Burn Out
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URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1908
Printed Date: 5/10/24 at 2:21am
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Topic: Burn Out
Posted By: k8tt
Subject: Burn Out
Date Posted: 7/01/06 at 2:41pm
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How do other small CT volunteers deal with burn out when you have a limited number of people who do ten different jobs? Guess I shouldn't have done so many plays back-to-back. I am tired of volunteering doing a zillion things for the CT. I usually SM most of our shows and am President of the Board of Directors. Everyone assumes I will be SMing the fall and Xmas shows. I finally told the fall play's director I will not do it, but haven't told the AD that I don't want to SM the Xmas show either. I don't even like these two plays! |
Replies:
Posted By: Playwright
Date Posted: 7/01/06 at 4:50pm
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Stick to your guns. You need a break. If you were seriulsy ill (thankfully you're not) or if you had to move away etc. and just weren't there they'd have to find somebody to do your job. Tell them if they get pushy that if you don't take these next two shows off then you just won't be able to come back at all.
I'm wondering how am I going to handle the depression that is going to hit me when my show ends. World premiere of my second full length play is July 6th and goes until July 15th. I've developed a close bond with some of the cast members. How do I handle saying goodbye to them??????? |
Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 7/01/06 at 7:58pm
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K8tt before you go around the twist, take a sickie! You don?t have to pull the pin, just become unavailable for the next season &/or do something else, like trying to evaporate for that period. Put your feet up, have a cup of tea & let them get on with it- by allowing them to ?use the difficulty?. You don?t have to hibernate & cut off completely. Take a back seat, but stay on the fringe & give yourself & them a bit of space. Offer to do FOH for the performances or even run a stagecraft workshop. Above all keep the next production at arms length! ------------- [western] Gondawandaland "Hear the light & see the sound! TOI TOI CHOOKAS {may you always play to a full house!} |
Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 7/02/06 at 1:32am
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There are many reading this who are in the same boat, who have been "living" at their theatre. And it's because there aren't enough of us. Because we don't bring enough new people in. Because we don't meet new people. Because all the people we know are already working at the theatre. Which means that we need to get out and mix more with non-theatre people (if we can stand it) and try to turn them into theatre people too! In our theatre and I'm sure at others, there are people who care only to be on stage and not do their share of behind the scenes stuff. We have tried in our theatre to request that cast members spend at least 16 hours on some other part of the production -- set building, costuming, painting, etc. It really helps when we have a cast that takes the request to heart. |
Posted By: Playwright
Date Posted: 7/02/06 at 10:15am
| I know of one CT up in my neck of the woods who would not cast anybody unless they had first helped out in the production end of a play. Don't know how well it worked or if they still do it. Now in my area there are so many CT's that when auditons are held the groups are lucky to have a dozen people show up. And we never have enough men. Directors usually end up calling the men and begging them to audition or saying 'The part is yours if you just come out.' |
Posted By: Linda S
Date Posted: 7/02/06 at 10:17am
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Hi K8tt, I am exactly where your are, or I was. I direct for two theater companies and was president of one for so long I can't remember not being president. For the past 2 terms I took on the position out of a sense of obligation, not because I wanted it. I have directed back to back shows for the last six years and my last five shows have over lapped. I was toast. January this year I told both companies that I was taking a haitus. That I would meet my obligations to them for the rest of the season. Then I resigned from the board. They were shocked, but I was relieved to have my life back. I directed a show for each one of them and am now taking some time for me. Two amazing things have happened. First, new people were sought out and added to the board. New faces were showing up, volunteering and having a great time. Second, a very well repected theater company called me. They heard I was available. Now, that was interesting. I have no qualms now about my decision. I truely enjoyed directing my last show because I didn't have other projects to worry about. The theater will be just fine. I am just fine, and so will you be. Take the break. Linda Guess what? Underneath all those weeds there is a garden. |
Posted By: dougb
Date Posted: 7/02/06 at 11:46am
