One Month In

First Month Recap:

I’ve been asked to write about my preconceptions for this contract and how it differs from what I’ve experienced so far. I delayed answering this question for a while because I’m already finding it hard to remember what I was expecting. I’ve had to re-read my introduction and the daily journals I’ve been writing since I arrived. I think the easiest way to tackle this particular question is to separate it into four parts: 1) The actual job 2) the people 3) the social activities and 4) the small town (and the winter that is making it feel even smaller).

1)                   (The Job) As previously mentioned in my introduction, since graduating theatre school I made the choice to throw myself into my career. I said yes to every job opportunity and passed up on a lot of social activities and at times came close to burning myself out. I didn’t think it was possible to do well in the arts if you didn’t put 110% of your energy towards making it happen. Finances has a lot to do with it, but taking the right jobs, meeting the right people and trying to learn something as quickly as possible, as best you can to make that first impression an impression that will make a company want you to come back is a very important factor as an emerging artist. Yes, this is something that everyone faces, but specifically in the arts a big challenge is the short contracts. You have to walk into a completely new place that has its own systems and adapt immediately to the way that particular office/company runs. You meet tons of new people and learn to work in their system while trying to keep your system alive and growing. Each contract you take with a new company (which can happen on a 6 week rotation-or sometimes less) you basically start all over again. Adaptability is key. I think what I was most looking forward to was that I would be at one place for 8 months. A place that can really get to know me and watch me grow and develop as an artist, not a place that sees me for 2 seconds and if I’m lucky-those 2 seconds happen to be great 2 seconds. I’m very happy that this is the reality here. I was definitely nervous my first day, but my excitement levels were much higher. I didn’t pretend to be anything, I just existed and took a breath and allowed the day to carry me, I didn’t hide behind anything and I never felt for one second like I shouldn’t be here or didn’t deserve this job-a mistake I made often last year. Alison (my boss) gave my co-apprentice (Théa) and I this great speech about this experience being a place for us to learn and make mistakes because we have such a support system around us and that mistakes happen every day by everyone. It’s not the mistakes, it’s how you handle them. She really made me feel safe and gave me an environment that allowed me to learn. I’ve had people say to me over the last year that graduating from theatre school makes people cocky and arrogant and like they know everything and that always made me feel like I needed to be cautious about how I acted-even though what I kept feeling was overwhelmed by how little I actually knew. It made me feel like I wasn’t in a safe place and that I didn’t have the room to make mistakes. I retreated way more than I wanted to. Here…I feel so welcome and liberated. One of the most surprising things I’ve learned so far is how different the rest of Canada is. Montreal is very limiting in certain ways-language is one of those ways, but not the only one. The job opportunities in the rest of Canada are way better for an English stage manager and the apprentices are definitely better supported in Ontario. It’s very unfortunate that there isn’t a standard salary for an apprentice because it makes it very hard to excel when you have to find other ways to support yourself and your time and energy is stretched thin. One of the biggest gems about this job so far is that I can fully concentrate on being a stage manager. I’m looking forward to knowing how working in an IATSEE house is going to affect my job. I’m really excited about being allowed to concentrate on the things that I would normally not have time to do.

2)                   (The People) The people here are fantastic. I knew I would be working with really talented people in my field, but I’ve had the chance to work with amazing people in Montreal too, so that actually isn’t different. The difference is that the people I’m working with right now have worked all across Canada and have experiences with so many different companies. I find in Montreal, companies definitely have their favorites-which is totally justified, however sometimes it’s nice to have a change in scenery. I really get along with my roommate, my neighbours, the other apprentice and so far with all the stage managers I’ve interacted with. What I didn’t really think about before arriving was how many different shows and stage management teams would be working at the same time. Eventually (in the next two weeks or so) there will be a team of 12 stage managers running around. There are so many resources under the same roof and they’re all so willing to stop and chat with you about your work. It really is a family here.

