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Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright with a BFA from Emerson College. His plays include THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR, REASONS FOR MOVING, THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE AMERICANS, THE WHITE SWALLOW, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, THE MOST WONDERFUL LOVE, WHEN IS A CLOCK, GLEE CLUB, THAT OLD SOFT SHOE and BRANDYWINE DISTILLERY FIRE. He served as Assistant Producer and Senior Writer for the live webcast from Times Square on New Year's Eve 2010-2012. As a freelance writer, he has contributed to Gamespy, Premiere, Complex Magazine, Maxim Online, and MTV Magazine. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Inc., New York Theatre Experience, and Samuel French.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

How producing skills apply in the real world

I was told by a good friend that planning a wedding, for theater types, is a bit easier because you're used to the pressures of "putting on a show."

Does this ring true to those of you that have ever been married? Or do you call, you know, bullshit on that and think theater people are just as stressed as everyone else when they're getting married?

Did I mentioned I'm getting married in less than a month?

12 comments:

George Hunka said...

Depends, Matt. Is it more "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark" or "Waiting for Godot"?

Congratulations, by the way!

Sabina E. said...

I think that theatre types (stage managers, producers, directors) are more mentally prepared to plan a wedding or a large, elaborate event. After planning a film on my own, I feel so much more prepared for anything else.

congrats on your engagement. I hope your wedding goes well.

Freeman said...

George,

I'm thinking we'll go full Lion King. Can't wait to say my vows with a giant puppet strapped to my pelvis.

George Hunka said...

Too much information, Matt. Too much information.

Ian W. Hill said...

In Berit's and my case, yes, but then Berit's and my case WAS a show, so . . .

But on top of the show itself, yes, I think Berit and I handled some of the planning of the reception stuff a bit better than non-theatricals -- until we had to be told by the staff at the restaurant handling the reception to please stop trying to run things and just sit back and enjoy ourselves while it was happening. And once we did that it was an even better experience.

isaac butler said...

I found that anne and my having produced two plays together made it immesurably easier. we kept to our deadlines, knew how to budget (And rebudget, which is much harder!) how to prioritize where our energies needed to go etc.

joshcon80 said...

I agree with the above. It's probably easier for us in some respects. I'm planning my wedding and my non theater boyfriend keeps freaking out. Me, I don't sweat it.

My wedding is gonna be so Starlight Express. I won't walk down the aisle so much as appear in a puff of glitter.

Unknown said...

I don't know about getting married, but after I was my brother's best man, everyone told me that I did it effortlessly and it seemed like I've done it before. It definitely felt like stage managing -- I think if you're in any field that involves an almost moment-to-moment crisis, you're ready for marriage.

Zack Calhoon said...

Congrats man. Being married is awesome.

We approached like producing a show. We had "production meeting" for an hour every weekend for a year to keep track of who had taken care of what. It made making choices about the ceremony very special and yet very practical. Because we weren't too precious about it, but were able to make a ceremony that truly reflected both our relationship and our sensibilities. Definitely a plus if you have produced a couple of shows.

macrogers said...

I think it didn't make Sandy and I less stressed - I think it made us perhaps less *surprised* by the stress. Which is not nothin'.

Ian G said...

My sister's getting married next week. The rehearsal (scheduled for Thurs)had to be canceled last minute for some reason. Everyone is freaking right the hell out but me, who can only respond to panicky text messages and emails with "Underrehearsed? Out of time? Um, no, sorry. This is gonna be fine. You want to hear about underrehearsed, let me tell you about the time..."

Susan said...

When I got married, I put all my information into a binder, with sections for things like flowers, venue, dress, etc. I put in it things like clippings from magazines, vendor contracts, email correspondence, text for our ceremony, etc. It was pretty late in the process when I realized that this was just a slightly different version of the prompt books I used to create when I was a stage manager.

So yes, theater prepared me for organizing a wedding. Not necessarily for the stress of being thrown into an entirely new area, where the industry knows way more than you do and they know that you'll not likely to be a repeat customer so they can abuse you, but... I digress. The answer is yes.