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.