My full-time employment as a lighting designer comes with Tirschwell and Co. Architectural lighting. Here, we work to design high-end residential, hospitality spaces, retail, and corporate spaces. Its a 40-hour a week commitment and I love it because it keeps me thinking about lighting and the design elements all the time. My previous bread-winning jobs we much mroe production oriented, and I would more often than not drift away from the design thought process.
However, managing any extra work takes its toll, and the Crown Point Festival is no exception. Knowing that tech week was going to be it's own way-over-full-time commitment I opted to burn a week's vacation to be present all week. But of course commitments don't stop there for an LD. I create gear lists and draft plots in my evening and spare time, send out emails an get quotes back, reading and replying as I eat lunch or on the subway heading into or out of the city. All to optimize my time.
Then there are the design and production meetings. I push them around the evenings and weekends when I am free, along with my research time. No one reading this blog needs to be reminded of the struggles of balancing everything. But as I look at my week and realize not one night is free, till thanksgiving, i thought it was worth mentioning.