2014/05/20/the-untenable-career-of-a-successful-philadelphia-theater-artist-interview-with-charlotte-ford/

But for now, I'm in a sprint of the biggest logistical mess I've ever faced: disassembling our life that we have been building up, to ship over 4,000 miles to a town you can only get to by plane or frozen river. Here I go!

loebtmc

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #1 on: Jun 01, 2014, 11:05 am »
Wow. Good luck (break a leg?) and enjoy. Alaska is incredibly beautiful, and there is much to enjoy.

SMMeade

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #2 on: Jun 01, 2014, 11:44 pm »
I often get caught up in thinking very long term, and as a recent grad I've been getting very caught up in "oh my god if I do this one thing wrong/if I'm not working on a show constantly I am ruining my career forever and ever" [lightning flash/thunder/wilhem scream]. But I'm also coming to realize that life is always changing. I appreciate you sharing this. Two years ago you would have never thought this would happen. Who knows what your life will be two years from now? Best of luck.

DeeCap

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #3 on: Jun 02, 2014, 01:21 pm »
That sounds so exciting! Have you ever considered blogging about your adventure? Only so that we can read it  ;)

ejsmith3130

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #4 on: Jun 02, 2014, 07:24 pm »
That sounds so exciting! Have you ever considered blogging about your adventure? Only so that we can read it  ;)

I have actually already started  :) I found that reading blogs of other people who made the big move made it easier for us to agree that it was a good idea, so I wanted to put that out there as well. And it will be a great thing to look back on! You can read it Here: www.noplacelikenapaskiak.wordpress.com

Thanks everyone!

Maribeth

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #5 on: Jun 02, 2014, 10:28 pm »
Best of luck with your new adventure! It's funny how our priorities shift as we get older - towards family, stability, etc. It's definitely not wrong to want those things, and it's something I think about a lot in terms of my career too.

There will be no work for me in the small village that we will get to by bush plane, but I plan on doing all of the creative projects that have been on the back burner because "I don't have time". Maybe this is my blessing in all of this. I'm not saying that I won't go stir crazy and accept a job touring or in a town that will pay to get me there, but at least for the beginning I am going to have a lot of free time.

There's something really wonderful in this- being able to take some real time to do things that you love but don't have much time for. I hope you have a stack of books to read and if you are a knitter/crocheter/other crafter, I'm sure you will enjoy being able to spend some real time on those hobbies.

Michelle R. Wood

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #6 on: Jun 03, 2014, 09:48 am »
As everyone else said, thanks for sharing your story. One of my cousins once moved to Alaska for a similar reason, though her's was military: she was required to serve "abroad," but could keep her son with her if she agreed to serve in Alaska for three years. They had an amazing experience: be sure to see if where you're moving has a Midnight Sun festival. Sometimes I've felt like I did more creative things when I wasn't doing as many "pro" jobs; I pray you'll be able to find similar outlets. Thanks for the blog link.
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." -- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1932)

dallas10086

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #7 on: Jun 05, 2014, 03:59 pm »
Good for you for going for it! Dreams, ambitions, and focus' (focui?) shift over time and it's normal - I wish they'd teach students that.

Good luck and break legs on your new adventure together! Don't forget us though, we're going to want to hear all about it  ;)

ejsmith3130

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #8 on: Sep 09, 2014, 12:38 pm »
So I have been in Alaska for just over a month now, and finally have Wi-Fi (crazy right? Everything takes so much longer here to get done.) so I figured I would jump back on here and post!

Life is nice and it's interesting to get used to a more relaxed pace, as well as making my own schedule for everything! Interestingly enough, I have been keeping busy (I don't think I could stop working!) as the resident babysitter for the teacher's kids, as well as lots and lots of crochet, and working on my novel.

An interesting, stage management related job came up as well. Via Facebook a former SM of mine was lamenting typing up a script that she needed for her next job, and was wondering if there was a way to convert the pdf to a word file, and she made a joke about were there any unemployed typists out there. I immediately responded that I was in fact an unemployed typist with 60+WPM. After looking into the technology and OCR programs, she ended up sending me the script, with a week to type and format it. The theatre compensated me for my time as well.

So I guess there are a couple morals to the story- Keep in touch via Facebook: good things can happen, Don't underestimate the power of fast typing speeds, and you are never really out of the game if you don't want to be. There are opportunities out there that you haven't even thought of yet.

And hey, if anyone else needs a pdf typed into a word file, I may just be your gal  ;)

KMC

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Re: The Next Great Adventure
« Reply #9 on: Sep 09, 2014, 02:05 pm »
That is a pretty interesting thought, very opportunistic.  It leads me to wonder how much other SM paperwork could practically be farmed out and done remotely.  You may be on to something!
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt