emilkang.substack.com: A few nights ago I was sitting at a bar in Chelsea before a show, waiting for a colleague, when another colleague walked in. We hugged. When I mentioned I was meeting our mutual friend, she said she had been with her the night before at a different performance. We laughed about it, the way you do when the pattern is so familiar it doesn’t even register anymore. We’ve been doing this for thirty years and we still can’t stop.
1 comment:
I appreciate the sentiment. Part of the reason I like the performance and production industry is because of its all or nothing nature. We work hard for long hours to get shows up in no time at all. I like this, but the vigor we must have for the physical labor of productions doesn’t necessarily need to translate into all aspects of our world. This essay touches on the idea that we shouldn’t be pedal to the metal at all times. My mom is a high school performing arts teacher and manager from the same generation as the author of this piece. I watch her constantly work herself to exhaustion through long nights of rehearsals, fund raisers, and outreach shows, always pushing towards the next thing. Because of her efforts, she has created one of the best high school performing arts programs in Massachusetts, all within the bounds of a public school. I think what this essay gets right is that pushing ourselves to exhaustion isn’t a personal problem but a systemic one in our industry. While I’m fine working long nights getting shows set up, 50 year old ladies like my mom shouldn’t be working themselves to the bone to just stay afloat. I personally don’t know what the solution to this problem is. If you asked my mom how she felt about the work she does despite its toll, she would say she’s happy, and I would respond similarly if asked about what I’ve done in the industry, but there must be some change we can make to ensure the longevity of the health of those working in this world. Maybe I’m not the one to ask about this.
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