SoundGirls.org: We all like to think we’re absolutely indispensable, especially in the theatre world. There’s the old adage “the show must go on,” so we push ourselves to get tours into theatres where they barely fit, come to work even when we’re not feeling well because who else can run the show? Once, an actress asked what the A1 and A2 would do if one of us were sick.
5 comments:
Firstly, It was super cool to see all of the paperwork that is involved in a touring show, and specifically for this A1. I think the mentality of “the show must go on” can be really toxic in a lot of cases. Like when she mentioned that the less sick person would just suffer through and harm their health to make sure the show went on. Putting work in front of your own well being is something that unfortunately the culture of theatre has really put at is core. But I think that Augustine is channeling this in a more healthy way. Obviously it is never fun when a show gets cancelled, all theatre makes had to experience this with covid. Not getting to do what you love, or getting something you rely on for money cancelled is very concerning. But I think covid has emphasized that personal health should be something we are just as worried about as work.
I really enjoyed reading this article, seeing how important it is for professionals in the touring industry to plan in the case they would need to quarantine. Touring shows are specifically interesting because you are loading a show in and out of spaces frequently and even though the show doesn’t change, the venue presents its own obstacles at times. So, if you were someone filling in for a crew member out due to covid, not only do you not know the show, but nobody really knows the space either. As mentioned in the article, staying healthy in our world today, especially on tour, is a viscous cycle because on one hand you want to stay inside and away from others, but on the other it is important mentally to be out in the world and have those interactions. The author mentions that they were called in last minute to fill in for a show they had never worked on because and I find that to be something so unique about theatre and I look forward to having such a skill that I could be placed in any space and feel comfortable diving right in.
I had never considered that tours might need to fly in someone from another tour to cover them, but I guess maybe that comes from the ever-changing location. After all, if you're a New York-based show and something happens, it's likely that there's someone you know and can vouch for within your same city who's able to come down. But, if you find yourself somewhere else in the country that's either a smaller city or a state with less professional theater, it does make sense that you'd need to call in help from elsewhere. In terms of the idea of documentation, I can definitely relate to this newfound concern over longevity coming from COVID. For student theater, we've had a lot of difficulty because we lost our experienced tech members, stage managers, directors, etc as they graduated, and unfortunately they didn't get the chance to pass the baton via in-person training. Getting back to where we were has been difficult because of that loss of knowledge. Now that we're back and have just about found our footing again, one of my top priorities has become documenting the shows that we do, and making sure our members understand what we're doing.
Even though I’m not a Sound person, I found this article to be really relatable and inspiring. The author talks about how the industry doesn’t really leave room for people to get sick, which is something I’m sure many of us can relate to. I definitely understand what the author’s dilemma of getting sick could mean finally having a little time to yourself, whilst it also means that the run might be affected (depending on whether there’s someone to fill your role or not). This is definitely one of the biggest drawbacks of this industry, but as the author notes, having a backup system for whoever is going to fill in for you would be super beneficial for everyone. The paperworks which the author has shown as examples, though they don’t make 100% sense to me, are really good learning materials. I think no matter what position you are in, keeping track of all your works and how your system works can really avoid other people messing up but also save a lot of time.
“For some, this sounds like overkill, but I find peace of mind in the idea that I might give someone too much information, but hopefully never too little.” As a stage manager, the job is all about communication. And part of it is planning for a scenario in which you are not there to do the job. There is a saying that goes that someone else should be able to understand your system of paperwork even if they have never seen it before, and as old as it is it rings true to this day. I sympathize a lot with the conflicting feelings of the author, both wanting to stay locked up to avoid a positive test but understanding that ultimately that will not do much help either. Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen an increasing amount of posts something along the lines of “flying for a track I did two years ago for a four-show weekend”. I can not help but wonder how productions were affected by this.
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