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This is more of a vent than a lucid answer to the original question. I am in the same boat - burned out without much help in sight. I started our theater in 1999 when we started a readers theater program. Readers theaters were easy - six rehearsals and two or three performances done every three or four months. We had no home and always went where the space was free to use. We have a big theater that did five or six productions a year and we filled in around the edges. Then we found a permanent home at our local Grange that had fallen on hard times. It had a stage. I retired in 2002 and since then I spend 40 to 50 hours a week there. We added sets, curtains, light bars, a lighting system, new sound system and, in general, fixed up the interior of the building. I did about 99% of the work. My agreement with myself is that I would do everything and never bitch about not having any help. I agreed with myself that, as soon as I started to complain about the work load, I would quit. I produce everything, direct 99% of it, do all the tech design, build the sets and yes, clean the bathrooms. Success happened. At first I was happy but now I am getting burned out. The big theater has dropped back to maybe two productions a year and we are up to overlapping productions. Since January, we have done four productions and our fifth comes up in August. Besides the show I am working on, I am at various stages of development on our next two shows. Along the way, I have picked up lots of volunteers who are always willing to help - but - I need to keep things going, have projects and materials and money for the things the volunteers are doing. 90% of the volunteers need close supervision which stretches me further. Two weeks ago, I held auditions for our August show of Ten Minute Scenes. Actors love them - only eight rehearsals then three to six performances. They kill the director - instead of 30 to 35 rehearsals for a full production, I have 65 to 70 rehearsals (8 times 8 plus a few). Only four people came to the auditions. If I do a full production I might need six to eight actors. With scenes I need a minimum of 16 actors and more like 20 to 24. I spent several days trying to fill out the rest of the scenes then gave up. I had promised my wife that I would cast the shows, hold a rehearsal or two then we would take a short vacation then I would come back and work with the actors after they were off book to polish the scenes. Then several people who had been cast called me to say they couldn't do the show on one night because a friend had announced they were getting married on that day. What does a day time wedding have to do with a night time performance, I ask. "Well, if we have a performance that night we can't drink at the wedding and that won't be any fun." When I announced that I was cancelling the August show and future shows were not going to happen either unless there were actors ready to do the show the e-mails and phone calls started. "you can't quit" "what will we do?" "I want to be in a show in September" (There is no September show). The lists started coming: "did you call x and y and z? They might be interested." Why don't you call them for me? "I don't know what you want well enough." So what happens? I cancel the planned vacation (sorry wife) and keep trying to cast the show. I will probably get it cast in two or three more days, but for the first time, the frustration of doing a show exceeds the fun I get from doing it. Unlike Linda, I am not willing to let others just take over. I have spent years building a reputation for our theater company and I don't want that to get damaged by inept productions. If I stop, I will close our theater down and just cease business. But I will miss it. A lot. |
Posted By: Linda S
Date Posted: 7/02/06 at 1:31pm
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Doug, It seems that there a lot of us out there who are over-worked. I remember when I canceled my 20th anniversary trip to deal with a disaster at the theater. My husband was great about it, although I am not sure that he completely understood. He is up for sainthood for putting up with me and the theater for the last 27 years. It think the spouses of us theater junkies are the unsung heros of community theater. He just says he knew what he was getting into when he married me. Now it is time to give him some time. Best of luck with your next show. Linda
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Posted By: k8tt
Date Posted: 7/02/06 at 3:28pm
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I'm glad I'm not the only one with burnout, or whose family takes a backseat sometimes. Doug, you need to take your wife on a vacation!  I'm worried that I will end up where you are since we are on the verge of getting a theatre built in an old warehouse that's being renovated. Right now I'm trying to get the Board to come up with a solid business plan. If the new theatre venue goes ahead then it's me who supervises the reno.I really wish we could get new blood into our theatre but we have the same old members: ones who only want to come to the shows, members who only want to be on stage (and you can barely get them to help with tear-down) and SO many people who waffle: "Well, I REALLY want to audition/do sound tech/usher/etc. but...." Maybe if we get this new theatre venue going we'll get more people on board. It's difficult when you don't have a home and go from pillar to post. One reason I don't want to be involved in the next two plays is that I CANNOT stand the owners of the two buildings we'd be using. But, Joe, your suggestion of doing FOH is a good one. That way our FOH person can audition (which she's always wanted to do, but we keep her behind the ticket table since she's so good). Thanks for this forum so we can all vent!  |
