“Should You Really Become a Stage Manager?”
Hey there! You know, it’s that time of year again when I find myself wondering why on Earth I chose this profession. Almost walked out of my job today, I kid you not. It’s plain crazy how much stress comes with being a stage manager. What were we thinking?
We recently had our first performance of the season for an invited audience. It went pretty okay, despite a few hiccups that the audience wasn’t aware of. However, something was missing – I didn’t get that usual thrill. Plus, the run-up to this performance was far from smooth.
Funny thing is, just two weeks ago, the technical director and I were talking about how this year felt simpler than last. But man, once the tech part hit, things started going sideways pretty fast.
We’ve got a crew chief who’s not up to the mark, so we have to go back and double-check his work. It’s been very stressful, even more so since we were the ones who brought him on board. We also have some pretty challenging performers this year. And to top it all off, despite our show kicking off today, the costumes aren’t ready yet. On our premiere, a piece of rigging equipment even malfunctioned. Oh, and we’re short of run crew members.
You also can’t ignore the practical issues. We don’t have cars while we’re placed in the middle of nowhere, leading to transportation headaches. Honestly, it feels like I’m juggling six jobs at once, and not doing great at any. It just added to my sense of failure when the circus owner decided to give me a pep talk today. Yeesh.
So it’s basically been a wild week with 105-hour work shifts instead of the usual 40-hour ones. Makes you question if no one else realizes how messed up this is.
This brings me back to my original question: Is being a stage manager really worth it? Reflecting on my college days, I remember a bunch of art industry folk visited us for career talks. Interestingly, a lot of them advised us to explore different paths.
Sure, I’ve always fancied the challenge and excelled at tricky tasks. But what if that embodies your career, amidst others who also thrive in the same hectic environments? The struggle seems to never end. Just because you can manage doesn’t necessarily mean you always want to.
Well, those are my ramblings for today amidst the technical week madness.