Show Business Is Weirdly Wonderful, Right?
Hey there! Got something to share today. Much like a warning, I’m in quite the mood to spill.
Show business is strange, guys.
Currently, I’m practicing for a touring musical. This is something I’ve always dreamt of doing since college. Musicals carry a unique prestige, quite different from something like Clifford the Big, Red Dog, although I adore Clifford of course. Doing a musical is tricky and requires more work than you might think. Our rehearsals are 9-hour shifts, and because I’m the stage manager, I end up adding an extra hour before and after rehearsals.
So, that’s a solid 10-hour workday. Adding to this, I’m traveling from NJ to NYC, tacking on another 3-4 hours. My life is entirely rehearsals and sleep right now.
Anyway, something I’ve noticed in the arts is this love for overworking. Like, we have several one-night stops on our tour. We finish one location, hop on the bus to sleep, and start setting up in the next city the following day. It’s crazy; we usually only get about 5 hours of sleep. It’s baffling how some crew members thrive on this.
To me, there’s no honor in living like a machine. It’s almost like lunacy. Could be that I’m just growing older and more weary.
And can we talk about these 6-day rehearsal weeks? Did we somehow decide that normal work weeks are just not enough for us?
Why hasn’t anyone demanded a proper weekend?
I bet someone’s looked into the evolution of our work weeks. It’s a topic that would make for an engrossing research.
It’s worth noting opera stage management seems to do fine with just 6 hours a day. But.. still 6 days a week! Who decided we should skip weekends? Weekends are great guys!
Perhaps working in the blogging industry for three years has changed my perspective. Freelancers create their own hours to earn what they need. I believe it has somewhat spoiled me.
Maybe blogging about personal finance has made the life of a stage manager seem less attractive?
Or maybe it’s just my mind wandering after an exhausting week of rehearsals.
At least it’s Monday, right?
Do share this around!