Exeunt Magazine: “For the first time I’m going, ‘I’ve got the budget, but I can’t find the people.’ It’s so strange,” says production manager Heather Doole. Her words are echoed across the theatre industry, in meetings, social media and job listings sites, where the same roles come up repeatedly and with increasing urgency. It’s surreal, because until the pandemic, the main conversation about theatre and hiring was on the impossibility of breaking into what often felt like a cliquey closed shop.
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This article very accurately depicts how a lot of students are feeling, as well as the workforce in the industry. As someone who took a gap year, I have been pretty shocked at how ridiculous of a schedule I used to manage. Without the end goal of getting a degree, I am not sure I would have returned to such a strenuous schedule either. I think we all expected that the term “money can’t buy happiness” would prevent anyone from fully retiring from the industry, but it is turning out that people can be happy when pursing something that is adjacent to their passion rather than being exactly the thing they are passionate about. I know I certainly felt that way. When I wasn’t having to constantly worry about affording groceries, I was significantly happier even though I wasn’t doing anything close to theater. I think people who left the industry during the pandemic are finding this to be true of themselves as well. Until theater is able to pay better wages, or enough time as passed that no one in the industry remembers what it is like to have regular hours, I think this will continue to be an issue.
The pandemic has given many people the opportunity to step back and take a closer look at their working conditions, and to reconsider them. This article outlines that process happening, but specifically for theatre. I know that for myself, it can be hard to realize that you’re not in an ideal situation once you’ve grown used to them. When it comes to really pushing myself for tech weeks for shows, I sort of just accepted it as a necessity of doing something that I love. But with so much time spent away from theatre during the pandemic, I have to ask, is it worth it? Just because it’s been done for so long, does that mean it needs to be done that way? If the answer is no, why is nothing changing? Without the technical side of theatre, nothing will be put on. Which gives crew members and technicians the power to change theatre, or to quit and leave it in a crisis, as it is now.
“It’s also a situation that’s fraught with potential dangers, as productions are forced to go ahead understaffed, or with under-experienced people in key roles.” DING DING DING. “plus free studios for designers with collaborative spaces that combat some of the pressures of freelancing in the industry.” Can I honestly just QUOTE THIS INTER ARTICLE!!!!!!!! This is very very well written and encapsulates a lot of feelings within the industry (and educational system) “One thing’s clear: the current situation can’t continue. “I don’t see how theatre can survive if it tries to keep the working conditions that we had a couple of years ago,”” seriously I will need to read this article again later (when I am not as tired) because there are some really great points about how theater technicians are feeling currently!!!!!!!!!!
The hiring crisis within the theatre industry is a direct result of the industry turning their back on the hard working individuals during the pandemic. The people that were laid off due to the doors being closed went and found themselves new jobs, is that shocking? The pandemic forced all of us to sit at home and do nothing but think, and this time spent thinking really helped a lot of people realize the value of their own time and hard work. Theatre has never been the industry to go into to get rich, but it was the industry to go into to follow your dream. If there is one thing that I will forever be grateful for the pandemic, it was the time I spent figuring out what made me happy and how to find aspects of my life that were fulfilling. I found those things, and after I did, I have absolutely zero plans to go into an industry that relies on people to work for their fulfillment. I really hope that one day the live event industry changes shape to compensate individuals for the work and the time they dedicate, but until then, count me out.
ADDITIONS: I have realized that my previous comment was not long enough to fulfill the 150-word count so I am continuing to write more.
I guess my takeaway from this article is that I am 100% not alone in the feeling of being overworked and contemplating moving into a different field because of pay. Like many other theater technicians, over the pandemic, I branched out to other opportunities, and I have found the same thing: pay is better and working conditions are better. I work with the football team here at CMU and when I tell them about CMU’s Drama program their jaw drops at the amount of work and the outrageous hours we work. The idea of 6:30-10:30 calls makes them feel sorry for anyone in the program AND I AGREE! I think that the 6:30 to 10:30 calls are ridiculous and that is why I think that I won’t go into the theater industry. As the article says, a lot of the skills that you learn as a lighting technician, and manager are highly sought-after skills in other industry’s that don’t demand outrageous hours. Another note made in the article is that many theater people do it to escape. We work ridiculous hours to escape something but what happens when you are no longer escaping for something and want more stability? Many many many thoughts on this topic…
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