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

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

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.