The Family Business
So the Les Mis movie happened. There's nothing in this world that can make me want to talk about it in any sort of level of depth; I'd much prefer it never existed - despite the fact that there are indeed some truly lovely things that've come out of it. But I don't want to talk about it and I won't, I shan't.
For anyone who is reading this - which, as I usually like to assume, is no one - I have a performing arts pedigree. Actually. The doctor handed over the papers as soon as I was born and they include the complete works of Shakespeare and a union card. But yes. My mother was a ballerina for the National Ballet of Canada and my father still currently is a very well-respected production head for professional theatre. Beyond that, my father's sister is a popular sound engineer - for theatre, not recording artists - and my uncle is also a production head, and the past-president of our local. His wife's a reasonably well-known performer who now heads the musical theatre program at one of the best post-secondary performing colleges in the country. (Not that there's many of them. You don't exactly go to the University of Toronto for that sort of thing. Or if you do, well, I wish you all the luck. ) Beyond them, my grandfather is also a very, very well-respected production head who is also the former VP of the union - internationally. And my godfather recently received a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.
So yes: pedigree.
In the midst of all of this, you find me.
The only one who didn't go into theatre.
I'm the assistant production coordinator for a television series. A real one. Not some crappy crap web series where the director is also the producer is also the writer is also the camera op and is promising he'll pay you when the show gets "picked up" beyond youtube. (But if you're doing that, more power to you. Experience is experience is experience.) It's not exactly what I want to do, as I love to AD - assistant direct, which no, is not at all like actual directing - but I've been ADing the shows I work on as much as I'm able and I do a lot of independent shorts and features on the side as an AD.
But PCing is where the money is. (By comparison, that is. Believe me, I process the actor pay cheques and I know how much they are making a day. And it is a shit load more.)
And I love my job. I do, I do. So very much and I'm so very grateful and lucky to have it.
But the grass is aaaalways greener.
And the grass over on the rest of my family's side of the fence is looking pretty damn good right about now.
Through high school and my first couple years of college/film school, I worked as a sound technician on the side, doing musicals and plays. And holy fuck, do I ever miss it sometimes.
So today, as something of a melancholy let-me-faint-over-here-on-the-chaise-longue-so-you-ask-me-what's-wrong moment, I texted my aunt to say that I'd rather like to go back to theatre again.
Oops.
I now have an inbox full of "well, here, let me help you getting into this or that and this other thing."
Shouldn't have opened my mouth. Except...
Well, a new production of Les Mis is set to open in Toronto this fall.
But you probably don't want to hear about that sort of a thing.