This is the first of several postings that are coming from the site Formspring. Typically, these will be marked with a FQ at the beginning of the post title and maybe tagged.
Would you go into Theatre if you make the same money as you do now?
I’m going to have to go at this from two angles. Currently, I am unemployed. So my income is not what it ‘typically’ is as a full-time, corporate, Apple Product, 3rd-party, software engineer. So right now, it actually wouldn’t be too difficult to find a Theatre gig that pays comparable to what I’m currently not making.
But let’s assume that the Theatre gig is offering what I normally take in a year as an engineer. I suppose the best way to respond is ZOMFG HELL, YES. (With a dose of caveat.)
I LOOOOOOUUUUURRRRVVVVVEEEE the theatre. And my highest love of theatre comes from working on a show as the artistic director. Oh, sure… I love to act too, but that’s just a lark, not a passion.
To me, directing is a combination of: (deep breath) artistic planner, sports coach, symphony conductor, cat herder, mentor, despot, chief technical officer, professor, tyrant, puppeteer, guru, art critic, amateur writer, and kid in a candy store. And you get to do all these things with everyone else’s talent.
The last taste of this that I had was about 2 ½ years ago, just after the birth of my son. I was to be artistic director on a semi-professional, touring musical production. I did a good deal of the casting and had to pull out when I cast my wife (not out of nepotism) in a role and then left nobody to watch the baby. Even after out of the production I was still able to add casting assistance when there were late emergencies by the company.
Of course there is that caveat. The reality that I cannot return to theatre for at least another 2-3 years for just the reason listed above. Right now, my biggest concern is providing for my family and especially my child. Not just financially but as a present father. I want to be someone who’s there to be close during his first formularize years. I figure once he’s 6-7 he will have been raised with the maturity to spend evenings at the theatre with his dad and possibly even auditions for shows if he’s interested.
Personally, I wish money weren’t the motivating force of this question. I do the things I do out of passion and love for the activity. I make money out of the desire to be able to stably provide for my family.
Short and sweet, I hope it answers the question.
