How do you feel about sleeping on a stranger's floor?

Welcome to the ArtsBound Newsletter. Every Tuesday, I share three thoughts or insights meant to help performing arts students and young professionals flourish in their life and career. Today: 1) how our view of touring impacts our career decisions (illustrated with a personal story); 2) interviews with touring performers; and 3) last call for this week’s webinar.

You can read a web version of this newsletter (and past newsletters) HERE.

- 5-minute read -

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1. To tour, or not to tour...

For a fledgling performer, little else is more exciting than going on tour to share your art with the world. On the other hand, if you take a little bit of time to think about it, you could probably come up with a handful of popular songs by venerable artists that expound the woes of life on the road.

The song that sticks out for me is Paul Simon’s “God Bless the Absentee”:

I have a wife and family, 

but they don’t see much of me;

God bless the absentee.

The advent of YouTube and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are just two of many factors that have dramatically impacted the work of professional performers since Simon penned these words, but touring continues to be a substantial factor in choosing to follow this career path. Therefore, the way we think about going on tour can significantly influence the career decisions we make. 

For me, I knew very early in life that I wanted to have a family, and the life on the road I heard depicted in Simon’s songs (the one above and others) seemed highly undesirable. Therefore, as I was deciding on a major for college - Music Performance and Music Education being the two most seemingly viable degree programs for the schools I was considering - I went with the more secure and stationary option. 

Consequently, the only touring I ever did was with the University Choir. While it wasn’t nothing, as an aspiring songwriter and someone who played in bands regularly in high school, I later felt I had missed something.

That moment came the summer after my college graduation, the last I would live in my parents’ home while biding time until I started the exciting teaching position I had been offered. That summer, my parents and I went to a concert in the city. The band playing consisted of four music students from Indiana University - two pairs of brothers. They were about the same age I was, and they let loose with a joyful set of original songs. 

It just so happened that, other than a few individuals who wandered in and out, my parents and I were the only ones who came to hear the show. We learned after they had finished their set that they didn’t have a place to stay that night, and my parents invited them to follow us home and sleep on our floor. That night, I had the chance to chat with the band, hear their stories, and even play a few of my own songs for them. 

Ever since experiencing the stark comparison between the path I was following and those of the band members, it’s been an ongoing effort for me to balance the stability needed to nurture a fulfilling family life and the means for giving voice to my creative energy.

The ways in which those values have blended in my life has been my own unique journey: the creative demands of my teaching position still required periods of absenteeism, and some of my most creative periods centered around pivotal events in my family life. But looking back, I recognize that I made the decision to pursue a career as a teacher instead of as a performer with very little knowledge about the day-in-day-out of either career path. 

There’s no replacement for trying things out, and it is highly valuable to get to know and interview individuals whose professional journey is relevant to your aspirations. This is the driving force behind the ArtsBound Podcast. While a recorded interview could never substitute for a “field test” (i.e. seeing how you feel when actually on the road for a few weeks), hearing from people who’ve ‘done the thing’ is a good first step.

Obviously, this principle applies to any career path, not just those that involve touring. But in keeping with the theme of this newsletter, the next item is a quick review of some of the past episodes of the ArtsBound Podcast that feature performers who have been on tour.

2. Conversations with touring performers.

If the themes discussed above resonate with you, you might appreciate hearing one or more of the following interviews.

Chris Leidhecker is a Nashville-based drummer whose main gig is as a touring sideman for the Christian singer-songwriter, Michael W. Smith. As Chris explains, Smith prioritizes time home with his family, so their touring schedule is broken into shorter spurts with returns home in between. Not a bad gig, especially since most of their overnight stays are in hotels, not on strangers’ floors. That said, Chris has definitely done more extended and shoestring travel as a performer. He shares that, given his unique situation (being married to another performer who understands the lifestyle) and time of life (no children in the picture yet), this is the time to make the most of it. 

Tess Marshall is a Manhattan-based actor. While it’s not the prime focus of our conversation (which, by the way, is chalked full of wisdom and encouragement), Tess speaks about some of the touring shows for which she was cast. She also shares about her side jobs and the attitude that gets her through the hundreds of auditions it takes to find the right opportunity.

Kendra Ross is a Pittsburgh-based culture-worker, professor, and activist. Before she returned home to assume these roles, she spent decades in NYC studying, serving as a departmental director at Universal Music, and taking roles in touring shows. In addition to an inside view on the work she’s done, Kendra offers insightful perspective on the importance of recognizing the driving force behind your work.

If I had to guess, Aaron White has definitely slept on more than a few strangers’ floors. Aaron is a theatre performer, designer, and educator; and although he hasn’t toured in a traditional sense of the word, he’s done a great deal of travel, residencies, and temporary relocations to pursue his work as an artist. The only parent of those listed here, he also discusses how the nature of his work shifted when he started a family, and the ongoing negotiation required to balance the domestic and creative facets of his life.  

3. Last call for tomorrow’s webinar.

Tomorrow at 6:15 I’m leading a free interactive webinar on career design for performing artists in high school. If you or someone you know is a high school student considering careers in music, theatre, or dance, this 1-hour program is designed to introduce you to the career design process and get you asking powerful questions to help guide you post-graduation and beyond.

I’ll be taking registrations through 4:30 on Wednesday. You can learn more and register HERE.

See you next week!

Lee