At the time of drafting this post, I am sitting in Bute Park at the heart of Cardiff, my new home. There are birds singing, friends chatting and laughing, and dogs begging to play fetch. It’s quiet for being in the middle of a capital city. Surely, this is the calm before the most exciting storm.
In less than a week, I will begin my Master’s course in Stage and Even Management at the Royal Welsh College. Getting to this point has felt like a fever dream. I’ve spent almost two years so incredibly far removed from the performing arts that they felt like a part of my past. I would tell people I “used to be” a stage manger, and I got comfortable with the idea that my return to theatre was somewhere down the road, in a year, a couple of months, maybe.
Now, I’ve reduced my life to a couple of suitcases and boxes and moved to a new country. From the moment I accepted my offer my focus was get the visa, sign the lease, book the flights, and go, go, go. The change of pace has been really nice, but after a year of slowing down, it was pretty hard on my body and my mind. So I’m enjoying this calm before the storm, letting myself be excited, and looking forward to what’s in the tangible future.
I’m also taking this time to reacquaint myself with my Google Calendar and my paperwork templates. Time to re-learn how to be a stage manager AND a student. This upcoming year really excites me, and I am eager to share what I learn with my readers. I see so much potential in creating new and free resources for stage managers coming into their career, especially in today’s rapidly changing world.
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Thanks for reading!