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The Green Room / Re: \"Have you thought about accounting . . . ?\"
« on: Apr 05, 2011, 12:42 am »
This is such a great topic, with really resonates with me. Thanks for getting it started, Matthew!
On a show I was working on last summer, the PSM took me aside and gave me a "Get out of stage management" talk - but for reasons that are way different, and way more positive, than the ones Matthew outlined here (lack of talent, temperate, competence, etc.). Read on . . .
Last year, I found myself looking for SM work in NYC after taking a multi-year detour into government / project management after university. The detour, mind you, was taken because I just couldn't pull off paying the rent with the endless stream unpaid or low-paying PA or Showcase gigs here in the city right out of school.
So last summer, joining as the 3rd PA on a show's SM team off-Broadway, I found it a little jarring to be the oldest of the PA's by a number of years, and a tad older than the show's ASM. Now the experience itself was great, our team got along swimmingly, and I can say I did a bang-up job in the process.
At the opening night party, the PSM took me aside and with genuine kindness and concern, started with something to the effect of, "I mean this in the most positive way possible, but a few days after you started with us, I wanted to say to you, 'What in the world are you doing here?'" He went on to list all the things I was doing wonderfully and how pleased he was with me, yet ultimately his point was that with my substantive experiences in other fields, and with the film / TV production contacts I had built up here in NYC, I should flee/transition to those greener pastures. He also noted that with 2 other PA's on this show (and others he's worked with), and with at least 2-3 ASM's he generally likes to bring onboard on productions, realistically it would be a while before I would gain some real traction professionally even with him putting in a good word for me elsewhere.
Finally, after noting that after 20+ years working on and off-Broadway, the fact remains that even he needs to 'hustle' from show to show - the PSM then said that one of his closest friends is in his late 30s and is still trying to transition out of being a PA into steady ASM work - which really hit home with me.
While my PSM's key point in that moment was, "Go into TV / film production, especially studio TV shows for their stability," I have to say that it really took some bluntness and candor on his part (for what I took as positive reasons in this case) to really get me thinking about expanding my horizons about what I like about stage management, and in what other professional contexts I can apply these same skills, talents, and passion. Around the same time in this production, I was quickly becoming aware of (and lamenting) the facets of an 8-performance week, the weirdo schedule we all have, the insecurity of money and long-term scheduling, the toll it can take on my relationships, the endless PA cycle, etc. etc. etc. - so this really was another opinion (a welcomed one at that) which I never wouldn't have heard otherwise.
It was after this production that I started casting a wider net, as it were, in the types of work I was seeking, and later in the summer I accepted a job which I can really describe as my 'dream job' of the moment - half administrator, half PSM at a conservatory here in NYC, on a largely 9-to-5 schedule, with the chance to train our army of SM Interns, and with some room to grow or spin off to do something else.
Although this "Have you thought about . . . " talk given to me wasn't exactly the one that Matthew or any of you have had in mind, I guess my point is that sometimes it may very well be the perfect invitation for a young SM, competent or not, to do some solid introspection about what else may lie in the horizon. I am glad that someone took the time to say it to me relatively early on in my SM career, and that I didn't take it the wrong way. I think I'm far happier, personally and professionally, as a result.
Thanks for listening. Cheers!
-- weatherstone
On a show I was working on last summer, the PSM took me aside and gave me a "Get out of stage management" talk - but for reasons that are way different, and way more positive, than the ones Matthew outlined here (lack of talent, temperate, competence, etc.). Read on . . .
Last year, I found myself looking for SM work in NYC after taking a multi-year detour into government / project management after university. The detour, mind you, was taken because I just couldn't pull off paying the rent with the endless stream unpaid or low-paying PA or Showcase gigs here in the city right out of school.
So last summer, joining as the 3rd PA on a show's SM team off-Broadway, I found it a little jarring to be the oldest of the PA's by a number of years, and a tad older than the show's ASM. Now the experience itself was great, our team got along swimmingly, and I can say I did a bang-up job in the process.
At the opening night party, the PSM took me aside and with genuine kindness and concern, started with something to the effect of, "I mean this in the most positive way possible, but a few days after you started with us, I wanted to say to you, 'What in the world are you doing here?'" He went on to list all the things I was doing wonderfully and how pleased he was with me, yet ultimately his point was that with my substantive experiences in other fields, and with the film / TV production contacts I had built up here in NYC, I should flee/transition to those greener pastures. He also noted that with 2 other PA's on this show (and others he's worked with), and with at least 2-3 ASM's he generally likes to bring onboard on productions, realistically it would be a while before I would gain some real traction professionally even with him putting in a good word for me elsewhere.
Finally, after noting that after 20+ years working on and off-Broadway, the fact remains that even he needs to 'hustle' from show to show - the PSM then said that one of his closest friends is in his late 30s and is still trying to transition out of being a PA into steady ASM work - which really hit home with me.
While my PSM's key point in that moment was, "Go into TV / film production, especially studio TV shows for their stability," I have to say that it really took some bluntness and candor on his part (for what I took as positive reasons in this case) to really get me thinking about expanding my horizons about what I like about stage management, and in what other professional contexts I can apply these same skills, talents, and passion. Around the same time in this production, I was quickly becoming aware of (and lamenting) the facets of an 8-performance week, the weirdo schedule we all have, the insecurity of money and long-term scheduling, the toll it can take on my relationships, the endless PA cycle, etc. etc. etc. - so this really was another opinion (a welcomed one at that) which I never wouldn't have heard otherwise.
It was after this production that I started casting a wider net, as it were, in the types of work I was seeking, and later in the summer I accepted a job which I can really describe as my 'dream job' of the moment - half administrator, half PSM at a conservatory here in NYC, on a largely 9-to-5 schedule, with the chance to train our army of SM Interns, and with some room to grow or spin off to do something else.
Although this "Have you thought about . . . " talk given to me wasn't exactly the one that Matthew or any of you have had in mind, I guess my point is that sometimes it may very well be the perfect invitation for a young SM, competent or not, to do some solid introspection about what else may lie in the horizon. I am glad that someone took the time to say it to me relatively early on in my SM career, and that I didn't take it the wrong way. I think I'm far happier, personally and professionally, as a result.
Thanks for listening. Cheers!
-- weatherstone