Happy Spring… even if it’s really only been April showers so far! I’ve got a slightly different kind of update for you this month, which I hope you will enjoy if you’ve ever wondered what I mean when I talk about needing to find time for my “freelance projects”. As a freelance director sometimes I’m lucky enough to get to be in a rehearsal room directing, or assisting in a related role, and sometimes I’m working a more traditional shift on the front-of-house or office administration side of the theatre, but I spend a lot of my time with “directing” tasks that are a bit trickier to quantify or quickly explain. These tend to center around assisting on other collaborators’ projects, preparing for productions not currently in rehearsal, and applying for future artistic opportunities. For this blog post I thought it might be interesting to give a little snapshot of what those tasks have looked like in and around the month of March:
I read at least 20 (I may have forgotten about a few!) scripts for work purposes. These included potential-classic texts by female playwrights for my Expand the Canon committees, submissions I was evaluating for a new play festival, and scripts to consider pitching for production.
I pitched 3 productions for directing opportunities.
I submitted 6 applications for other types of opportunities, such as directing labs, fellowships, and new play festivals.
I provided feedback notes on 2 audio projects which I am directing, both currently in post-production.
I researched, wrote, and graphic designed 1 student activity guide for a theatre for young audiences production (something I do throughout the year for each mainstage production at The Growing Stage).
Miscellaneous other one-off tasks included:
Sketching out some visual art to accompany one of the audio projects
Visiting library archives to access potential scripts for Expand the Canon
Coordinating a casual Zoom play reading for a group of friends and collaborators
And there you have it— they say that an actor’s job is to audition, and mine is to do whatever we call all that. There are tasks that I love (preparing pitches for productions), tasks that I would happily never do again (writing artistic statements for applications), and aspects of it that no one warns you about when you’re studying directing (how much time you’ll spend working independently on a laptop). In the past I’ve often thought that these months focused on the in-between tasks don’t make for very bloggable content compared to productions and festivals, but I hope you’ve enjoyed a peek behind the curtain and I can thankfully promise some project–oriented updates soon!
March Highlights & Recommendations
Favorite adventures and performances from the past month!
Readings: I enjoyed attending the Expand the Canon reading of The Sons of Erin in partnership with Irish Repertory Theatre and assisting with Gingold Theatrical Group’s reading of Mrs. Warren’s Profession. After spending so much time with scripts on the page, there’s no substitute for sharing them with new audiences.
Travel: I spent a few days off visiting Philadelphia and Hoboken this month. It was a treat to do a little outdoors exploration between all the rainstorms!
Watching: I spent a bit of time watching figure skating this month, during the annual world championships in Montreal. I’m not quite sure how this pertains to theatre as of yet, but we’ll figure out a way one of these days…