Working while Pregnant?…
Pregnant? You might be surprised how much work you book…
I was recently asked about working while pregnant so I thought I’d share my experience.
It was business as usual through my fifth month of pregnancy. I continued to audition and with some smart clothing choices no one even realized I was pregnant.
Parent Support
I had a conversation with my boyfriend about how supportive/unsupportive our parents are with choosing to pursue a career in theatre, and having that conversation and realizing we had a similar (yet still very different) point of view of how our parents feel about it, that maybe others have the same issues that we do.
Some parents have a difficulty accepting and supporting their child’s choice to do work within the theatre is it is a competitive field. Whether they fear of watching their child’s dream get crushed and want to protect them, or just that they can’t see it as a serious career path. Regardless, sometimes parents don’t react well to their children pursuing a theatrical career path, and may not realize the effects it has on their child(ren).
What do you do with a B.A. in English?
Ever since I was 3, I dreamed of being an actor. I started working in the biz at a young age, and never imagined myself doing anything else. When I started high school, people began asking me, “Where would you like to go to college?”. At first, I simply told them I wasn’t planning to go to college. I had never given it any thought. I was going to be a working actor, auditioning every day- I wouldn’t have time for college! My plan was met by a lot of criticism. I was used to this, having been homeschooled. Most people don’t understand homeschooling either. As I grew older, I began to think more and more about it- “Should I go to college?”, “Will I be missing out on something?”, “Will it hurt my career if I don’t go?”. I was told by many older actors that I should go to college so I can teach when the biz is slow. Personally, I could never imagine myself being a teacher. I never wanted to be a teacher, and I had no interest in the field whatsoever. I thought about college a lot. I even took a 1 week digital filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy, and a 2 week cartooning course at the School of Visual Arts. I took the SATs, mostly because I felt pressured by my peers. I genuinely considered taking online courses as well.
True Love: Your Significant Other or Your Career
This career is my life. Literally. Every time I get a new job I have to change almost every aspect of my life to accommodate it. When I landed my latest contract I had to sell my car and many of my possessions, move everything I own to a different country, quit several jobs, change the way I eat and exercise, morph to fit into an entirely different culture, etc. Even when I get a job in my hometown I have to weigh options and make choices about what to change in my work schedule, how much time I can devote to family and friends, what I need to include in my workout to stay fit for this particular show, and how I need to maintain my appearance.
During my travels, I’ve run into a lot of people who’ve not only given up good side jobs and cars, but also their significant other, due to the complications of distance. Long term contracts not only prevent you from spending quality time with your loved one (I can’t go a day apart from mine when I’m at home), but they even make it difficult to talk on the phone or skype due to major time differences and crazy schedules. As the months go by in a cast abroad, the heartbreak grows exponentially when couples decide that the distance is too difficult and their jobs are too important to give up.
Just More Shakespeare
I, like many others both in theater and out, think William Shakespeare is the greatest English writer in history, and perhaps the greatest artist in history. Twas not ever thus. I did not appreciate Shakespeare in my youth, perhaps because his works were so poorly taught. They sat us all in rows in classrooms, reading words meant to be heard, in archaic language we struggled to understand. If one only read the script of “Citizen Kane,” one would not see what the big deal with that was, either.
It was not until adulthood, when I was no longer forced to read Shakespeare and could come to him in my own time — and actually see the works on stage — that I at first appreciated, and then loved, his works. I watch every version of Shakespeare on film that I can find, I go see as many Shakespeare productions as time and ducats will allow, and I do now read his works. I have aided my wife in three youth productions — “The Tempest,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “Macbeth” — and have been pleased to help children come to an appreciation of the Bard that eluded me until I had passed my first quarter-century.
But while Shakespeare may be the greatest writer, he is not the only writer, and ambitious theater folk sometimes forget this.
Why Directors are Important
While I’ve been planning on getting my MFA in Directing for quite some time, I recently learned precisely WHY directors have such an important role in the theatre through experience. Not the experience of working on a show but as an audience member for one. An audience member for a show that I had multiple friends involved in and a show being one I was interested in seeing. The actors were for the most part strong. The stage management team made sure everything is conducted as planned on a timely fashion. The set was beautiful along with the sound, costumes, and lighting. However there was one massive flaw that made the production terrible: the lack of directing and dramaturgy.
Flashback Friday: WHEN GREAT MINDS MEET
When I spend time with theater friends I sometimes think about how much talent they were each born with, and the great projects we could accomplish together. I hope you enjoy The Restless Dramaturg writing about collaboration and ways to encourage it!
“Theatre is one of the only art forms that requires more than yourself to create. It is a collaborative art, and as any of you who’ve been reading my posts will know, collaboration is not the name of the game, but is the game itself. So, what happens when you get a group of theatre people together? Magic! When it works, collaboration can change the life of any production. You get a team of crackshot artists in one place and the possibilities are endless. I strive to find these units anywhere I can. You need to find people who love what you love and meet them! Join a book club, or a forum; if you can’t find one, start one…” Keep reading!
Train Your Brain To Be More Creative!
The human brain really interests me. Between books, acting classes, adult-guitar lessons, bored work googling, I’ve started to learn what happens to the physical body when the brain is stimulated in different ways.
The pertinent point for this entry, is that the more you work mentally towards anything, practice something, your brain literally rebuilds the neurological pathways in the brain to direct more attention to it. Your brain strengthens and adds to the nerves that are designated to that one new thing. Therefore, over time, you develop an increased ability at whatever the chosen task or skill may be.
The Green Room 