3)                   (The Social Activities) I was told it would be like a family here and I didn’t really understand the full scope of what that meant. I started to get that feeling of belonging on my first day, but it wasn’t until we had our first company gathering that I really started to understand. In my second week there were about 4 company events: A tour at the scenic art shop, an annual company potluck, a movie screening of Into the Woods in the Festival Theatre (Mainstage) and a pizza party (I was also strongly encouraged to join the company cricket team…once the snow melted). I was shocked at how many people just came up to me and introduced themselves, and how easily everyone mingled and talked to everyone else. There were no sub groups, no egos, no expectations or hierarchy, there was just one big group, everyone hanging out. In Montreal, when I go to opening nights or big artist events, I always feel like I have to dress up and impress people and network and grease elbows and schmooze or suck up to someone-it’s all just so awkward and an unfortunate side of the business. It was so refreshing being in an environment where my livelihood didn’t depend on picking the right words to say. At the beginning of the third week I was given a ‘lecture’ by my boss about making sure I went to these social events and that I got a chance to have fun and make friends-mostly because I’d go insane if I sat at home after work every day by myself, but also because it was part of the experience and there are so many events the company does on a regular basis (impromptu cabaret style evenings, or company game nights for example). I told her that she need not worry- I went to a party after the pizza night and have already had a few game nights with my roommate and neighbours. There may be a total of 3 or 4 nights where I didn’t hang out with my neighbours so far. I also told her that the fact that I even have the time for a social life-let alone be encouraged to peruse it is a huge deal. It’s wonderful being able to finally balance my personal life and my work life.

4)                   (The Town). This is the part that did not match my expectations. I’ve lived my entire life in Montreal. I’ve lived in so many different neighbourhoods-from West Island Suburbia to the Plateau to Verdun and pretty much everywhere in between. I’ve also been fortunate to travel to a ton of different cities across the world, but nothing could prepare me for how tiny this town is. I arrived in town 4 days before my contract so that I would have time to settle into my apartment and explore the town a bit. My dad drove me to the grocery store before he drove home. This was the first culture shock. The grocery store-the only grocery store in a 15 km radius (a Valuemart if that means anything to you). The prices were double what I was used to and the selection was very small. I hadn’t brought much with me in terms of food so for the first week I felt a little deprived. It wasn’t until I got a lift with my friend to Ste- Catherines-to a proper grocery store that I felt I could actually find food I wanted to have. I grocery shopped like I’d never see food again. After my dad left, It took about 30 minutes to unpack and then I spent the evening getting to know my roommate. She told me everything I needed to know about the town. There is one main street. The closest Tim Horton’s is a 20 minute walk, the library/community center is a 30 minute walk and there is a bus that runs in and out of town a few times a day. There are no corner stores and nothing is open late. Every store in Niagara on the Lake is a tourist store and my apartment doesn’t have its own mail box (or a doorbell). If I want anything practical I have to drive into Virgil (the closest town-15 kms) or Ste-Catherines (25 kms), which meant that I have to depend on someone else for lifts. No one delivers food to your house either. This is going to be a challenge. Thankfully my neighbour/co-apprentice has a car and we’re basically inseparable anyway, so I lucked out. On my second day in town I went out for a walk to discover the town. I was back home in less than an hour. Yep. Small town. We got internet set up and I finally got a Netflix account and just spent 3 days watching Netflix with my roommate. I’ve since decided to cancel my Netflix account because there actually is way more to this town and now that rehearsals are starting up there’s plenty to do. I really love it here. It takes me 5 minutes to get to work, and I live equidistance from the other two theatres. My favorite luxury is being able to walk home for lunch and have time to enjoy it.

The only other thing that’s different than what I was expecting was the office part of the job-mostly because I had NO idea what to expect. For the first 5 weeks of my contract all my responsibilities are office maintenance. I create documents related to the season, book halls and meetings, create the daily (a document that tells you everything that’s happening in the entire festival on a particular day and who’s involved in each activity), send out emails/make phone calls, order office supplies etc…I’ve never done any of this before and it’s such an exciting and rewarding part of this particular job.

The learning curve has been steep, but so much of it is what I hoped and dreamed it would be, and the things I didn’t expect are all hidden gems I’m so happy to have discovered. I love Montreal and I’m so proud to have roots in the Montreal Art scene but I’m so grateful to have a chance to experience something else entirely.