THE FALL-BACK CAREER
By Tim Paré
General Themes: Theater as a profession. What to do with our kids today? How do we set them up for long-term success in our economy?
Growing up in the 90s life felt tense but limitless. Technology was entering a scary new frontier. Most households, mine included, owned an in-home P.C. Access to information was more readily available than ever before. The world was suddenly more connected. Of course with access to new possibilities came new threats. Media became pervasive. Sensational stories saturated wide spread news coverage. Existential dread loomed with the approaching millennium. Worrying my peers and I, globalization and outsourcing flattened the labor market. What were we supposed to study? How were we to prepare to enter this competitive new workforce being built in HTML? Was coding the answer? Banking? Data engineering or analysis?
In 1999, U.S. students were behind in all science, mathematics, and technology disciplines compared to students in other countries. Reports predicted dire consequences if these trends continued, translating to a poorly prepared workforce, ultimately preventing our country from competing in our new global market. Thus, attention was focused on science, mathematics, and technology research; on economic policy; and on education. Areas seen as being crucial to maintaining U.S. prosperity.
The STEM acronym was introduced in 2001 by scientific administrators in the U.S. National Science Foundation. In the early 2000s, the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics became increasingly integrated. The impact was vast. In part attributed to popular studies such as, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, a 2005 report of the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, which emphasized links between national prosperity, science and technology, and a continued need for innovation to address societal problems. Understandably, arts budgets were slashed.
While most of my classmates joined Robotics club, or started learning Chinese, I ventured deeper into my feelings. By which I mean the theater. Initially romanced by the notion of fame, I was instantly hooked by the therapeutic benefits of acting out my feelings in real time. Scene-study became training for future conflict resolution and peer-mediation. Psychoanalyzing characters taught me to classify and decode emotional triggers. Opening my mind to new playwrights meant invitations to new cultures, and new worlds.
Something miraculous was happening and I barely knew it. I was transforming my curiosity for theater into a motive for work and by extension life. To this day, approaching age 38, people compliment my optimism and energy. To which I always reply the same thing. I love what I do.
When you care about what you’re doing, even the hard stuff becomes meaningful, making it so much easier to cope, and to stay motivated.
How do we help? Where and what do we direct our children to study to prepare them for future success?
Today’s younger generations are facing a daunting professional landscape. The Great Displacement began with outsourcing, and now we're bracing for the invasion of automation, leading to a further disintegrating job market and disappearing labor force. Most college graduates go into one of three fields - customer service, health-care, and data analysis. Entry-level jobs in these fields will be automated in the next two years. Main streets are drying up. Shops, offices, and restaurants are closing. Shuttered shopping malls and vacant commerce centers have left giant holes in our communities, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of the youngest, and weakest.
An NPR poll of youth reports that 1 in 4 Gen Z hope to become social media influencers. Cringe, I know, but having started my journey with fame, I know this goal is more about professional autonomy. Aren’t we all seeking a life that seems unique to us, one we’re passionate about, one that makes an impact? Everyone just wants somewhere to belong.
Studying theater was never a question for me. I started when I was young and never looked back. But still, I bounced around professionally. The notion of a fallback career is not misguided. Contingency plans account for most, if not all success stories. The ability to pivot and survive, trial and error, is a way of life. No matter. I’ve approached every position I’ve ever held with the best version of myself, using skills nurtured through theater.
Building social capital has provided me an ability to connect and nurture more collaborative relationships with colleagues. Adaptive coping skills help me self-regulate when tasks become difficult, banal, or stressful - because let’s face it, no matter what work you’re doing, parts will be difficult, banal, and stressful. An ability to follow through, to go above and beyond expectation, not for the merit but because I’m genuinely interested in the pursuit of my passion, has always set me apart from less engaged peers. What would happen if we, as a society, encouraged more curiosity? If we prioritized creativity and innovation over safety and security? Information seeking over solutions? What if we nurtured social, emotional, and creative skills in addition to (disappearing) trades? With a zero-sum mindset so pervasive in our popular culture, I want to go on record and say, I’m an equal-opportunity learner. I support human interests in all fields. I too had a Robotics phase, deeply sponsored by K-Nex and Legos. I believe our future sustainability lies not in our ability to cut, and balance bottom-lines but to nurture a wide interest in all programs, opportunities and cultures that promote sustainable qualities of life, rather than pitting one specific field against another.
Michigan Stage was founded in 2020 in response to an absence of arts education in public schools. We use the arts and humanities to build prosocial opportunities and sustainable pathways for change in our region. In just two years, Playlabs have grown from 9 to 150+ participants each semester, proving to positively impact our community, providing outlets to address rising loneliness and isolation in our increasingly digital world.
I believe theater can revitalize our community by providing a sense of purpose and belonging. I also believe theater can have a significant economic impact in our region, not only through wages, ticket sales and taxes, but by inspiring our students and communities to explore how to be agents of change in their own lives.
Theater enriches our region with opportunities for cultural and civic engagement. Playlabs are a safe environment outside of traditional school and social structures, where participants can find their voice, learn to express themselves and deal with challenging situations to better understand how the choices they make will impact their lives and the lives of those around them, ensuring they will become well-rounded, active citizens, who contribute positively to society. In focusing on process over product, we’re able to utilize theater as a mechanism to understand our roles within and contributions to a societal structure (community as an ensemble), and to accomplish a collective goal (creating an original play).
Refocusing our future requires a return to the arts and humanities. But only if we nurture and support the arts as a viable career path. If we learn to love our passions, and nurture creativity from a young age, it has the potential to revitalize and strengthen our local economy and provide a sense of belonging and purpose to a fractured community in the wake of social, political, and environmental turmoil.
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STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Encyclopedia Britannica
Robert Smith, NPR, 2023
Andrew Yang, The War on Normal People, 2019