“I’ve driven home falling asleep at the wheel, windows down, slapping my face to get home at night on local shows where I still might have a 40 minute drive home at 1am after notes.
But also because of our inflexible schedule, and low pay coupled with a scarcity-mindset, I missed my sister’s wedding. I was young and starting out and felt I had no choice.”
“As someone with both thyroid issues as well as fibromyalgia, it becomes more and more limiting to keep being efficient during these hours. It also means that even when I do a show just an hour away from home, that I purchase a hotel room to ensure my own safety.”
“What I am finding most detrimental is an expectation to work over breaks And the perceived differences between the tangible and intangible disciplines. Compensation is not equal to time/ pressure.”
“10 out of 12s from the perspective of a breastfeeding mom. I was not given a place to pump. I would have to do it in the stall of the public bathroom. The building was multi-use – so I had to put up with hearing patrons of other events complain about me taking so much time in the stall. It was a large restroom with multiple stalls and there were other bathrooms in the building.”
“Basically, my break consisted of me going to bathroom and pumping. Sometimes I would have to cut the pumping short to be able to pack everything up, get the milk to the backstage fridge, and then make it back to the table in time. I understand I should have been happy to have the job.”