Seeking Work-Life Balance in the “New Normal” — How do YOU do it?
By Carolyn Marie Wright
In today’s job market, there is a greater focus on — and a wider range of — work environment options. If you are navigating new employment possibilities, you may notice a variety of job shapes including in-person, remote, temporarily remote, work from home, and hybrid remote/in-person. For theatre and education folx, this increases the search parameters geographically. In my opinion, this also encourages job-seekers to discern what kind of work-life balance and quality of life they desire.
Back in the summer of 2020, I planned a trip “home” to upstate New York, from Phoenix, to visit friends and family at the end of the academic year. I was cautious to follow COVID protocol and was quarantined upon arrival. (A story for another time that includes renting a “silver bullet” camper and living on the back paddock of a horse barn in Saratoga Springs.) After the appropriate time period of social distancing and the affirmation of a negative COVID test, I moved in with family in the Catskills. A short-term visit turned into a 7-week stay. I fell in love with the mountains (again!) and started daydreaming about a dual-city lifestyle. What if I taught in Phoenix during the school year and worked in New York during the summer? A plan was hatched.
My personal job hunt landed me the role of Theatre Director with Onteora Club in Tannersville, New York for Summer 2021. I was able to manage pre-production from Phoenix then I drove cross-country to upstate New York for in-person programming. The end result was a series of theatre workshops for kids and families and a full production of Peter Pan. I realize what a blessing it was to hold full-time employment during the academic year in one city while exploring seasonal employment in another. The repercussions of the pandemic shutdown led (unexpectedly) to a positive outcome for me. I am well aware, however, that this was not the experience for the majority of folks in theatre and education.
When playhouses closed their doors and theatre programs shut down, the working world for artists and educators promptly shifted. The number of jobs and the types of contracts decreased. Last month’s ElevAATE story “A Playwright in Non-Residence” reminded me of this. Patch and Sandy’s experience of collaboration, in North Carolina and Pennsylvania respectively, inspired me to think about how creative and flexible folx were required to be in order to find employment and secure a paycheck.
I then recalled an interview that was previously published in the Spring 2019 edition of Incite/Insight by Alex Ates: “For Two Professors, Radical Commuting is the Way to Work.” In a pre-COVID world, it was not uncommon for theatre and education practitioners to live in one city and work in another in an ongoing capacity (not just for seasonal work as I have done).
It seems fitting now to offer this “throwback” story, an interview with Diane DiCroce and Sariva Goetz, which shares their perspectives on commuting.
As we continue to find — and create — the “new normal” work environments in our field, I wonder how other folx are crafting their own work-life balance. How has the working world changed for you? Do you commute? Do you work from home? Do you travel for contract-based employment? I know there is a spectrum of experiences out there, and I am hopeful that conversation about the “roses and thorns” in pursuit of employment in today’s job market may help others in our community navigate the search. Send us YOUR story!
Carolyn Marie Wright hails from upstate New York and is currently based in Phoenix where she serves as Theatre Director & English Teacher at Brophy Prep and Artistic Director of Humanity Play Project. Proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, AATE, and Arizona Theatre Company’s Cohort Club.
Now it’s your turn! What do you think? Comment, react, share.
