Dying

Not literally. Well, I suppose I mean to dye in a literal sense, though not in the morbid way that probably first sprang to mind.

I am dying.

After being back in Wisconsin, working as a crafts artisan, I've sort of come to the conclusion that I could be very happy doing just this for a long while. I've been waffling a lot recently. The politics and disorganization of my previous job, coupled with the rejection from a job potential in Milwaukee turned me off of the thought of managing a shop. I like the doing part of things. The planning is nice, but every aspect of the costume world involves some sort of planning. And while management is much more delegation and paperwork, working on the shop floor is much more hands on and creatively gratifying.

That begs the question, what position would I want in a shop? I love the problem solving...and the face to face interaction with the designers. So draping is very appealing. Only I do not have the experience to drape for the theatres that really grab my attention. Theatres about quality, not quantity. I could work my way up from a lower position, say a first hand. And I have sent out a resume to a job of that description.

But its a lot of sewing. Yes each show brings on new challenges, but as a first hand I'd be doing a lot of cutting. On my feet. Scissors in hand. Explaining things to stitchers...or doing the menial work myself when no stitchers are hired. The job in question would pull me back to an area of the country I really did enjoy (don't laugh...I am referring to New Jersey). But is it really a job that will ground me...allow me to settle and set up home?

No...crafts. Dye. Hats. That seems to be my calling now. Why not design? Frankly I feel I'm just too lazy to constantly be on the hunt for the next gig...hopping from one city to the next. So few theatres actually have resident designers, and those that do tend to be more of a community mindset. (Please do not read that as a dismissal of community theatre...it is a valuable niche...one of which I personally do not see myself fitting into...to me it seems more a hobby, less of a career. And on a fiscal note...they cannot pay what regional, equity and repertory theatres do).

Crafts, hats and dye. And wouldn't you know...two job of that flavor just opened up. At two very respectable, well known regional theatres. A call was placed on my behave to one, courtesy of a designer I just worked with here in WI. The other is trying to set up an interview in the next few days.

In the meantime, I am trying to brush up on my dye skills. Something I know in theory very well, but in practice have done little more than tinting shirts in a washing machine. I am in the process of making a dye swatch book using every available shade of Rit Dye I could find in stores...one 8 different fiber types (cotton, linen, wool, silk, nylon, rayon, acetate and polyester). Already I'm fascinated at how different fibers pick up the colors. It's exciting. And the fact that I am eager to spend so much time outside of work playing with things so closely related to work is a good sign.

I think I'm finding my niche.