Posted By: Shatcher
Date Posted: 7/03/06 at 11:12am
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I think people in our business burn out all the time. I gave up production work for a while because I was just palin tired of being walked on. I was told by one CT director that he didn't care about my burn out or my life ( I have 2 small children). I have had problems with this guy before, so I told him to shove it(I did not asy Shove it but I am tring to keep it clean :) ) He was not able to get a new SM because no one wants to deal with people like that. I think the work suffers if we try to work through the burn out Best thing I ever did was to take a break, it was hard but after a year and a half or so I was yearning for the theatre and was able to love it again. Burn out effects the work so much,it is better to take a break and come back fresh. I hate to see people drive themselves into the ground and end up hating theatre. My husband is a theatre guy too and when our first child was born he was doing 3 shows back to back. after that we made a rule neither one of us does back to back shows and we don't do shows at the same time. Our art is very important to us but the kids come first, we want our kids to love theatre not feel like they lost their parents to it. Now that my oldest is in school she loves the theatre and will be in her first play this fall (Macbeth no less) she will get to play my hudbands son. So take your break, take your spouse on vacation,take care of your family, or just take a little me time. It will make your work better and you will feel better. The theatre will live on... |
Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 7/03/06 at 1:25pm
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I know I?m probably the most guilty, of denying
others the opportunity to work in theatre, because I tend to step in
& do it! Instead of doing just one job I end up Directing, Designing, construction & operating, either because I can?t find anyone or I?m too slack to worry/bother looking for anyone to do it. While I think community theatre tends to flog the willing the horse, until it is cream crackered. Or do we start believing, that no one can do our job the same &/or defranchise anyone who may want to have a go! Maybe we hang on too long for our own good - not really helping theatre! The biggest reusable resource in community theatre is people! ------------- [western] Gondawandaland "Hear the light & see the sound! TOI TOI CHOOKAS {may you always play to a full house!} |
Posted By: Sueshoo
Date Posted: 7/08/06 at 7:20pm
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I spent 5 years straight doing it all - directing, marketing, board member, props, stage manager...well you get the picture. And then one day I said to myself (ok it did not happen in a day more like over a very long tiring year). "Whoa!, this is NOT a fulltime job - you are a volunteer and this is supposed to be fun! So you can continue to burn yourself out and become resentful or you can just take a break!" So I quit the board, which was the hardest thing because I am not a quitter. I completed all obligations for the season close, tied up loose ends and left. This past season I completed the last obligation of doing props for a production. And have cheerfully volunteered myself for a few nights of box office. And when they say "come on back, you know you miss this" , I smile and say "I miss the people but not the work." For now this is my decision who knows what will happen in the future. But I have learned that when you stop having fun - it's time to stop. K8tt, I wish you the best in your decision, it is not an easy one, but it is one that only you can make. Susan
------------- Susan Life is not a Dress Rehearsal |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 7/09/06 at 5:52pm
| So, how do you go about recruiting new people? I guess that's the 64 thousand dollar question. |
Posted By: k8tt
Date Posted: 7/09/06 at 6:05pm
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Thank you, Susan, Sounds like you did the same thing I am doing now. *G* I have two weeks before auditions to decide if I'll help out for the next play. I don't think I can resign as Pres. of the Board until year-end. Might help if I got cast in one of the next two plays and let someone else handle backstage, marketing, box office, etc. We are having a Board Retreat in a couple of weeks to try and come up with ways to recruit new people. But, geez, we can't even get our own members to put on costumes and entertain the crowds at a street fair next month! Maybe everyone is burned out. 
