Find a Way In!
Back Door/Side Door/Window - Find a Way In!
“If I’m gonna get my foot in the door, it’s gotta be the back door… Wherever there’s an opening, I need to wedge my foot in.”
– Marissa Davis
Our Women & Theatre project interviewees often describe feeling limited by the myth that there is one “right way” or straight path to achieve success in the theatre industry. Go to this BFA/MFA program, take this class, connect with this person, apply to this opportunity, and you are guaranteed the career you want.
It’s tempting to believe this myth, especially because so many other industries DO have a clear career development ladder to climb. If you want to be a lawyer, you take the LSAT, apply to law school, apply to internships in the summers, and ideally turn your internship into a job offer by the time you graduate.
But in reality, there is no one clear path to success in theatre, nor is there a single model of what success looks like in the industry. For centuries, career development in theatre has been largely based on an apprenticeship model, especially for leadership roles. People tend to choose apprentices who are similar to them, so this model has led to success for many white men and struggles for pretty much everyone else.
We’ve heard over and over from our interviewees that part of building a career in theatre as a woman is finding an alternate point of entry. We’ve spoken to people who spent years pursuing a different path, people who have built their own theatre companies from the ground up, and people who have reached a certain level of success and are still figuring out what’s next.
Based on our interviewees’ collective experiences and shared wisdom, here are some thoughts about how to build a career in the theatre industry:
Think creatively and start small
“Almost any barrier to something I could find a way through, past, over or under.”
– Michole Biancosino
A common thread in our interviews is that all of our interviewees have had to think and act creatively to build the career path that makes the most sense for them. The path that was billed as the “one true path” to success is not often the one that makes the most sense to pursue.
You don’t need to be on Broadway right away or at all! It’s okay to start where you’re at, even if that means working your creative pursuits into the five minutes in the day you can carve out for them. The moms in our community are especially familiar with this strategy.
Think about what you want, and ask yourself what is the bare minimum you need to achieve it. Then make a list of 10 different small steps you can take to bring yourself closer to your goal. If you need some inspiration and examples, check out our Women & Theatre interviews!
Identify and ask for what you want
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Everything good that’s ever come my way that’s been a little unreachable is because I actually just asked.”
– Zina Goldrich
Do you sometimes feel lost or overwhelmed when thinking about your career? A good first step is to identify what you want, and then be aware that what you want may change over time. Once you figure out the role you want theatre to play in your life (for now), you can start figuring out how to get there.
“Reach out to that person if you are curious about their career path. Nine times out of ten, people want to talk about how they got here and be a resource to other people.”
– Dana Iannuzzi
Many of our interviewees have been able to progress in their careers simply by reaching out to people and asking for what they need. More often than not, people want to help others. We’ve been meditating recently on the question, “What would a mediocre white man do in this situation?” In our patriarchal society, women are often taught to be polite and wait our turn. To be able to ask for what we want and get it, we must be aware of our worth, including the unique value and skills we can contribute.
Find your people and create your own opportunities
“How can we get a group of people together to collaborate to put up this one project?”
– Michole Biancosino
One of the most valuable things you can do early in your career is develop a genuine interest in your peers and their work. Rather than seeing other creatives as competition, find opportunities to collaborate and support one another’s journeys. As creatives at the beginning of our careers, we founded the Women & Theatre project in part to build the supportive and collaborative community we hope to foster in the theatre industry. If you look around the industry and don’t see the thing you want, find some friends and make it yourselves!
“Move your own work forward instead of waiting for someone else to give you work”
– Marissa Davis
Part of our mission with this project is to connect women working at all levels of the industry. So often, we get stuck on a rung of the theatre “career ladder” (not even necessarily the bottom one!) and feel alone. We want to bridge the gaps between women working at different levels in the industry. Wherever you are in your journey, you can reach back to support (and be supported by) those behind you, and reach forward to support (and be supported by) those ahead of you. We are all in this together.
Resources
“We can lift each other up as women and as people in a community of theatre people.”
– Makena Metz
It’s tempting to think that someone else has all the answers you need, but no one other than you knows what’s right for you. Personally, we find it helpful to hear stories from other women about their journeys and what has worked for them, and we hope you do too. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to get started, and the reality is that some people have more resources than others when they’re just starting out. We’ve found these resources helpful to us as we build our theatre careers, and we hope you will too!
Online Communities for Underrepresented Groups in Theatre:
League of Professional Theatre Women
Writing-Specific Groups:
Musical Theatre Writers Collective
Thanks for reading!
We are deeply inspired by our interviewees, and we hope you are too. Please join the conversation by leaving a comment below!
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