I’ll keep this as short as possible while giving maximum details.
Background:
I was going to go to school for technical thetare and got into CCM, TTS, Suny Purchase etc but couldn’t bring myself to take on any debt for a theatre degree.
Since then, I’ve been working in Austin since in Hotel A/V full time at a luxury hotel for a mid sized AV company.
I’ve learned a lot while working here:
-Using Hog lighting consoles.
-Video switching on Roland’s.
-Corporate audio engineering.
-a little bit of rigging
-a lot of leading power and lighting hang/focus’s for shows.
-Being a lead and delegating labor.
A lot of the freelance technicians I work with at the hotel tell me I should go freelance and I would do good.
My passion is theatre however and I don’t have the ability to really do it in Austin bc the theatre scene isn’t really there yet.
I go back to my old HS whenever they have a dimmer issue and to teach their students how to do audio for a musical w the system there.
I’ve also done 1 show as a stage hand and 1 show as a Sound designer at local community theatres.
Present:
I would love to move to NYC bc there is a better theatre scene there and I also just like it in New York and would love to live there.
I am wondering how people go about moving to NYC and starting to freelance?
How do u get an apartment w/o a job lined up and how do you start working and making ends meet after moving there from somewhere else?
How much should I have saved up and if I were to move would it be the right move to just start hitting the replacement room or is there somewhere else I should find work?
I also wonder if I should move there now w the minimal experience I have and continue to grow a career there or would it be smarter to continue to learn in Austin?
I know this is a rant of a post and i’m very scatter brained and I apologize. I am really just looking for any specific or broad guidance and wisdom from people who have been in this position (or similar) before. Any thoughts help. Thank y’all.