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Posted By: red diva
Date Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:17am
Old topic, I know, but I just happened upon it.
I've just got to vent.....I've worked in all areas of theatre: tech, directing, acting, choreographing, so I think I have a fair idea of the time element involved in each. I have found that the areas that take the most time are directing and acting. Your idea is an interesting one, Kathy S, but when are the actors supposed to find the time to work on some other area of the production? In our theatre at least, when someone is in a play they have committed themselves to 5 nights a week, 2-3 hours a night (or more in some cases), 7 weeks for a book show from auditions to closing, 10 weeks for a musical......in addition to finding the time to memorize lines, do character work, etc., holding down a full-time job and having a family.
I'm losing patience with hearing that actors have the "cushy" job. Besides the time element involved, actors are the ones that put their butts on the stage to succeed or fail. If the play is a dog, they are the ones out there taking the heat. Yes, they are also the ones that "get the applause"...I won't deny that, but I think they have paid for the privilege with the time they have invested and the risks that they take just walking onto that stage.
It's funny, but I've never heard the complaint that tech people "don't do their share of " onstage work!! And don't tell me that "I don't have any acting ability" or "I'd be too scared to". There are lots of walk-on, cameo, and supporting roles that could be filled by novice actors.
I have found just as much satisfaction in creating a well-dressed set, an innovative set design, a beautiful costume, or finding a period-appropriate
prop as I have in creating a character on stage. The thanks of the director are as fulfilling to me as a techie as applause is to me as an actor. And in many cases it's much more sincere than the audience giving you the obligatory standing ovation for any performance, good or bad. ------------- "I've worked long and hard to earn the right to be called Diva!" |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:46am
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Red.... How many of these have you responded too... This is not the first thread of its kind.. nor the last.. The burn out portion of the thread has many avenues to explore beyond the "under appreciated tech" aspect... I think the important thing here is not to try and convince those that feel that way that they are wrong, but to make them feel appreciated... For without them, the work all falls back on those who are left behind..
It really dosn't take much to make others feel important or appreciated if you think about it, isn't it a small price to pay????
Just an ole, actor, director, producer, designer, builder, lighter, foley, board member, committee working guys opinion.... but know matter where you are on the pole, its nice to hear thanks occationally.... ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: red diva
Date Posted: 5/31/07 at 1:28pm
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MartyW: Knew this one would smoke you out of the woodwork. The point I was mainly concerned with was that of asking actors to put in 16 hours of work on other areas per show. The point I was trying to make was that they don't have that time to spare without taking away from what they are trying to do on the stage. The point I was trying to make was that this is another way you burn out your people!
I am with you entirely on the "thank you" thing. I too have been on the receiving end of not being thanked for things that I have done at the theatre. The point that I was trying to make is that that little "thank you" should mean as much to you as the applause does to the actors.
If it sounded like the point that I was trying to make is that the techies should just get over it, read my posting again. The point I was trying to make was that actors are sometimes as underappreciated and overworked as techies feel they are. ALL of our theatre participants need the "thank yous". Read it again....that's the point I'm trying to make.
As for "Red, how many of these have you responded to?".... you're responding to this one, aren't you? As you have to many of the others that I have also responded to.
And, Marty, you should know me better than to think that I don't understand the value of a "thank you".
