What It's Like To Be in Theater

Linking up with This Ain't the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes.

I rarely talk about the realities of working in theater when I'm around people not involved in the theater. It's not a mutual point of interest so it seems reasonable not to talk about it all the time. However, there are facets of combining theater and motherhood that I would love other people to understand. Here's what I wish non-theater people knew about what it's like to work in theater, and what it means to be combining motherhood and the performing arts. 

1

The benefit of working towards becoming someone else's pick is it does lit a fire under me! I am so much more likely to take an extra Pilates class, actually work out at home, sing scales, and read plays when I know the hard work is aiming toward a goal.

2

But the rejection is terrible. It is. It never really gets easier, and walking into a room and immediately realizing you are identical in look and talent to 20 other women in that room is demoralizing.

3

I don't get to just not care. This is an art form where the thoughts and opinions of others matter so much they determine if you will be allotted the resources to *say* anything with your art.

4

Auditions are essentially job interviews, but this is a job that you never get to stop interviewing for (ain't it the best!)

5

Confession: sometimes I get a little jealous of the people who can make art without consulting anyone else. They can paint, sketch, knit, weave, and bake without needing anyone else to agree that their vision, or talent, is worth pursuing.

6

But making my art quietly at home just can't hold a candle to what it is like to work in a group creating something really special that you can present to the world.

So I audition (over and over) and get rejected (over and over) holding out hope for the tiny little yeses that come along.

7

It will always irk me when people assume that motherhood should mean making your art should take a backseat. Not just for their infancy, through high school, maybe forever. I don't view these two things as incompatible! It's not easy, but it's not impossible. 

Actually, can we all agree to stop assuming there's anything inherently incompatible with motherhood? If it's something that is important to that mother, especially those things that concern her God given gifts, why appoint ourselves to a position that determines that God had a bad idea there? 

Do you have a passion you are pursuing alongside motherhood? Do you have questions about life in the theater?