mignonette
Do you have an agent/organisation through which you acquire work? My DD originally did a stage and drama course in which she was apprenticed to the college theatre group. She did a similar course at university but is now training as a patissiere because it is such a tough business to break into.
No, I don't have an agent, and apart from a few lighting designers, I don't know anyone on the technical/SM side who does. Yes, it is a difficult world to break into, and good, paid jobs are scarce. A very high number of employers think that because we work in the arts, we must be doing it 'for the love' and therefore don't need to be paid (they often think this about actors/dancers/musicians too). I've not been in the business long, as I had a 'real' career and retrained at one of the top Drama Schools. My course included industry placements, from which I made contacts, and from then on, I've gone from one job to another. It's very much about who you know and who you've worked with, and if you don't know the company directly, chances are they will know someone who knows someone you've worked with.
I've not worked in the West End, as that is the ultimate challenge to break into.
Which theatres have you particularly enjoyed working in? Can you say? There are some gorgeous Georgian theatrea about (near me) which I imagine you may have heard of.
Buxton Opera House is my favourite venue to date. It's a bit of a pig technically (quite a steeply raked stage) and the accoustic from the stage is odd, but it's something about the atmosphere I love. Plus, the in-house crew are terrific. Just counted up, in the last 2 years alone I've worked in at least 35 venues, not all of them theatres, but a lot of those were one-nighters on tour.
Do you experience any friction between the permanent staff of the theatres you travel to and yourself being freelance or do they appreciate the chance to share 'stories' and expertise with yourself?
It really depends on the production, the venue and the people. On single- or two-night touring, there isn't time for social interaction. A typical schedule might be; day 1 drive from previous venue to next town, check in to accomodation, sleep. Day 2 9am unload lorry, put up lighting, set, set out costumes, props and furniture, 1pm lunch, 2pm continue as per am, 6pm break (maybe, depends how it's going), 6.30pm continue, 7.30pm run show, 10.20pm show ends, take down set and lighting, pack up costumes and props, load lorry, 1am finish, return to accomodation. Day 3, drive to next town, etc etc.
Some in-house crews are amazing, proactive, finish one job and ask you for another, look around to see what needs doing and do it. Some are lazy f*ckers who take the smallest opportunity to disappear or stand around at the door smoking. A lot of them are men who have a problem taking instructions from women. Thankfully I am a woman who has no problem with repeating instructions until they do it, and yelling if they don't.
What was your favourite production?
Sounds corny, but whatever I'm working on at the time - I've done everything from comedy to Shakespeare, site-specific drama in a basement to large-scale opera. I do have a favourite, but can't name it as it would completely out me - it was a one-off and high-profile.
My contracts generally run at around 6-8 weeks, with the longest so far being 3 months. If you don't like the show or the people, it's relatively easy to grit your teeth and tell yourself it's only another x performances.