At the beginning of last year, I was hired to work in the scene shop of my school’s theater. While I started as an electrician, I quickly branched into carpentry as well and fell in love with both. I had done a little bit of carpentry before for high school shows, but never any electrics, and learned both rapidly on the job. My job is one of the most rewarding things in my life. The process of using your hands to make something physical (and beautiful) is a unique one.
I’m frequently sore from shifts at work, which always serves to remind me how physical and productive what I do is. While most of my day is spent sitting in class, writing and talking and thinking, my work shifts are always spent moving and lifting and making. There’s always a sense of accomplishment at the end of a shift, knowing that what I did contributed to the overall project of whatever show is being worked on.
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Last spring, we built my favorite set ever, for Twelfth Night (pictured as a work-in-progress in the cover photo of this article) and seeing it every day at work and in rehearsal filled me with awe and pride. Going from a small model to a beautiful, physical set that was used was amazing, and striking that particular set was almost heartbreaking.
While there is a general process for every show, I never know exactly what my job will entail in a given day. In one shift, I assembled a drill press almost entirely on my own— and by the end, it was taller than me. The next time I went into the shop, I was able to use it. It worked! I built it and it worked!
There’s something invigorating and empowering about power tools that I can’t quite put my finger on. People are often taken aback when I profess my love for power tools. Those people usually don’t use power tools with the regularity I do. Obviously, I highly recommend doing so if you can.
There are times I wish I worked in the library, or in a slow office where I could do my homework while on the clock. That’s never the case when you work in the shop. But honestly, I wouldn’t trade my job for more homework time—or anything else. Because not many people can say they legitimately look forward to going to work and, even if I’m tired before I go into work, my time I spend in the shop is often some of the happiest and most fulfilling of the entire day.
