Much as our mid-career professionals have specific needs, this group is transitioning to a professional world that is more global, faster paced, and more business-oriented than ever before. This is our first step revamping our approach to customize our services to the needs of our members. At the same time, College2Career will be accessible to all members, whether or not you receive it directly by email.
2 comments:
Theatre is a strange industry in that the typical employee hierarchy of other fields doesn’t really exist, at least, not in the traditional sense. The majority of theatre artists are freelance, and no two companies utilize the same hierarchy. This makes ‘climbing the ladder’ to reach your ideal position difficult. There is no ‘entry level’ in theatre, no guaranteed promotions, no definite salary increases. It is a difficult industry to break into and make sure you’re on the right path. USITT seems to recognize this, and is making a concerted effort to provide young theatre technicians with resources to better help them. USITT already offers a myriad of programs designed to teach technical skills, which is very important. But much like the MOLLY course in PTM was needed, sometimes you need another resource to cover the ‘life skills’ too. College2Career seems to be that resource, and it looks to be a promising one. I know I will look into getting myself a copy.
I think this is excellent. It’s helpful for those of us who will soon be entering the professional workforce in a field where the path to good employment is often a very winding and unusual one. Finding work in theatre feels like it requires a lot more navigation than just throwing your resume into a pool: you ask what kind of work do I really want to do? For what kind of institution? Will I be a good fit? Will their work culture suite me? Will I get bored? Do I know anyone there? Do I have the skills they’re looking for (ex: some production management jobs want TD experience.) Hopefully, the newsletter can help navigate all of those questions.
I’d also like to mention that one of the many reasons I decided theatre was the place for me was because it so often embraces the ideas of continual learning and being interdisciplinary. I am pleased that the Executive Director of USITT, in acknowledging the areas where he is a beginning learner, encourages those who may have been in the business for a long while to be 1) comfortable with lacking knowledge in some fields and 2) maybe take a shot at learning more.
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