Signed, just another ole actor, director, designer, lighter, sound operator, board member and 3 time president , committee member, costume designer and builder, props master......who happens to agree with you about the thank you issue. That wasn't the point of my posting, though it's an important one too. (This probably sounds grouchier that I meant it to, but as I mentioned in another posting, I am sleep deprived at the moment and my normally bright, tactful, and positive way of putting things
 seems to have departed me for the moment. It also could be that I am subbing in a classroom of evil children in which the thermostat is registering 90 degrees.)Love ya, really. ------------- "I've worked long and hard to earn the right to be called Diva!" |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 5/31/07 at 1:51pm
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Ever notice that I only reply to this type thread AFTER you do... .lol ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 5/31/07 at 5:52pm
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I agree Red, the little thank you should means as much as the applause for the actors, however the thank yous are few and far between. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 6/01/07 at 2:23am
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It sounds like you think picked on actors. I'm sorry, RedDiva, I didn't mean to do that. The cast commits to a huge amount of time outside of rehearsals to prepare for rehearsals. Let me further clarify this request for 16 hours of production work. It IS a REQUEST, not a REQUIREMENT. It can be in ANY AREA of production of their choice (distributing posters, pulling costumes, painting sets, carrying in a lunch for a work day). Or they can offer their family members to help which is sometimes the case. We don't keep track of anybody's hours and it does not count against them in any way if they cannot do it. (Sometimes we have a young child in the cast who would not be able to satisfy the request. Often parents are happy to help out.) It works for us. |
Posted By: eveharrington
Date Posted: 6/02/07 at 6:19pm
I don't want to start an argument because I can understand your frustration, but I would not be too anxious to work with someone who clearly thinks that they are the only one capable of doing things properly. Step back, let someone else do it,and don't complain when it doesn't perfectly match the image in your brain. I bet you will find that when people feel they are contributing to something they can be a part of and not just working on YOUR theater, and YOUR production that they will be willing to do a lot more. ------------- "If nothing else, there's applause... like waves of love pouring over the footlights." |
Posted By: bbpchick
Date Posted: 7/17/07 at 8:41pm
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Well burn out is a big problem at our CT right now because our theater didn't do much in the last few years...(long story). Well not burn out but the fear of burn out. We deal with it by making it a point at each board meeting to give people a chance to ask for help. Basically it's on our agena each time "How can we help you?" It's really worked well for us because things just don't seem as overwhelming and you don't feel as alone when you know you have 8 other people ready and willing to help and take on responsibilities.
Someone asked about bringing in new blood. For us it's not as hard because we are the only all voluenteer community theater in our area. There are 3 other live theaters, but they are all professional. So we really play up the "no experience necissary" angle. And put it out there that we are a training ground. Once we started doing that we had more and more people come out each audition.
The other thing to do is pace yourself.
We do 3 productions a year and thats it. Of course we do fundraisers and concerts and such, but as far as plays go we have put a limit on how many we do so that actors, tech, directors and such dont' get burned out and dont' "live" at the theater.
 Kendra ------------- Kendra http://www.murphysblackbartplayer.com - www.murphysblackbartplayers.com You are NEVER too old to dress up! |
Posted By: Nanette
Date Posted: 7/18/07 at 5:06pm
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With the last show we staged, I asked that a parent or guardian come with each child (we are a children's theatre) to the initial production meeting. I then passed around a clipboard listing various positions with which we needed help. In less than 30 minutes EVERY position was filled, from costumes to set construction to backstage help to FOH to refreshments after the performances. From this list I now have 4 people who have "permanently volunteered" to build and/or paint our sets and a costumer!!! It's amazing, especially since all I did was ASK!
I don't see why this wouldn't work with a regular CT also. Pass the clipboard around at your next meeting and see what happens. Maybe there are spouses or children who would like to help out, but have never been asked to do so.
Initially you may need to "train" these people, but don't forget to ask for help to begin with. ------------- In a world of margarine, be butter! |
Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 7/29/07 at 10:03pm
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Nanette, you bring up a great point, we forget to ask those around us for help. Many people don't realize how much works go into a show and some say they don't want to get involved because its "theater".
I know one director who went to a construction site for help, she now has a set construction crew for every show (many are always willing to design sets as well). I asked a friend of my mother to stage manage a show for me (she now has down over 100 shows as a stage manager).
It just goes to show that you can't expect helpers to come to you, you need to go out and find them. Need someone to paint contact an art club or school art class. Need a costumer ask a professional sales person in the clothing industry. And if you need some one to call a show or stage manager get a librarian (they keep people in line and like to keep it quiet).
------------- The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes. |