Adventures In Temping
I just finished a month of temp work with a Defense sub-contractor. If it felt like 74 performances of Tom Stoppard were boring, let me tell you that has nothing on a month of proof reading construction specifications.
While temping has great benefits for my situation it also has big drawbacks. The biggest problem is explaining myself. Whenever I temp people invariably ask me what I do. When I say I am a theatrical stage manager they either react as if I just told them I rode a unicorn into work or they believe I am speaking a here-to-for unknown human language. It always makes me feel so ashamed and I hate that it makes me feel that way. This last temp gig was filled with these moments.
I was working with a group of technical writers, architects and engineers. After working with these folks for a month I am not sure they are aware there is an art form known as theatre, much less professionals employed in said industry. The best moment came my third day there. I was speaking with the lead mechanical engineer and the fact I worked in theatre came up and after a few minutes he asked me “So do you want to be an actor when you . . . uhhh . . . I mean do you want to be an actor? Clearly he was going to ask me if I wanted to be an actor when I grew up. I explained that I was, in fact, an actual professional stage manager. I tried to give him a quick run down on what a SM does. Then on my final day the Exec Assistant was making small talk as I was turning in my security badge. She asked me if I was an actor, however she lowered her volume on the word actor like she was asking me if I still had the clap. The cherry on the sundae was when I was filling out some paper work at the temp office the Assistant there said they had a new job they wanted to speak with me about and she wondered if I had my class schedule yet. I just smiled and laughed and she corrected herself.
These moments used to leave me terribly embarrassed and almost ashamed. It seemed to me to be a mark of shame that I have a career that few understand. Slowly I have come to actually enjoy these moments. I have a career that very few understand. That means it’s a career that few actually do and even less do well. It’s like being a nuclear physicist. Sure people might understand the specific words in the title but as for the actual duties they are clueless. I haven’t thought of it like this before, but it’s nice to be unique.
While temping has great benefits for my situation it also has big drawbacks. The biggest problem is explaining myself. Whenever I temp people invariably ask me what I do. When I say I am a theatrical stage manager they either react as if I just told them I rode a unicorn into work or they believe I am speaking a here-to-for unknown human language. It always makes me feel so ashamed and I hate that it makes me feel that way. This last temp gig was filled with these moments.
I was working with a group of technical writers, architects and engineers. After working with these folks for a month I am not sure they are aware there is an art form known as theatre, much less professionals employed in said industry. The best moment came my third day there. I was speaking with the lead mechanical engineer and the fact I worked in theatre came up and after a few minutes he asked me “So do you want to be an actor when you . . . uhhh . . . I mean do you want to be an actor? Clearly he was going to ask me if I wanted to be an actor when I grew up. I explained that I was, in fact, an actual professional stage manager. I tried to give him a quick run down on what a SM does. Then on my final day the Exec Assistant was making small talk as I was turning in my security badge. She asked me if I was an actor, however she lowered her volume on the word actor like she was asking me if I still had the clap. The cherry on the sundae was when I was filling out some paper work at the temp office the Assistant there said they had a new job they wanted to speak with me about and she wondered if I had my class schedule yet. I just smiled and laughed and she corrected herself.
These moments used to leave me terribly embarrassed and almost ashamed. It seemed to me to be a mark of shame that I have a career that few understand. Slowly I have come to actually enjoy these moments. I have a career that very few understand. That means it’s a career that few actually do and even less do well. It’s like being a nuclear physicist. Sure people might understand the specific words in the title but as for the actual duties they are clueless. I haven’t thought of it like this before, but it’s nice to be unique.
posted by JohnXIV at 9:11 PM
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