A short Musical Theater Rant from a Stage Manager
Dear young theater people, especially those who want to do this as a career:
Stop getting roped into doing shows in your old youth theater your first summer out of college. I can tell you first hand, that "I did this show in high school" or "I played the lead in my youth theater company" will NOT get you a part in a real show let alone a place in the ensemble. This is insider info, people. If doing theater for a living is something you plan on persuing as a career, STAY AWAY from your old youth theater company. They are not going to give you the experience you need. No matter how much they beg you to come back because "they miss you" or "they need you" or no matter what they promise you, don't do it. Even if it's the best place and you have wonderful memories there. Likely you're going to have to either pay to play, give them some sort of scholarship blood, sell tickets, etc.... There is nothing in it for you. Future directors will not see your role in youth theater as 'experience.'
That being said, those of you who think that you'll be getting paid straight out of college your first show, guess again. There are only a precious few companies that actually pay. There are a lot of really good community theaters out there. There are some great directors getting paid (albeit not much) to direct your show... Directors who are going to actually give you the experience you need in that ensemble (or maybe lead) to put on your resume to catapult you to possibly your paid role 1-2 years from now. If you want experience, stop thinking that you deserve pay for it to be worth your time.
Otherwise you may be waiting a long time to ever even be in a show and by that time you might have knocked up your girlfriend and will have to get a job driving the UPS truck and the next show you do will be unpaid... when you're 40.... in your local community theater... that used to be your youth theater.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Living Debt Free starting today
We are officially 100% debt free.
We did it with planning, sacrifice, determination and consistency. We didn't buy any books, CDs, DVDs, attend seminars or use mentoring.* It wasn't always easy, but we made it. Our debt wasn't caused by buying lots of frivolous things on credit cards or taking lavish vacations (ok, well, we took one that we shouldn't have to Negril, Jamaica - it wasn't that fun). In fact, we sold our house in 2013 in order to make this happen and have been renting and even had to move 3 times in the last 2 years because that's what happens sometimes when you rent houses in a crappy economy. We tried to refinance a number of times and were always turned down, usually close to the end of the process. I had to find a lower paying, full-time job (also in a down economy with no jobs out there) to help out with bills and get health insurance for the kids as well as keep them in whatever activities they were in at the time.
Our debt was caused by a lull in the construction field back in 2010-11 and to keep our home and keep the business afloat until things got better, we had to use credit to move things along. It was a gamble that paid off because our business is now going strong and steady. We have money to pay our bills and now that we don't have to put anything else toward our credit cards, we can really make an effort to save so that we can get out of California - a place where we have gone into debt 2 times in the last 20 years.
This was a 5 year process. We did this with no credit counseling and no debt consolidation programs (which are by the way, as close as you can come to claiming bankruptcy and will KILL your credit). My husband and I spoke with credit card companies directly and got interest reduced to 0% with a payoff program within the company itself (not all will do this). I transferred balances to 0% cards with a 2 year payoff so that we could have a consistent pay period and a plan to get certain balances down. We got a loan from a family member who we consistently paid off over a 2 year period (this isn't an option for most people and we are grateful).
The point is, in our mid-40s, we've learned that there's no quick fixes. Stuff happens that are sometimes beyond our control but we learned from our mistakes and we took control by what I said in the beginning. We learned valuable lessons along the way and have even saved while we were paying off debt.
I keep going to the credit sites and looking at the $0.00 balance numbers on each of them. I'm so proud of us!
*Some people need coaching and guidance and if that is what works for them I am all for it, as long as it is working and they are not putting themselves into more debt by stocking up on CDs, DVDs and Books that they don't have time to read or listen to or that they don't ultimately apply to their lives. I did attend a seminar in the last couple of years (paid for by the company I worked for) and the popular, guru barked, "Stop spending money on things you don't need! Get out of debt like I did .....by buying my program and signing up for my next seminar" (in another state with airfare, hotels, not to mention the price tag of the seminar). She then added in similar words, "I know I tell you not to use your credit cards anymore, but if you don't have the money to buy my CDs, books, or subsequent seminars, you can put THOSE on a credit card because they'll ultimately help you." That spoke volumes to me as to how much I didn't need someone else to tell me how to get out of debt. This person was asking 100s or 1000s of dollars (depending on the programs from her never ending library OR seminars you chose to attend) from her followers instead of giving them the tools at THAT seminar to get them out of debt. There was always more to buy, more she was offering. She was good at her job because people flocked to the lines and stood there waiting to swipe their close to maxed credit cards so she could "teach" them what she should have taught them there. That price tag on the seminar they were at was already around $500 a seat and the seminar was TWO DAYS LONG! I'm saying, be careful of who you trust to "teach you" how to get out of debt. If you're trusting them, make sure you're actually getting out of debt with their guidance. If your debt isn't going down, check your statement and make sure your recent purchases are not all to one person or company claiming to have the answers to not being in debt. The answer for why THEY are not in debt is probably YOU.
