Good Help is Hard to Find
And now a few words from our Technical Director, Gerard J. Savoy.
Well technically it’s not hard to find good help, but it’s going to cost you. So what better place for me to hang my technical hardhat but with a non-profit theater company. POY members wear lots of hats as do most who work in the wonderful world of Off Off Off... Broadway. I’m an actor, a writer, a set designer, a carpenter, a painter, a prop master, a lighting designer, a stage manager, a script reader, a tech, a gopher, a confidant, the muscle but what I really want to do is direct... not really. If it needs to get done, we as a group take charge and get it done, even if it is out of our realm of experience. My feeling is that one learns by doing. Now here’s the rub. I’ve got a Superman complex. (Johnny’s got one too, but that’s material for another time.) I have a difficult time with letting things go. Not in the “I can forgive but will never forget” sense (although my family will beg to differ) but in the sense that there are others out there who are fully capable of doing what needs to be done. So where are these people?
Well, they’re all over the place. Put an ad anywhere, do the word of mouth thing and you will get an influx of talented techs from the 4 corners of the earth. Once you weed out the nuts (and let’s be honest, in this business there are plenty to go around), you compile a list of people who can get the job done. You’re set. Now it’s time to get down to the details. Availability, experience, personality are all things that you’re looking at... after all, we’re not desperate here (snicker). So, you finally get that together and you’re left with the one person who fits the bill. They are going to be your Rock Star! They are finishing your sentences for Pete's sake! Everything’s ready to go, Set Phasers to Stun (you’re welcome, Johnny). Then the question comes up: How much does it pay?... Aw Man! You just killed my puppy. Did you not read the ad? Did the person that recommended you not fill you in? Non-Profit means, we ain’t got no cash. “Oh I’m sorry but I thought it was a mistake.” Or even better yet “Oh…you were serious?”
So what’s a company to do? Well you manage. You double, triple, and often quadruple the tasks that your team is responsible for. You make do. And hopefully, you think to yourself, "Someday we’ll have the money to hire the truly wonderful people that require monetary compensation for their efforts." In the meantime, you know that you have what no money could pay for: people you think of as family. Who devote their time, talent and love to do whatever it takes to put on the best productions possible. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by those people.
So if you are out there and have the time, talent and passion for what you do, let us know. We’d love to meet you; even if you are a little nutty (emphasis on little). We’ve got plenty of a lot nutty already. (Talk to Marc Adam Smith for two minutes if you don’t believe me).
Well technically it’s not hard to find good help, but it’s going to cost you. So what better place for me to hang my technical hardhat but with a non-profit theater company. POY members wear lots of hats as do most who work in the wonderful world of Off Off Off... Broadway. I’m an actor, a writer, a set designer, a carpenter, a painter, a prop master, a lighting designer, a stage manager, a script reader, a tech, a gopher, a confidant, the muscle but what I really want to do is direct... not really. If it needs to get done, we as a group take charge and get it done, even if it is out of our realm of experience. My feeling is that one learns by doing. Now here’s the rub. I’ve got a Superman complex. (Johnny’s got one too, but that’s material for another time.) I have a difficult time with letting things go. Not in the “I can forgive but will never forget” sense (although my family will beg to differ) but in the sense that there are others out there who are fully capable of doing what needs to be done. So where are these people?
Well, they’re all over the place. Put an ad anywhere, do the word of mouth thing and you will get an influx of talented techs from the 4 corners of the earth. Once you weed out the nuts (and let’s be honest, in this business there are plenty to go around), you compile a list of people who can get the job done. You’re set. Now it’s time to get down to the details. Availability, experience, personality are all things that you’re looking at... after all, we’re not desperate here (snicker). So, you finally get that together and you’re left with the one person who fits the bill. They are going to be your Rock Star! They are finishing your sentences for Pete's sake! Everything’s ready to go, Set Phasers to Stun (you’re welcome, Johnny). Then the question comes up: How much does it pay?... Aw Man! You just killed my puppy. Did you not read the ad? Did the person that recommended you not fill you in? Non-Profit means, we ain’t got no cash. “Oh I’m sorry but I thought it was a mistake.” Or even better yet “Oh…you were serious?”
So what’s a company to do? Well you manage. You double, triple, and often quadruple the tasks that your team is responsible for. You make do. And hopefully, you think to yourself, "Someday we’ll have the money to hire the truly wonderful people that require monetary compensation for their efforts." In the meantime, you know that you have what no money could pay for: people you think of as family. Who devote their time, talent and love to do whatever it takes to put on the best productions possible. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by those people.
So if you are out there and have the time, talent and passion for what you do, let us know. We’d love to meet you; even if you are a little nutty (emphasis on little). We’ve got plenty of a lot nutty already. (Talk to Marc Adam Smith for two minutes if you don’t believe me).
posted by Sean Rodriguez at
9:11 AM
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