While I have knit a few more rows on the bubble jacket, ther progress is not interesting. I’m still not above my elbow. Hey, I’ve never claimed to be a fast knitter!
I thought I’d share a bit about my life, as when people find out what my chosen career path is, they’re always interested. Well, mostly interested. Some people say ‘that’s not a career!’, but we’ll ignore them.
I work in theatre. Well, want to work in theatre. This is very much an industry where you have to start at the bottom (you have to apprentice if you want to eventually earn enough to pay bills on that alone), which is why I’m working at the previously mentioned bookstore. I’m stage managing for a semi-professional company, and we’re about to go into tech week. Wikipedia has a pretty fair definition of what it is that I do. I disagree that it is a sub-discipline of stagecraft, but apart from that, the article is okay. Basically, anything that happens onstage, I am in charge of. The lights go when I tell them to, as does sound, projections, rain, snow, whatever. Actors too, although they are less easy to control than the lights.
Tech week is also sometimes know as hell week. That’s when we move from our rehearsal space to the stage, and try to integrate costumes, set, lights, sound and everything else with the actors. Up until this point we’ve been miming props, using only shoes for costumes, and wandering around in a room that is much smaller than the stage, and has an estimation of the set taped out on the floor.
I have so much fun doing it. I could never perform, I’m just not the right personality or temperment. I don’t feel I have the brain of a designer, I much prefer to just read the script, and believe what it says there. I don’t get crazy ideas for doing Lear, but in WWII, and Hitler is…. blah. But I love theatre. Being the anally-organized person I am, stage management is perfect for me.
To get some work closely related to stage management, I’ve applied to the technician’s union, as a stage hand/general grunt labourer. No calls from that yet, but I’m hopeful.
Also to pull in some extra money, I’m being a security guard at the local arena. That is fun, because I get to watch the big shows go up or come down (or both) and just generally observe.
I find the fact that I’m a security guard a constant source of amusement. I’m 5’3″ on a good day, and, well, I generally knit the smallest size any knitting pattern is written for. But the government has given me a licence, the company has given me a shirt with SECURITY in giant orange letters on the back, and I’ve earned money to stand and listen to concerts.
The list of people I’ve been paid to see stands at this so far:
-The Village People (who opened for….
-Cher
-Stuart MacLean (the Vinyl Cafe)
-Busta Rhymes (who opened for….
-Mariah Carey
-The Who
-the World Men’s Curling Championships 2005
-the Flames vs San Jose
I am most proud of Cher. And the Village People. I mean, who knew they were alive still? Still emotionally distraught that I moved away from my first usher/security job before Tom Jones played. Although, The Who did take their smoke breaks RIGHT BESIDE me. You’re not allowed to smoke inside, but who is going to tell Pete Townsend to move along?
Hopefully I’ll get a few more interesting concerts under my belt, and maybe even work on a few. Maybe one day I’ll go on tour. A good friend of mine is going in to her second year on tour with Clifford the Big Red Dog.
Another concert I am very proud of is one I got into free. A client (an American food chain) with much to much money invaded Banff back in March. They took over the most expensive hotel in town, and used our theatre for their awards show one night. I won’t go in to the extravagance, but it was stoopid. Coporate things like that always have entertainment in the evening. Most get local bands or dance groups or acrobats or something. Professionals-ish. Making money, but not famous. I mean, it is just a hotel ballroom/conference room. This one group? Got the Bare Naked Ladies. And because “ya’ll did such a good job” on the award thingy, we got to go to the concert at the hotel. I have danced in the front row of a Bare Naked Ladies concert. No security or anything. He sung ‘Memory’ from Cats in a falsetto. He made local jokes. It was cool.
So in this industry I get to meet lots of interesting people, famous or not, and see even more. There are gala evenings with secret rooms and absinthe and ballgowns, and that’s part of the love. I also love the hard work, seeing something I’ve slaved over come together, and seeing an audience enjoy it. For me, I think it really is the satisfaction of knowing that everything was in the right place, and it was technically just right. The audience is important, but my enjoyment is knowing that I did right. It’s a ‘that’ll do pig’ type of moment.
