A Fly On The Wall, March 8, 2013

Home Sweet Home
by Jim Murchison 
@JimMurchison

There is something about theatre that has always comforted me. I like watching theatre. I have always enjoyed the various jobs I have done related to theatre but I will always be an actor first. Family is most important to me, but as a career it is theatre and as a job it is acting that I enjoy the most of all.

In corporate or government jobs I somewhat resent the use of the family analogy, mainly because I think it is a buzzword used to foster obedience where many of the people may have long since lost interest in their work and so the corporate mindset is that employees will be more dutiful if they feel they are part of a family.

if it is what you want to do, it is fun!

Theatre is different because only people that really want to do it would ever dream of pursuing it as their job. The work is irregular, the hours are long and the pay is not always that good either; but if it is what you want to do, it is fun!

My upcoming job in The Taming of The Shrew will require me to play four different characters including a widow woman. This is an all male cast. I am not sure if an all male cast is what William Shakespeare would have wanted because I never met the man, but it was the way things were done in his day.

Physically the workshop I did with the cast to determine who we are and who we will play was physically and emotionally challenging. I got home each day with more energy than I have felt in a long time and slept better than I have in a year. I guess that is what feeling at home is all about.