There's No Buisness Like...Ah Fuck it

Puttin' on Plays and Getting Paid, but not a lot

[circle--of--confusion]

I got this book today and I *LOVE* it. She has the same reason for my love of being on the crew Edit: the book is called “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier

[stage-managed]

If they didn't want me in there they would have locked it

Every theatre kid ever

[scoutfinches]

🤔🤔🤔

[littlebitzbackstage]

Every theatrical apprenticeship 

[sixpenceee]

People can make beautiful art out of anything.

[littlebitzbackstage]

Working in tech theatre is like meeting an angry unicorn. It seems awesome until it stabs you with its horn repeatedly.

[littlebitzbackstage]

Working in tech theatre is like meeting an angry unicorn. It seems awesome until it stabs you with its horn repeatedly.

[littlebitzbackstage]

Introduction to Scenic Painting:

How to paint wood to look like wood. Buckle up, you will be doing this until the day you die. 

[stagefoot]

Me: clears 1 (one) square inch of space in the theater

Every other department:

[littlebitzbackstage]

Frickin space jackers. That’ll teach me to clean  

[littlebitzbackstage]

Theatrical Burnout is Real.

Seriously friends, take care of yourselves. Working technical theatre is a love/hate relationship (I count Actors too of course but I'm in tech)

We bust our asses and break our bodies for our art. Namely OTHER PEOPLE'S art. We take great pride in our craft.

This causes us to forget our own mental/physical health.

I work full time for a professional theatre company in Ohio as their Production Technician. This basically means I'm a catch all. I am namely a Scenic Painter however I frequently work on light hangs and focuses. I also find myself running boards for our productions and was recently added into Actors Equity for Stage Management.

List it all like that and people are often impressed and say things like "Wow you must feel so lucky!" And I am don't get me wrong but in short:

I'M TIRED.

I frequently let my job run my life and I have to let go a bit. My love for theatre can't keep up with a bubbling sense of loathing.

If you have experienced burnout (which we all have, wether you realized it or not) you know that coming to terms with hating something you love, is just shitty. You start to resent the job you so desperately wanted.

Pull back when you have to. Walk away and don't do anything theatre related for a moment. Your wellbeing is so much more important than putting Sound of Music on for the 50th time.

Theatre can be a beautiful life changing thing. But it can also be a beast that sucks out your soul and leave you crying on the floor.

RESPECT THE BEAST

RESPECT YOURSELF

[littlebitzbackstage]

Working with a kindred spirit.

You guys know that one person that you get to work with every now and then who is your tech-mate? That one human that is completely on your level and works the same way/pace you do. You feel better working on a project just knowing that they will be in the trenches with you, watching your back? Those are the right people. We get shit done together.

[awkwardscotty]

““yeah but from twenty feet away it’ll look fine probably.””

— Ancient Theatre Proverb

[heardinthegreenroom]

“I thought you were eating a piece of tennis ball.”

“I’m trying to remove the skid marks on my soul.”

[littlebitzbackstage]

If your crew or cast offers you food, take it. You most likely look like you haven't eaten in a month.

~Stage Manager Advice

[stagemanagerssaygo]

When you’ve been calling the show for so long, you rarely look at your callbook

[stagemanagerssaygo]

#TBT

[littlebitzbackstage]

And trying really hard not to be bored.

[muchadoaboutmusicals]

[littlebitzbackstage]

Have you ever been in a production meeting for a show and been in the middle of what you and your team believe to be a very important discussion only to come to the realization afterward that a room full of professionals just wasted an hour seriously debating the symbolic difference between two nearly identical shade of blue?  

[unexpectedtexture]

It’s a good stage.

[littlebitzbackstage]

Damn good friend, damn good