So, some might know the last 6 months were a calculated, pre-meditated, totally un-scientific experiment in the world of Kevin's life. The hypothesis was "Kevin will spend full-time being a theatre artist (as in all previous time periods, he has either worked a 'real' co-op or been a full-time student in addition to the artistry) and will hate being poor."
The hypothesis was proven true! Kevin was paid very little to do a lot of things. However, he was paid, and so few theatre artists can say that. For that, he is very grateful for everyone who thought him worthy to be paid for his work. Despite being poor ...though not truly poor, because, you know, his parents made sure he had a phone and car insurance and health insurance and triple A and bailed him out so his bank account wasn't negative a few times (probably some other things too that he's forgetting - though not housing and food, that was Northeastern - thanks Northeastern). Kevin may have been able to pay for the items his parents cover, if he didn't drink and eat Chipotle so much. But he does. Part of the experiment was not changing his luxurious lifestyle, so he could really see what it would cost to live like he wants (answer: it costs a GE salary). OKAY ANYWAY as with all experiences in life, Kevin learned many things. Here are some of the things Kevin learned during the Experiment: 1) Kevin loves working with kids. He sort of already knew that, but having time to substitute teach and work with Boston Children's Theatre reaffirmed that. Kevin thinks he might want to spend more time teaching in the future. 2) Kevin loves working in theatre primarily because he loves working with artists. Any job you do has terrible tasks that are part of it. Kevin worked at Brigham's for 3 years and the tasks were horrible, but the people were the best co-workers. If you're working with the right people (and theatre people are very rarely the wrong people), any job can become loveable. (Hello, and welcome to a 22-year old's career advice column. You can all tell me to shut up, I'll take it.) 3) Theatre sometimes (a lot of times) keeps you away from your family and friends who work in other fields. And most of the time, those people don't understand and think you're being a jerk because you just keep saying your busy. 'HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY STILL BE BUSY. WHAT IS YOUR JOB.' 4) Kevin loves solving problems. Whether its figuring out how invoices add up at GE, or how to reduce glare from a sheet of plexiglass on the set, Kevin is most interested in work when he is actively chasing an answer out of something and trying multiple ways to get to the answer. Kevin could never really articulate that about himself until Shawn LaCount said it to him (thanks, Shawn). Kevin feels like he has a through-line to use in defining what to do for work now. 5) When everyone working on a project is good at what they do, it's really refreshing. And shit gets DONE. This was not revelatory, but Kevin was reminded of it. 6) Kevin is really happy he knows how to read music. It's just a cool skill that is not valuable in daily life but is personally valuable to my being. 7) Kevin learned how NOT to do a lot of things. 8) Just embrace the chaos, get on the train, play the game. Complaining that something isn't going the way it's "supposed" to or that other people suck at their jobs is only valid for like 1% of your day. Play the other 99%. 9) Charge your phone. Thanks Aislinn. 10) "As long as I have enough money to buy good beer like everything else will be fine. I just need somewhere to sleep and wake up at." I tweeted this drunkenly at some point in April. It has a lot of flaws in reality (like, substantial flaws), but in theory it is a true statement. There are other technical skills, etc. I learned, but the above are the broad tenets. I think. Consider this the conclusion of the lab report for the experiment. Because in reality, the experiment results didn't define at all what Kevin is going to do next in his fifth and final year of college or after graduation. But, we do know a little bit more. Maybe that's all life is. #deep #hashtag #nofilter
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From the Fly Rail
My musings based off experiences I have in my theatre work. Or like my life. Archives
April 2015
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