A lot of this blog was came about because when I was looking for financial tips, so few seemed to apply to the touring life – which is what I have largely lived during my time in the arts. There are some definite benefits to building a nomadic career and, of course, some unique challenges…
In September, I wrote an article that focused on the various side hustles that people who work in the arts are using to get by right now. Not a list of ideas for you to necessarily tackle, but a literal list of shops of tangible things people can buy to support arts workers until the…
So who is ready for this pandemic to be over? And is it just me, or does it feel like everyone outside of the events industry has figured out how to get on with their lives in this “new normal” and while they complain a little about things, for the most part, their lives are…
I am super excited to go on the CircusTalk podcast in November where I’ll get to share my passion for personal finance with the wider circus community. In preparation for that interview, the host was kind enough to send over a few of the questions she’s planning on asking, so in preparation for the show,…
Back in June, I did my first Zoom production of The Yellow Wallpaper, you can find a detailed breakdown of it in this post. In July and August, I worked on a second production with the same company, which was pretty exciting because it gave me a chance to try to fix a few of…
About a year ago now, I bought an iPad. My ASM at the time had one and she used it constantly. I don’t know if this is one of my first experiences with a technology age gap or what (strike that, the first was actually Snapchat. Don’t understand it and don’t care), but I did…
One thing I’ve talked about a lot here over the years are side hustles, and it turns out the arts community are pretty phenomenal at it. If you’re looking for inspiration for things you could do as side hustles or looking for unique ways to support arts workers, here are some side hustles (some of…
We live in weird times, but one of the silver linings right now is the incredible wealth of information stage managers are pouring out on the internet. While some of these sources have been around for years, others seem to be popping up daily while stage managers find cool, new ways to put that urge…
So the latest in my list of projects I’ve been working on during this pandemic was a course that caught my eye on Facebook – How to Communicate Like a Buddhist. Stage Managers are the hub of communication for a production. Buddhists aim to communicate in ways that are kind, honest and helpful. So I…
What a time to be alive. I have a Google alert set on “stage manager” and every day I get an email with a listing of articles published online that mention stage manager. Early on in quarantine, I saw an interview with the Pandemic Players and thought, “oh, that’s interesting.” And so began my dive…
I just want to start this post with the idea that relaxing and resetting aren’t bad things to do with some of the extra time we find ourselves with in the unusual and extraordinary turbulent time we find ourselves in. Amp up your bubble bath time. Read for fun. Go for long, rambling, solitary walks.…
Most of the time when we talk about a stage management toolkit, we’re talking about a literal Mary Poppins-eqsue box of stuff you use to solve problems in rehearsals and performances. I’ve talked about this before in terms of personal finance. In my personal finance toolkit, I have things like budget worksheets and net worth…
Networking feels like such a dirty word to me (though it is not). The thing that helped me with it the most was a mindset change. I used to go into networking events thinking what can this do for me. Then I can across a wildly useful tip – think of networking as what you…
Ya’ll, lets look at the 2019 Stage Manager Survey today. “The what?” you might say. Every couple of years, David J. McGraw and whatever university he’s working at (I believe it’s currently Elon), conduct a fairly extensive survey of stage managers polling everything from education level, frequency of wearing show blacks, types of training, how…
Times might be a little tougher than usual right now and if you’re trying to figure out how to make your finances work until your next paycheck, below is a collection of resources for you to explore. Government Welfare Programs Unemployment Insurance Benefits: this program provides a payout based on your previous income until you…
I have been thinking a lot this week about how some of my career choices feel more like a miracle than something I managed to do on my own. I started stage managing full time in 2008, which many of you may remember as a very bad year, followed by a few more bad years…
A few days ago, I came across this tweet and thought, “we are all pretty screwed if the freelancers who never mention money are now worrying about money”: Of course, I think about money all the time, so no surprise there. The number of events starting to get cancelled or moved to an undetermined date…
You might hear a lot of warnings about how difficult life is if you work in the arts – and it can a struggle at times – but one thing you don’t hear about very often is how very lucrative touring can be. I’m not even talking about being on a super high paying gig.…
One of the moments I knew I was working for a company with some really good people was when I grabbed lunch with our Associate Director a few weeks ago while we were in rehearsals. I mentioned that I had planned to fly home for Christmas Eve and back to the tour on Christmas night,…
**This post contains affiliate links.** Looking for something for your favorite stage manager for the holidays? Well, here are some cool items that won’t break the bank but will likely make their day. NINJA This store is full of awesome shirts, cool pins, fun patches, clever stickers and, my personal favorites, snarky pencils (because, yes,…
One of the quiet perks of touring a lot is racking up crazy amounts of award points with airlines and hotels. The thing is though, there’s usually one easy moment to add your rewards number – checking in for your flight or checking in at the hotel. After that point, to add them retroactively, can…
I feel like I used my time in college pretty wisely to help build a foundation for my future career, but if I could turn back time, the one thing I would’ve really liked to do was an internship. I never even heard the word internship uttered at my college. I honestly didn’t have a…
In the late 1800s, unions began to rise to prominence. They fought for better pay, better work conditions, and fair benefits. And since a union has the power of a lot, if not most or all, of the workers in a field behind it, the leaders of the union were able to negotiate most effectively…
Everything in this post applies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is the least conservative city in Saudi Arabia. Please be aware that if you are going to any of the other cities, there may be stricter restrictions. I’m going to write the post I couldn’t find about touring in Saudi Arabia as a female. One…
Back when I was going to school, all the well meaning folks in my family had a lot of opinions about my degree choice. How would I find work? Did I know it probably wouldn’t pay anything? Did I know most people don’t actually succeed in this field? Didn’t I think I should study something…