Day jobs

Ensemble and The Wooden Breeks cast member Raymond Fox on his life outside of theatre

From The Wooden Breeks Issue of ArtAntica
Mentioned in this entry: Raymond Fox, Philip R Smith, Mary Zimmerman, Eva Barr, Larry DiStasi and Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi

Phil Smith (LTC Production Artistic Director and Ensemble Member) telephoned me in early December and asked if I’d be willing to write this latest installment of “gglass houses.” Phil let me know the topic could be anything and that the series is meant to introduce members of the company to online readers, patrons and friends of Lookingglass. Phil suggested I look over Larry, Mary and Eva’s prior entries for ideas, but that he knew I’d come up with a great subject.

I told Phil I would be happy to write something and hung up the phone. A day passed…and no topic came to me. A second day came and went – nothing. I was getting anxious now and decided to review the contributions of my predecessors.

If you are reading this online magazine now you probably already know who Mary Zimmerman is. Mary is a beloved professor of Performance Studies at Northwestern, a Tony-award winning director, recipient of the MacArthur ‘genius’ grant, a published playwright, an actor, choreographer, artistic associate/member of several notable regional theatres, director of opera, and on and on and on. Lookingglass wouldn’t be Lookingglass without her. She is a treasured friend, colleague, mentor and member of our ensemble. Mary’s work has literally changed and expanded theatrical history in America.

In addition to being a fantastic actor, Larry DiStasi is the co-founder of The Actors Gymnasium in Evanston. He and his wife (LTC Artistic Associate Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi) created the gym as a school for circus arts and other performance disciplines. The Actors Gym is now entering its twelfth year. In addition to their many classes, the gym presents all-new, live circus shows to audiences from all over Chicagoland. The Actors Gym has trained countless children, teenagers and adults to “really fly.” Larry and Sylvia conjured the whole thing from nothing – just a dream and years of hard work.

My pal, Eva Barr, is terrific actor, too. She is a veteran of the Peace Corps, a professional dancer/choreographer and an organic farmer in Minnesota. If you saw last month’s article you know all about Flourish, Eva’s program that brings kids from all over the upper Midwest to her farm, Dreamacres. Here, the students learn about the arts with the vast, open outdoors as their stage.

It isn’t unusual that Chicago actors (Lookingglass members or otherwise) spend a significant portion of their working lives in outside pursuits/jobs. If not, we’d probably only be able to cover half our yearly expenses. What is remarkable though is that a number of our Lookingglass members have helped to create not only our collective at the theatre, but their own separate arts organizations, too. That’s doubly impressive and very rare.

So where does an actor with a more conventional performance background (i.e., me) come in? When I am not performing do I too teach performance techniques or acting? (sometimes, but rarely). Do I toil away writing a new adaptation or original play? (let’s say…once a decade or so) Am I working to improve my skills on the tightwire, Spanish web, teeterboard or trapeze? (those of you who know me – please stop laughing). No - - for the last seventeen years if I haven’t been onstage somewhere in North America or studying in graduate school I have been an office administrative employee. Yes, a “temp.”

Along with waiting tables, job-to-job office work is probably the most common “parallel” vocation of actors in the United State and Canada. Many actors also teach, but I would argue that is still very much a part of their art. I fall into the worker bee category. So how do I write about that? What can I share with people – most of whom already know what it’s like to work in a corporate structure – that’s unique? Virtually nothing – and that’s my point. The work I do outside the theatre keeps me connected to a broader base of individuals than the one I find in the theatrical community alone.

My sometime day jobs give me a window back into the workday world that holds so many of our patrons, funders, family and friends. The “theatrical community,” if such a thing exists (and I think it does, especially in Chicago), can feel pretty small. My life as an assistant puts me in touch with lawyers, laborers, doctors, executives, academics, sales associates, teachers, postal workers, tech specialists and the full strata of Chicago’s working personnel.

I’ve found key differences though between my artistic and white-collar roles. One profession fosters an almost immediate, direct intimacy with others. The bonds one forms when one rehearses a play are quite accelerated and often intense. Delving into whatever emotional life the playwright lays out brings up the personal histories of all the artists involved. Conversely, the relationships in an office environment can seem remote and more mysterious. Even after several weeks, I may not know very much about the outside lives of those in the cubicles and office around me.

What I’ve learned is that the theatre can be a way to forge a link among those who might not ordinarily delve as deeply into each other’s lives. Despite the history of Lookingglass in our city, most of the people I meet in my assignments have never heard of us. But in the bulk of my outside jobs, I’ve been able to bring at least one new person to the theatre and it’s usually to a Lookingglass show.

The simple truth of having a mutual experience, of witnessing the same story, always sparks a broader conversation. And so I learn more about the family life, interests, pursuits and histories of the people in the desks around me. I discover that the guy in accounts receivable has been in a local dance troupe for fifteen years or that one of our client’s spouses had a long career on the stage in New York. I find out that one co-worker is an expert in martial arts, one played professional sports, another has a second job as a teacher, one is an army reservist, one published a short book and so on.

Whenever I leave an assignment I know I’ve made a few connections to take with me. Sometimes that results in a new friendship and sometimes it’s observed behavior that may find it’s way into a character I play. I might see these folks in our audience months or years down the line. The theatre is a wonderful profession, but it’s full of sad goodbyes and unexpected reunions years later. As the holidays approach and my wife and I watch our baby girl experience them for the first time, we can’t help thinking how this time of year brings back the memories of all the years before. We remember all the friends with whom we’ve shared the season.

Right now, I’m about to complete a temp job I’ve had for most of 2006. I still managed to act in two plays this year, but I spent a considerable amount of time as a team member for a small firm in the west loop. I start rehearsals next week for a play at Lookingglass. Although I am very, very happy to return to my “real” job, I will miss these people. I never know if or when I’ll temp again. Sometimes I line up enough stage work to keep me occupied for a year or more, but going back and forth really hasn’t been so bad. Like most of us, I worry about supporting a family and making ends meet, but the exciting part is not knowing what new work opportunity – onstage and off – will be waiting in the future.