After a couple of months of not writing I am back and ready to catch you all up with what has been going on in my life!
First, I graduated in May from college with my bachelor’s degree in Theatre so that is super exciting! I decided to stay with my family for the summer but that doesn’t mean I am not working! Currently, I am located in Phoenix! I am working on some certifications that I need to be better prepared for my job in the fall!
Speaking of my job in the fall! I will be a Teaching Intern for the theatre department at Phillips Exeter Academy! I am so excited about this opportunity and the team I am working with! I will be on as a sound designer and engineer, as well as helping out their theatre program wherever they need me! The students and faculty I met there were just incredible and I can’t wait to join their team!
So today I am going to talk a little bit about what I am going to do in order to prepare for this job. Since it’s not just a one-show contract it looks a little bit different especially because I will also be teaching about what I am doing along the way to high school students!
So, my first step in preparing for this job is doing research on their system. They have a Dante System so I will be doing my Dante Certification as well as some additional research in order to feel better equipped. The school I graduated from didn’t have a Dante system, except for one show that I had worked on separate from the theatre department. Because of this, I want to do as much research as I can to ensure I know at least the basics of the system before getting on site.
I also asked their technical director for the name of all the sound boards they have in their various performance and rehearsal spaces. This allows me to do research on how to program these boards if I have not used them before. This I feel is especially important for the position I am going into because I want to make sure I am able to teach the students properly.
Next, I asked for any information they can give me about the shows I would be designing! They were able to give me some information about them and this just gives me a chance to maybe read the shows or if I know a production is going on near me maybe go see it! This doesn’t mean I start designing that is crucial! I don’t have the director’s vision yet or know what space it is going to be in so I am not going to start designing I am simply just getting a feel for the plot and overall vibe of the show, especially if it is one I am not familiar with.
During my first week, I will have a meeting with the technical director where I will get to know the ins and outs of the system and ask him any questions I might have starting out!
While these are all important and vital steps that are going to hopefully set me up for success this fall, the main thing I am focusing on this summer is resting. I have not had more than a few weeks break in a very long time and during the last month of my college experience burnout was on the horizon. I decided to rest more this summer because I want to be able to give my all to this opportunity I have in the fall because I am beyond passionate about what I do.
This time to rest has already allowed me to be so much happier and get more work done in a shorter time because I am not consumed by it like I was during college. I have been able to set aside hours of the day when I want to get work done but allow myself to stop once that set time is up knowing that I have gotten enough if not more done in that time than I expected.
As I start preparing for specific shows I will write about my process for different shows I am designing and engineering. I would also like to say that I am not the most experienced nor is my way the only or best way of doing things! I am simply writing about the process that works best for me when prepping for a new job and the job I am preparing for specifically.
I hope you all enjoyed this post! I promise I will be writing more regularly now and again! Thanks for reading!