How I Got Here (Pt. 2 - since graduation)

Since graduating from Guelph with my BA in theatre and English, I've been trying to build my resume, continue learning, and get involved with theatre. 
I would say that one of the most influential events actually happened the summer before I graduated. The Magnetic North Theatre Festival takes place every June. In odd-numbered years it takes place in Ottawa, in even-numbered years it travels around the country. So, in June of 2009 I set off for Ottawa, with plans to attend plays, explore the city, and crash at my brother's and/or my friend Christi's place. I didn't get to see every play in the festival. The festival runs for 10 days, but I was only able to be in Ottawa for 6 days. I saw some really great plays, some really different plays, from across Canada. I never imagined that I would enjoy staged puppetry until I saw The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan. Fear of Flight was a beautiful collection of monologues, with cool choral work from the cast. And Eternal Hydra... Woah. 
But I think that the best part of the festival for me might not have been the plays. It might have been the people. I was part of a program called Compass Points, which brings students and emerging artists to MagNorth from across the country. Every morning we would meet up for a seminar, a panel discussion, or a workshop. Every night after the play, we would go to Club Saw, the festival bar, have a few drinks and discuss theatre. It was amazing to be seeing plays and talking about them to people who cared. We were all in the same place in our lives. I'm not sure how the rest of them felt, but for me it was inspiring to meet people my age. All the mature festival goers frequently reminded us how important making these connections with each other would be. 
Peter Hinton, the artistic director of English theatre at the NAC, did something amazing for the Compass Points participants. He held a five hour workshop with us called the Peter Hinterview. There were 75 of us, so we split into three groups. For three days in a row he held the five hour workshop with a different group each day. I was in the first and smallest of the three groups. We sat in a room with Peter as he explained to us who he is and how he got there. Then he asked us to explain the same things about ourselves. We talked about our goals, our dreams, our ambitions, our obsessions. We talked about what we would do if we could have an all access pass to the person or place we would most like to visit or meet. Peter gave us advice. His three pieces of advice he loves to share are: learn to swim, go to the dentist, and pay your taxes. But he also told us to get involved; make a commitment to living your life as an artist; see theatre. He told us to call artistic directors and say, "I'm a struggling theatre artist. For my craft to grow, I need to see and experience theatre. I'm poor. Can I come to your show for free?" He said, "If you're ever back in Ottawa, give me a call, and you can come to a show at the NAC for free." It was five of the most incredible and uplifting hours of my life. I left that room jazzed, pumped, ready and roaring to go.
At the end of the festival I returned to Guelph and continued working and going to school (see pt. 1). Then, in December, I moved out of my apartment. I put all my stuff in storage. In January I flew out to Vancouver. Being in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics was something I decided I wanted to do in 2002. So, I decided to live with my sister and her family for two months, and see if I couldn't get involved in theatre out West. I didn't see much theatre while I was in Vancouver, even though the PuSh Festival was on at the time. For some reason I didn't want to go out to theatre by myself, and was unable to convince my sister to go with me. While my boyfriend, David, was visiting for his reading week, we went out and saw Robert Lepage's Blue Dragon. It was the first time either of us had seen a work by Lepage. I was blown away. It was innovative. It was a good story, well told. Every once in a while, I see a piece of theatre that leaves me feeling... hopeful. Blue Dragon was one such piece.
While I was in Vancouver I volunteered for a theatre company, Pi Theatre. They didn't have any productions during my stay, but I volunteered in the office. I frequently did things like walk to the bank, or walk to the post office. I balanced their cheque book. I coordinated the volunteers for their show that was being staged right after I left. At one point the artistic director had me sit down in front of the computer with a notepad, headphones, and the dvd from their previous production, after the quake. I watched the dvd to check for disruptions before the dvd was submitted to MagNorth. I really wish I had been able to see the play on stage, instead of on a computer, but I'm happy I got to see it at all. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Most of what I did was kind of boring, but I was helping artists! I also learned a lot about what goes into running a theatre company. 
In March I returned to Ontario, and prepared for the next adventure... I was going to hostel and train around Europe for the month of April. My plans were derailed, so to speak, when I landed in Paris, had a miserable time, and flew home after one week. Admitting that I was unhappy and making the decision to come home early was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I don't regret it, though. Europe is still there and I intend to return. Also, interesting sidenote, the Icelandic volcano that grounded flights happened the day after I flew home.
I spent the rest of April and all of May sending out resumes. For stage manager positions, for front of house positions, for usher positions, for volunteer positions. I was loath to take a part-time job that wasn't related to theatre.
In June, I attended the Magnetic North Theatre Festival again. This year, I was on the Compass Points national planning committee. We held phone conferences in advance to discuss the programming. We shared our opinions on the previous festival and program. We discussed what we, as emerging artists or students, hoped to gain from the festival and program. I was able to see nearly the entire festival in Kitchener-Waterloo. Highlights for me this year were Mump and Smoot: Cracked (I liked the play with clowns!?), Elephant Wake, and The Greatest Cities in the World. Compass Points also took a daytrip to Stratford and saw Christopher Plummer in The Tempest. 
Directly after the festival I returned to Toronto to work as a site manager for the Young Centre's Waves Festival. It was a neat experience, and paid work for once! I held a clipboard and wore a headset. Alas, Waves only lasted one weekend, and on Monday I returned to my life of unemployment and living on the couch of friends. 
I volunteered at Dream in High Park during the summer. It wasn't quite what I expected it to be. All the other volunteers were high school students trying to get their required forty hours of volunteer service. Some of them were interested in theatre, but not the majority. The play itself was alright. It was Romeo & Juliet this year. It had an interesting concept, that quickly got lost. A bunch of travellers were stranded at the train station in Verona, to pass the time they performed the play. Some of the acting was particularly good, specifically Mercutio and the Prince.
The majority of my summer was spent stage managing a play for a company named Fly By Night Theatre. FBN is a charity organization, with all proceeds going to the Royal Seed Needy Home in Ghana. So, it was a volunteer gig. I worked with a group of young artists in Toronto and Mississauga. The play was The Selkie Wife by Kelley Jo Burke. It was my first time getting a stage management position not from the school, a professor, or a peer. I had an interview and got hired and everything! ...Just without getting paid. The people I worked with were awesome, and we ended up with quite the play, after all kinds of weird setbacks. Such is theatre.
In September, I worked for tiff as a front of house assistant. It seemed almost all of us working at Scotiabank Theatre were out of work stage managers. I really enjoyed the festival, the people I met, and above all, getting paid.
Since tiff, I finally caved and got that part time job. I'm working retail. I'm trying to find a way to stay involved in theatre while having an income. I'm trying to keep my mind active. I'm open to volunteering. 
I want to do some creating.