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Confessions of a working actress...

by Elizabeth

Can I tell you a secret?

The truth is, though I am an artistic assistant in kasina's Business Development department, I am actually an actress.

I know, shocking!

Ok, it's actually not a secret at all. I answered kasina's job post for an "actor, painter, writer, or poet who needed a support job" in July 2007 with both curiosity and eagerness, and I have been happy here ever since.

The reason I am able to work successfully in both worlds is that kasina encourages me not to separate my life into categories or "work/life balance," but instead to think about how I can be the best in both categories.

Other actors might criticize the fact that I do something not acting related to support myself while working to become more established. A lot of actors go on unemployment during the lean times to stay focused on getting more work. Others work at bars from 4pm to 4am to make money. And I think that is great for them. Honestly!

But, I am excited to work with a wonderful group of people who acknowledge that I have a lot of skills and allow me to exercise those other talents while staying true to who I really am.

As my turn to host one of our weekly book reports approached, I knew I wanted to present a play. After research and a very helpful Drama Bookshop employee, I found Hold Please by Annie Weisman -- the comedic tale of four female office assistants -- Jessica, Grace, Agatha, and Erika -- and their roles within the company and relationships with one another. Grace and Agatha are career administrative assistants, working with the company for over twenty-five years. Jessica and Erika are in their early twenties and see the future as a blank canvas that they will fill, just as soon as they know what they really want to do with their lives.

In researching for my book report, Mike Ma also gave me the interesting Harvard Business Review article "Task, Not Time: Profile of a Gen Y Job" by Tamara J. Erickson to read. The article talks about how Gen Y employees, (me!), prefer jobs defined by task and not time, therefore wanting to be compensated for what is produced.

After reading the play and article, I walked away thinking about the important issue of time and what one decides to do with his or her time. Some, like the character Jessica, see a job as just something she does during the day and is not emotionally attached to whatsoever. It's her life outside of her job that she cares about. Others, like Agatha, are so entrenched in her job that it defines her and is incorporated into all aspects of her life.

Who knows...maybe someday I will get the other artistic assistants together and direct them in a production of Hold Please in the ideation room...at kasina, the possibilities are endless!