When is enough enough

[MatthewShiner]

How do you know when to call it quits?  I mean, as far as this as a career?  When does the long hours, little respect, not enough pay for the hours and commitment just final become enough and you think it's time to leave.

Thoughts, comments, concerns?  (Not a personal crisis, but have been giving it a thought a lot recently).

[BKrynicki]

When it is no longer fun...

[MatthewShiner]

That's an interesting point.

Should a "job" be fun?  (Again, this is not about me personally, but I don't think it is particularly "fun" anymore - there are times I have a good time at work.)

I think in general, my answer is when you stop getting the same buzz out the job as what brought you in - it seems you will never be paid enough in this job, you will never get the amount of respect you deserve, you will never not be working more hours then you should.  But you should get some sort on intangible return - like I have always said, theatre is a drug - and thick we become addicts - some people can manage the addiction, some people can't.  I still get a great buzz from my job.

[sievep]

I do sometimes struggle with this question and have had doubts myself, but I think it will be when I stop being able to marvel at the world in which I work.  WNO never ceases to amaze me . . . I think as long as I'm having fun and can support myself, I'm in.

[killerdana]

I don't know that "fun" is the right word, since there are plenty of days that haven't been fun.  I think that when you are no longer finding joy and satisfaction in your job, it's time to try something new.

[Jessie_K]

I don't have a good answer to this question.  (Which is why every time I have been tempted to leave the business, I have never actually managed to leave)

Someone once told me that if I could imagine myself doing anything else, I should do that.  So I guess when you can seriously imagine doing something else, maybe it's time to try.

[PSMKay]

There are so many people out there who really really WANT to be stage managers.  So many people who love it, find their passion in it, and have such a hard time breaking in when there are so many more experienced (and frequently jaded) members of the profession in there ahead of them.

I got to a point where yes, I still enjoyed parts of it and yes, I was good at it but I was becoming jaded about it and I didn't want it with that same intensity that others were showing even within my own company.  It was just another job, and IMHO theatre should not be just another job.  It's an art that requires a large amount of passion, otherwise why bother with all of the scant pay and weird scheduling and unsettled lifestyle?

When it came down to it, I did not feel that I deserved to be living someone else's dream when it was no longer my own.

[javnine]

I've stopped working with certain theatre companies when I couldn't be happy working there anymore.  I could still do the job, but I could feel myself becoming cranky, bitter and mean.  When I hit that point, it meant I had to move on.

I guess if I hit that point for every stage management gig I get, it'll be time to find another career, go get that PhD from Harvard I want.

I also have a deep-seated knowledge, a feeling deep in my core, that I cannot do anything but stage manage.  This is what I do.  I can't do anything else without feeling like I'm wasting my life.  So, when that absolute knowledge goes away, I'll stop.

[DeeCap]

I had a few things that made me stop:

1) When I dreaded going into work: For a long time I did not dread working on weekends, 10 out of 12's, one day off for Christmas, etc. I felt it was part of the process, no need to waste energy on it.

However, one day on a really, really, really bad show, I woke up feeling sick to my stomach. Thinking about going into work made me sick. Never happened before.

2) Realizing I was becoming too bitter and resentful about theatre.

3) Losing the idea that theater was an art form. I saw it as a paycheck. 

4) Not wanting to go back after taking a month or so off. That's when I knew it was time to look for something else.

[centaura]

In college in the theatre department our slogan was - "If you're thinking about quitting once a month, you're fine - if you're thinking about quitting once a day, get out".  Now, that was in regards to being a theatre major, but the basic sense is the same.  If you spend more time wishing that you were out of theatre, then I'd say its time to leave.  If not, it might just be time for a good vacation or a new position.  I was really tired of working with actors, and have ended up at a road house - I'm still in theatre, and my title is still a SM, but I'm enjoying the break from the day to day dealing with performers.  Yeah, they come through with the tour, but I don't have to deal with them.

-Centaura

[Michael]

I took about a year off from '05 to '06 -- then I realized it wasn't SMing, it was the company I had done a show for (my first and last show with them).

I had an opportunity to SM a show at the college I had gone to through 2004, and "re-discovered" my passion for stage managing. Then, due to some personal issues, I wasn't able to do any shows for the bulk of this year, but I fell into a show just a couple of months ago. We open November 1 and I couldn't be happier.

Sometimes you just have to find the right fit. Sometimes you just have to take a break. Sometimes both.

[Rebbe]

Should a "job" be fun?  (Again, this is not about me personally, but I don't think it is particularly "fun" anymore - there are times I have a good time at work.)

Not all jobs need to be fun.  But given the long hours, low pay, and general amount of junk we need to deal with as SMs and thespians, I think that yes, you do need to have fun working in theater, or it’s not worth it.  The fun, the buzz, the love, whatever you want to call it, if you don’t feel it, it may be time to get out of this business.

Like so many other things, when to call it quits is different from each individual.  When the cons out weight the pros, I should think, but each of us needs to make that tally for ourselves.  And when making that list, it’s important to consider whether it’s the profession or the current situation that’s problematic.