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Monday, May 01, 2017
Lessons in Stage Management
TheatreArtLife: When studying theater, one repeatedly hears the same cautionary tale… “If you can see yourself doing anything else for a career, you should do that instead.”
2 comments:
Annie Scheuermann
said...
By now anyone in this program has heard how this industry is hard to find work in and hard to make a living in. I feel like everyone has their opinion on it and it is far one way or the other, some say - like the author of this article, to run away while you still can, and others say to really go for it and do not stop. I know that I don't have any ground to stand on as far as the professional world goes, as I have not had to navigate that yet. I think the most important thing though it to be flexible and let the career take you where it's going to take you. Goals are good to have, but being stuck in one place is not going to work out well with the pace of theater. I do agree with the author that stage management is really such a wide skill career that the more experience in everything always helps. I think pushing people away from theater is a little too harsh, I think the focus should not just be Broadway, but with stage management their are so many places that it is applicable to, scaring people away is a little aggressive.
The quote that opens this article was posted on the board outside our shop and black box theater while I was in high school, but I really couldn't see myself outside of theater so I never gave it too much thought. I think what this article gets right is how varied the career path of a stage manager is. One of the main reasons I chose CMU over my other options was the fact that the degree is Stage/Production management. Production management opens you up even further to all kinds of event management outside of theater. I love theater and I believe that I may do that forever, but having a degree that gives me a wider skill set and thus more career prospects seemed like the best choice. I also believe that it is a good thing I am not allowed to declare yet as stage managers have to know how every single department operates in order to do their job as well as possible, and I know that I very well may change my mind and become some sort of designer instead. I have read so many articles about getting burnt out on shows over the years, it is nice to hear from someone who knows the options available to them and actually makes use of them. Of course you'll be burnt out doing cruise after cruise for 15 years. What is important is to change it up, and have other things in your life that matter to you.
2 comments:
By now anyone in this program has heard how this industry is hard to find work in and hard to make a living in. I feel like everyone has their opinion on it and it is far one way or the other, some say - like the author of this article, to run away while you still can, and others say to really go for it and do not stop. I know that I don't have any ground to stand on as far as the professional world goes, as I have not had to navigate that yet. I think the most important thing though it to be flexible and let the career take you where it's going to take you. Goals are good to have, but being stuck in one place is not going to work out well with the pace of theater. I do agree with the author that stage management is really such a wide skill career that the more experience in everything always helps. I think pushing people away from theater is a little too harsh, I think the focus should not just be Broadway, but with stage management their are so many places that it is applicable to, scaring people away is a little aggressive.
The quote that opens this article was posted on the board outside our shop and black box theater while I was in high school, but I really couldn't see myself outside of theater so I never gave it too much thought. I think what this article gets right is how varied the career path of a stage manager is. One of the main reasons I chose CMU over my other options was the fact that the degree is Stage/Production management. Production management opens you up even further to all kinds of event management outside of theater. I love theater and I believe that I may do that forever, but having a degree that gives me a wider skill set and thus more career prospects seemed like the best choice. I also believe that it is a good thing I am not allowed to declare yet as stage managers have to know how every single department operates in order to do their job as well as possible, and I know that I very well may change my mind and become some sort of designer instead. I have read so many articles about getting burnt out on shows over the years, it is nice to hear from someone who knows the options available to them and actually makes use of them. Of course you'll be burnt out doing cruise after cruise for 15 years. What is important is to change it up, and have other things in your life that matter to you.
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