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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, but that I was kind of worried that the weather would mess up my plans or strand me in the United States (I’m flying from London to Baltimore through Switzerland). He looked at me and said, “of c

**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, everyone does steal my pencils). I also really enjoy the You Can’t See Me t-shirt. Check it out –there’s sure to be something perfect

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 be a real pain. And when you’re not even sure what city, state, or possibly even country you are in, after 24-36 hours straight of work or travel – trying to keep track of a ton of

**This is a true story – but disclaimer: I do not recommend you do this. Or, ya know, do it with caution. Anyway, moral of the story, it was a questionable choice on my part but it all worked out ok. For me. Again, I don’t recommend you do this.** I have been working part time as a stage manager again since June. During the times between contracts though, I’ve been hustling a bit. Most of the hustling is the blog and stage hand work, but once in a while I go scour Craigslis

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 clue they were even a thing for stage managers. Back at the Broadway Stage Management Symposium last June, one of the stage manager’s on one of the panels was talking about her path to Broadway

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 for the workers. You may have seen the stage managers union, Actors’ Equity, in the news over the past year over the lab contract disputes. Lab contracts had been unchanged for years and we

One good thing about working in the arts is that I have a strong hustle mentality. I think that since nearly everyone told me life was going to be really difficult if I took this path, I’ve constantly had an eye out for how to strengthen my financial safety net while I pursue stage managing. I’ve been really fortunate due to a combination of luck and hard work to be pretty successful in my main career, but no matter how you slice it, starting out is kind of rough. Paying off

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 of my first conversations with my new female stage manager here was how irritated we both were at all the conflicting info we found online that didn’t help either of us at all.

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 actually useful? Sigh. Good thing I’m great at ignoring people after I set my sights on something. It’s funny though, I’ve found that not only are a lot of things I was warned about not tru

If you’re an early career stage manager thinking of making the move to NYC, there are a few important financial decisions to make before taking the leap. Some questions to consider: Are your student loans paid off? What is your max rent budget? Have you budgeted for additional expenses? Do you have enough savings to get you through a few months? Do you have a job lined up? What are your plans for survival jobs? How long do you think is a reasonable time to try to “make it”?

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this much lately, but this weekend I’ll be speaking on a financial panel at the Broadway Stage Management Symposium and I’m pretty excited. While there are stage managers of all ages and from all walks of life there, a lot of attendees are also college students and recent grads. As I’ve been thinking over money points to discuss and key financial skills that might help them out, I’ve also been thinking a little bit about 21 year old Mel and al

You know we’re all about frugal ways over here at brokeGIRLrich, but there are a few things that provide so much value, they’re worth saving up for and splurging on. If you’re a student or early career stage manager with Broadway aspirations, the Broadway Stage Management Symposium  is a really amazing weekend crammed with educational lectures, opportunities to try out some new technology, network with some of the best stage managers in the business, see a Broadway show and

I just saw a post for a gig all over the SM Facebook boards that looked super intriguing to me. The show is called “The Hurricane” and it’s a devised, experimental piece. I love these kinds of shows, guys. They are literally my favorite. My entire Master’s degree study revolved around them. Then I saw it. It didn’t have a lot of details but it was mid-March to mid-May - stipend available. And my heart dropped. Stipend available, especially without the stipend listed is

Maybe I’m alone in this opinion, but I think short-term regional contracts are, by far, the loneliest of contracts to take. If you move to a new area, you build a new life, make new friends, join clubs, etc. If you go on tour, everyone is in the same boat and the people you’re on tour with become (at least some) of your friends. But if you go fill do a quick fill in contract for a few weeks or a month or two in another state where most everyone else on the show just lives

I feel a lot of stage managers are Type A folks. I know I am. I have a strong desire to go-go-go and I really like structure. Even at the end of a contract or gig where I feel totally burnt out – totally burnt out lasts approximately one to two weeks for me before I start getting antsy to do something. Don’t get me wrong, I do love that week or two of being a slug and just shuffling aimlessly around my house, binge watching TV and catching up with friends when they’re free,

Finding the right gift for your favorite theatre nerd – or a co-working fellow nerd – can seem like a struggle sometimes. I mean, we’re barely making much in the arts anyway. As someone who has been receiving “theatre” themed gifts for 15 years – I’d still be happy to receive any of these. So here are several reasonably priced gift options that’ll make your loved ones feel like they’re defying gravity. Candles  If you’re shopping for a Hamilton fan, check out these great ca

I am fairly introverted. I think a lot of folks who are drawn to blogging are. And as I consider my departure for my current job, I’ve kind of been amazed at my network and spent a little bit of time pondering the art of networking too. Networking freaks me the heck out. For instance, I’ve been a member of the Stage Manager’s Association, for, oh I don’t know, ten years? Maybe longer. Recently, I saw a post of Facebook that they’re having a holiday party in NYC on a night I

About three years ago, I wrote a post about what it feels like to get used to the idea that income fluctuates crazily when you’re a stage manager.   I’ve been feeling that again as I think about leaving my current job. Over the summer, I wrote a post celebrating 10 years since I started ships, and looking back on the seasons of stage management over those 10 years (and the 4 before it since the first time I ever got paid to stage manage), I can definitely confirm that the in

It’s that wonderful time of year again where I question what has possessed me to pick this occupation. Today I almost quit. Like – almost walked off the job quit. The amount of stress caused by stage managing is just the most ridiculous thing. Why do we even do this? Tonight was our first performance with an invited public and, despite an awful lot of little snags they didn’t really know about, it went pretty well. But the rush I usually get definitely wasn’t there. This ha

Please note this is a sponsored post and I will be compensated if you click any links. However, the opinions are my own and I have bought my own Russian Rosetta Stone to supply these opinions. Let me tell you the story of a 23 year old woman trying to get a bunch of older Filipino men to listen to her. Picture it. 2008. A cruise ship in Alaskan waters. A young stage manager. And a stage crew of close to thirty Filipino men who were maybe listening and maybe weren’t. Supposedl