We did it with planning, sacrifice, determination and consistency. We didn't buy any books, CDs, DVDs, attend seminars or use mentoring.* It wasn't always easy, but we made it. Our debt wasn't caused by buying lots of frivolous things on credit cards or taking lavish vacations (ok, well, we took one that we shouldn't have to Negril, Jamaica - it wasn't that fun). In fact, we sold our house in 2013 in order to make this happen and have been renting and even had to move 3 times in the last 2 years because that's what happens sometimes when you rent houses in a crappy economy. We tried to refinance a number of times and were always turned down, usually close to the end of the process. I had to find a lower paying, full-time job (also in a down economy with no jobs out there) to help out with bills and get health insurance for the kids as well as keep them in whatever activities they were in at the time.
Our debt was caused by a lull in the construction field back in 2010-11 and to keep our home and keep the business afloat until things got better, we had to use credit to move things along. It was a gamble that paid off because our business is now going strong and steady. We have money to pay our bills and now that we don't have to put anything else toward our credit cards, we can really make an effort to save so that we can get out of California - a place where we have gone into debt 2 times in the last 20 years.
This was a 5 year process. We did this with no credit counseling and no debt consolidation programs (which are by the way, as close as you can come to claiming bankruptcy and will KILL your credit). My husband and I spoke with credit card companies directly and got interest reduced to 0% with a payoff program within the company itself (not all will do this). I transferred balances to 0% cards with a 2 year payoff so that we could have a consistent pay period and a plan to get certain balances down. We got a loan from a family member who we consistently paid off over a 2 year period (this isn't an option for most people and we are grateful).
The point is, in our mid-40s, we've learned that there's no quick fixes. Stuff happens that are sometimes beyond our control but we learned from our mistakes and we took control by what I said in the beginning. We learned valuable lessons along the way and have even saved while we were paying off debt.
I keep going to the credit sites and looking at the $0.00 balance numbers on each of them. I'm so proud of us!
*Some people need coaching and guidance and if that is what works for them I am all for it, as long as it is working and they are not putting themselves into more debt by stocking up on CDs, DVDs and Books that they don't have time to read or listen to or that they don't ultimately apply to their lives. I did attend a seminar in the last couple of years (paid for by the company I worked for) and the popular, guru barked, "Stop spending money on things you don't need! Get out of debt like I did .....by buying my program and signing up for my next seminar" (in another state with airfare, hotels, not to mention the price tag of the seminar). She then added in similar words, "I know I tell you not to use your credit cards anymore, but if you don't have the money to buy my CDs, books, or subsequent seminars, you can put THOSE on a credit card because they'll ultimately help you." That spoke volumes to me as to how much I didn't need someone else to tell me how to get out of debt. This person was asking 100s or 1000s of dollars (depending on the programs from her never ending library OR seminars you chose to attend) from her followers instead of giving them the tools at THAT seminar to get them out of debt. There was always more to buy, more she was offering. She was good at her job because people flocked to the lines and stood there waiting to swipe their close to maxed credit cards so she could "teach" them what she should have taught them there. That price tag on the seminar they were at was already around $500 a seat and the seminar was TWO DAYS LONG! I'm saying, be careful of who you trust to "teach you" how to get out of debt. If you're trusting them, make sure you're actually getting out of debt with their guidance. If your debt isn't going down, check your statement and make sure your recent purchases are not all to one person or company claiming to have the answers to not being in debt. The answer for why THEY are not in debt is probably YOU.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
