anybody work professionally?

ellenmelon

Hi there,

Just wondering does anybody on here work professionally in the theatre and performing arts area in ireland? by professional i mean you get paid for it on a regular basis..
if so, how do you find it? is there enough work for you to get by or do you have to keep a full/part time job?
where is most of the work situated, or is it a "find work where you can get it" kind of scenario.
it would be great if you could specify as to what capacity you work in (ie stage management,arts admin, lighting/sound tech, costuming,prod. management.. etc etc).
the reason im asking is that i hope to relocate back to ireland once ive finished my degree and want to get an idea of what the 'scene' is like there.

thanks in advance guys

cue

Production management. Spent the last few years full-time in Dublin. Plenty of work there and a good healthy scene. Gone freelance now and moved out to the peace and quiet so will see how I get on.

ellenmelon

cue wrote: »

Production management. Spent the last few years full-time in Dublin. Plenty of work there and a good healthy scene. Gone freelance now and moved out to the peace and quiet so will see how I get on.

Thanks for that Cue. It's good to hear that there is work around.If you don't mind me asking, how do you find the work environment there? When I move back there I'll still be a 'newbie' in some peoples so will I be given a chance?

cue

All depends. There is a lot of work being produced. Festivals are on the increase. The industry itself is getting more professional. Once you get your foot in the door, if you are any good (reliable, capable, friendly), you will be in demand. There is a lot of double-jobbing, not necessarily due to low pay but due to a shortage of experienced people. What area do you hope to work in?

ellenmelon

cue wrote: »

All depends. There is a lot of work being produced. Festivals are on the increase. The industry itself is getting more professional. Once you get your foot in the door, if you are any good (reliable, capable, friendly), you will be in demand. There is a lot of double-jobbing, not necessarily due to low pay but due to a shortage of experienced people. What area do you hope to work in?

im glad that the industry is growing and lifting its game. i hope to graduate as someone who fits the bill of what people want! im only going into my second year this year. ive still got a couple of years to hone in...im finding that i enjoy stage management and am told i have a knack for it so would like to continue down that path. big events and festivals (especially music/fringe type ones) are a strong interest of mine also..but it would seem that that industry has reached a saturation point staff wise (ie its cool to work at festivals). i want to actually get paid for it, not just volunteer for ever and ever amen!

cue

Not sure about music events as I mostly work in theatre. Lots of people try SM here, as an all round way in. I did it myself and the less said about that the better . You can get away with it where there is still an ethos of everyone mucking in together but its definitely a case of take the work where you find it. However, a professionally trained SM stands out a mile and they quickly start to fill their diaries with advance work. Word spreads.

AMPSound

Hey ellenmellon,

I am a sound engineer with AMP Sound Systems, and as Cue said, if you are good you will always have work.

Did a bit of SM a while ago, mostly just as a hobby, but i did get paid quite well. Dont forget that there is always a need for professionals within the amateur section aswell!! eg lights, sound, SM etc. There is a great culture of amateur dramatics in this country, and there is a healthy living to be made from it for someone that is good.

Good luck,
Eoin

inisboffin

Hi Ellenmelon,
I am a performer, writer and teaching artist, and not long back from 10+years away myself. I had old contacts, but initially found moving back a bit of a struggle, despite my experience. Slowly that is getting better, and I'm not starving . I do a lot of VO work here and overseas, and that is a big source of my income, with acting/performing coming second along with teaching.
Writing is trailing at a third, but hoping to improve that soon
Best of luck!