Almost pondering a hysterectemy

When I started this blog, I really wanted to try and post more often. But then I got the Supervisor job, and all my free time went out the window. Kudos to arduous for being a busy bee and still managing to blog every day!

So, at last post I think I was sounding pretty optimistic about my current job. I'm still fairly optimistic, but the last couple days really tried my patience. We had two days in a row of one show at noon and the evening show not until 7:30. This is a really long gap between shows. Wednesday I was clocked in for over 11 hours, which was great for my paycheck, but a little rough on my sanity. Yesterday I got a three hour break between shows, but the kids were so rowdy during the second show that I snapped on the boys. Not in a mean way, just in a speaking-very -firmly-reminding-them-of-their-obligations kind of way. The depressing thing is that I'm not sure it made a difference. The kid who'd started it - he'd thrown a (soft) object at another boy, causing him to cry out (excessively loudly, he wasn't really hurt) - did appear contrite, but it's not like I never had to ask the kids to be quiet again all night or remind them of certain rules.

I'm chalking it up to two long days in a row, and hoping things will improve tonight. I really wanted to say something to the parents last night so they could remind the kids to behave today, but it was already so late and they all had to get up early this morning for a TV broadcast. And part of the problem is they're all really tired and fried. So I let it go for the time being. But I'm really starting to feel like they are taking advantage of the fact that I'm not a jerk like the last supervisor, and it's frustrating.

In other news, I've had a great change of fortune for the winter. I was originally scheduled to do a couple operas in Jan-Feb and Feb-April. But I got an offer to ASM for Steppenwolf, and this time I decided not to stick with my other obligations but to give Steppenwolf priority.

I can't tell you how happy this has made me. After a couple years saying no to good theater job opportunities because I'd already signed contracts with other opera companies, I've finally figured out that it's okay to do what's best for me and my career than stick with something I'm not that excited about.

Admittedly, I didn't realize how much happier I am doing theater than opera until recently. And clearly not every opera I work on ends in tears, as my great experience with Cinderella and the The Ryan Opera Center this fall demonstrated. There is a part of me that feels a little sad that I don't know when I'll do another opera. Usually when I look ahead in my schedule, I have a new opera to learn, and I always found that exciting. At the very least I always knew I'd be doing an opera in the spring, but now I don't even have that to look forward to since I am not returning to Chicago Opera Theater. But some of you know what a struggle I've gone through trying to get back into the theater scene after doing so much opera for the past few years, and I finally feel like I'm getting there.