schedule schmedule!

I was just wondering if anybody else had any trouble trying to fit theatre AND "work" into there week/month/year??? any helpful hints from those who have "been there done that" would be greatly appreciated!

Ah ha ha ha... ZONK! (pause) what? what happened? What's going on? why am I sleeping on my keyboard?

Dear Andrew: Fitting work and theatre in together is really easy It's when you try and fit life in as well that you get into trouble! That's the only way I manage... Even my family know that they have to book me in at least three months in advance, and even then I may bail on them... In the last couple of weeks I've seen my folks more than I have in years... because their place is closer between work and rehearsals than mine, so I go to theirs rather than home after work :-) And if I had a partner? no way could I do as much as I do now! That is the price we pay...

Love your post Paul. Life is a full time juggle act. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Like to hear more about. : )

Oh you'll be fine...for a while...and then you'll break. HAHAHA Pauls right - theatre and work is fine. Plus life ARGH! Luckily my friends are at theatre. I met my fiancee at theatre (so he is usually about). And my parents have worked professionally in 'the business' their whole life, so they understand TO A POINT. My friends that don't 'get' theatre life email me and we have a cyber friendship. I've taken the next 6 months off from theatre. This means only doing a one night a week Improv course (Black Swan - Sam Longley ROCKS!) with my partner. And checking ita website on a daily basis to get my fix. When it comes to doing/not doing another play for 6 months, i'm hoping that absence makes the heart grow fonder...and that the yearning will get so strong i'll figure out a way to fit theatre/life/love/work all together. My tip - that I haven't yet followed, but will stick to with my next play - put a limit on the finishing time for night rehearsals. If a director says they are fininshing rehearsal at 10.00 - let them know that you will be finishing at, exactly that, ten. But for gods sake...be there on time. Everything in perspective. Love Sky

At the end of the day you have to sit yourself down (when it's all getting a bit too much) and think about what is realistic, where your passions really are, what is practical and what is healthy. If you're the stage manager/lighting designer/lighting op/production manager/everything else for 5 shows that are happening in the next 4 months that you're not getting paid a cent for, but you've also got a part/full time job, personal hobbies, a partner and friends, you need to figure out where your priorities are. Myself and my partner are both in full time jobs and also just love to put our hands up for amateur un paid theatre, but what it means is that we find ourselves not seeing enough of eachother, always being stressed, distancing from friends and completely forgetting our jobs. We've come to a resolution that we need to limit the amount of shows we do a year, cutting it down from 13 to 3. Theatre is great, it's fun, frustrating and hard work with heaps of rewards, but unless it is your full time job or your family, it can always wait, because nobody ever gets to the end of their life or working life and says "Jeez, I wish I had worked more".