On amateur theatre and a scientific career

I was recently interviewed by Helen Partti for the journal of my professional union (Loimu). The article is part of a series aiming at presenting what scientists do on their free time and how it is part of their work-life balance.

I briefly mentioned my involvement in a theatre project in a previous post. Helen and I met on the day of the dress rehearsal for Apologia (by Alexi K. Campbell) produced in collaboration by Soup Troupe and The Really Small Theatre Company. I was the stage manager for this production. We talked for about one hour before the rehearsal and talked about my experience in amateur theatre (since my teenage years), my studies, my career, Finland, Switzerland, atmospheric chemistry, friendship, and possibly even other subjects. Eventually, Helen joined me to the theatre and stayed with us for a while, talking to actors and the director, while everyone was getting ready for the rehearsal.

You can access the article (in Finnish) here: https://www.loimu.fi/lehti/artikkelit/2019/2/Teatterin_pauloissa

Figure 1. The author of this blog during a rehearsal for Don Juan on Trial by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt (translated by Jeremy Sams), a production of Thespians Anonymous which he directed in 2015 (left). The author of this blog with his arms full of presents from the cast, after the last show of  Find Me by Olwen Wymark, which he directed for Thespians Anonymous in 2016 (centre). The author of this blog, as Dr. Todesrocheln, one of the eleven character that he played in The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel, a production of Soup Troupe in 2018.

Theatre, even at the amateur level, can be quite demanding. Besides the acting an directing parts, there is also quite a lot of logistics involved: one needs to secure venues in advance (to perform and to rehearse), think of costumes, props, and set, make sure there will be coffee and cake for the members of the audience on show nights, and so on. Every time I participate in a theatre production, I really do learn something. First, I learn about authors and topics I might not be familiar with, checking work that the play might reference. Then, I also learn new English words and how to pronounce them correctly. Moreover, if I act, I train my memory and work on my acting skills, and if I direct, I learn how to give feedback (both positive and negative), how to coordinate a cast of maybe 10 or 12 actors, schedule rehearsals, and work with a production team. And because in amateur theatre everyone has to help with several aspects of the production, with time I learned how to promote a show (e.g. social media, posters, radio interview), how to work with limited resources (a.k.a. be creative and think out of the box), how to respect strict deadlines, and so on.

Most of these skills, I recognise, are useful as well in my day job as a scientist. Planning, dealing with deadlines, allocating and keeping track of money and respecting the budget of a project, promoting one's work at conferences and through other channels (including on the Internet), collaborating with other scientists, supervising students; all of these activities make use of skills that I also learned, developed, and used in my theatrical activities.

I am so grateful to have the time and the opportunities to cultivate this passion of mine here in Helsinki with all my friends from the English-language amateur theatre scene. I do enjoy as well to go and see my friends perform, to go with them to see professional productions here or when I travel. To me personally it is a great way to expand my horizons beyond my everyday life and if it allows me to grow as a person and a scientist, even better!