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I work as a stagehand. I get a lot of questions about this, and I love my work, so I decided to create a section of the site about it. First things first: Okay. I hope that's taken care of all the usual questions and scared off the stupid people. Moving on . . . All my life I knew I wanted a career that let me be creative and didn't coop me up in an office or require me to wear professional dress or any other dull stereotypes. In high school I took two years of tech theatre to satisfy a fine arts requirement and loved it. I didn't start the class with so much enthusiasm, not knowing what exactly we'd be doing, but within a few weeks I'd fallen in love and decided that was what I wanted to do. I majored in film (since I couldn't major in tech without studying acting as well), and once out of college, I set about finding work in the film and theatre industry. For various reasons (including taking care of my dad after his hernia operation and my car repeatedly breaking down), it took me about a year from graduation to finding any work. I've moved back and forth between Houston and Austin; currently I'm in Austin, but I can't wait to get back to Houston again. I will miss my friends in Austin, especially Freefall, after whom one of my cats is named. (The real Freefall, by the way, can be seen here and here.) But that's a small price to pay for getting my career going. Meanwhile, in Austin, I've learned the basics of the industry. I've mostly pushed road cases and built video walls, but I've not wasted that time. Somebody once said to me, "There are two kinds of stagehands: those who can help your career, and those who can't. Stay away from the ones who can't." I took those words to heart; I think it's paid off so far. I know that I have a lot to learn, and because of that I usually feel like I've done only a mediocre job, but the people I've worked for pay me compliments and keep asking me back, so I must be doing something right. Below is a link to a page listing all the gigs I've worked. |
