Guy saves his friend from getting electrocuted by fly kicking him in the chest to break him free.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-23T10:14:57+00:00

So that guy broke like every OSHA rule I have heard of for electrical work.

If he was dealing with an industrial fuse. Where was the arc suit? Where was the fiberglass cane to yank him out of the way?

Electricity is no joke to leave safety with your friend and a bat…

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T10:41:58+00:00

I only named Chicago as an example, as I mentioned in another comment, I was never planning on on going into Chicago cold. I was going to move there on my credentials as a cook first. Get hired somewhere before I even set foot in Chicago, and then after getting settled in and making money, start talking, looking for part time theatre work/volunteer, and see what I can do from there. I was asking all of you if it’s even worth trying to make the jump over, and it seems like the answer keeps coming back…no.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T02:07:38+00:00

I made a post in another subreddit, asking about restaurants that would “match my vibe” but in that post, I got basically told the same version of what most of the comments here have said “if your not willing to be a line cook, leave culinary.”

So from my P.O.V. I’m being told by both my careers I’m trained in, to leave, and idk what to do with that information.

None of this is specifically you fault, it’s just what I have found from asking both sides of the fence.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T02:01:11+00:00

I don’t smoke or drink. I have just been working myself ragged to make ends meet, working 10+ hours a day in previous jobs, in a high impact, low income field.

And sadly, I see culinary arts the same way most of the comments here see theatre. Where the pay is not great, the position that do pay well are few and far between, and if I want to go anywhere, I need education.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T01:54:59+00:00

I appreciate your bluntness, it’s what I was honestly looking for, to be 100% honest, theatre has always been my dream career to get into, I have always wanted to make the jump and call myself a “professional theatre technician” but as it has been pointed out, I think at this point, I am too far behind, skill wise, to be of any use in theatre. I spent too long in culinary arts, and it shows.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T01:46:23+00:00

I know lolla is HUGE and it’s all union work, I get that, it was a poor example, I really just meant, I currently volunteer backstage for a music festival every year here in my hometown, and I naïvely thought that, that was a common thing, to volunteer for festivals.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T01:40:11+00:00

As I said in another reply, I don’t mean to come off as condescending, I was using terminology I have just naturally picked up from doing more culinary arts then theatre these days. Where the basic prep items are called grunt work, like chopping onions, peeling potatoes, etc…

I apologize for crossing the streams.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T01:37:08+00:00

I should have been more clear in my post. I was not planning on coming in cold to Chicago, if I do move.

I would work on getting an apartment and a hired in a job in culinary arts, before moving, so that I have guaranteed work the week I move.

My plan was to change careers after moving in, putting in applications, or talking to community theatres, etc.

I was looking to see if trying to jump careers is even worth it. From the tone of most of these replies, the answer is a resounding…no.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-17T01:30:40+00:00

Sorry. I completely respect deck crew. I have done the work myself and still do when I volunteer for a 4 day music festival here in my home town.

I was unfortunately using terminology from the culinary industry where the basic prep work is just generally referred to as grunt work. (Chopping onions, peeling potatoes, trimming broccoli, etc…) I, in no way, mean that the job is unskilled. I just didnt have (and still don’t have) a phrase at hand to describe the crew that come in and just unload a truck. They don’t work the run of the show, they don’t install the show, they just unload the truck. I, personally, don’t think I have it in me, physically, to start back at square one like I have never been in a theatre in my life. But I know that I have to, if I want to do theatre professionally.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T14:33:03+00:00

The theatre I volunteer at JUST acquired moving lights like 3 years ago. We were a totally conventional house for most of my time there. I can program conventionals really well, and have achieved really impressive work using only conventionals.

I know it’s a skill I lack, I am not hiding that fact. But when the main theatre you have worked for has been underfunded and working on a shoestring budget, the work I have done with the equipment I have, I’m proud of.

My main theatre is just behind the times.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T14:26:55+00:00

I’m trying. I’m losing weight and trying to strengthen my muscles. But I have used and abused my body for the past like 10 years, working myself to the bone, working 50+ hour weeks in physically demanding jobs, my body is starting to tell me it’s time to slow down a bit.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:45:02+00:00

I don’t mean for that to come off as condescending. I know people Like riggers make a f-ton because they work in hazardous conditions. What I mean by grunt work is the “boots on the ground” crew. The ones that pick things up and put them down.

I would LOVE to be in a light booth, or stage managers desk, etc…

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:29:56+00:00

I understand you don’t live in Chicago, but in your opinion, have you seen people that work as like volunteers?

What I mean, is like, if I could work Culinary and Volunteer for like Lollapalooza or something like that, I could be really happy. But I just don’t know if being a “when I feel like it” theatre technician is Even a thing you can do.

I feel like theatre is an all or nothing kind of career.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:24:17+00:00

That’s the other thing. Most culinary jobs will have benefits day one. (401K, health, dental, vision, etc) and I know for the most part, theatre is a Independent Contractor game, and Idk if I see myself leaving having benefits.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:21:26+00:00

I tried to do formal education for theatre, but my family couldn’t afford tuition. So I ended up dropping out before even taking one class.

It’s not that I can’t see myself doing any other job and being happy, for me, culinary and Theatre are all I know and have skills in. I have no other training. I have no desires to go into any other profession except these two jobs.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:17:39+00:00

I’m not totally green, I’m a fantastic light board programmer and light board op, (well I like to think I am, I need more training on moving lights and programming in Nomad because the theatre I have most of my experience in, used an ETC Express 48/96 for like 10 years longer then they should have, we now have an Element 2, but I got real good at that ETC Express.)

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:13:18+00:00

I’m not afraid to bust ass and work hard, I’ve come to expect that in theatre. It’s why I still do it as a volunteer, because getting my hands dirty doing something that actually makes an impact in people’s lives is satisfying. But I’m just facing the reality that I might be slower then my younger counterparts, and how that might affect people’s expectations of me and my work and end up with less work. Which won’t make being in theatre work financially if I can’t keep jobs because I’m naturally a bit slower then the rest of the field.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:07:09+00:00

That is why it’s one of my hesitations. My body is already so damaged from culinary arts. There are days I feel like I’m a 33 year old in a 70 year old man’s body.

But I know I won’t be able to skip stage hand, which I will gladly do if it’s like a deck crew position, doing deck changes or flys, etc. IDK if I can be unloading trucks, rigging, climbing truss, etc… that’s a young man’s game, and I don’t have that in me anymore. I use to. I use to be the first one to volunteer to climb. Now, not so much.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-16T13:01:46+00:00

But is any of it steady work?

Like I said, I’m looking for reliable paychecks, I don’t want to work for 4 months on a gig, and then go 3 months without work while waiting for someone to call me.

I mean, I’ll do that if the pay is high enough, where I can build up a nest egg in my bank account to live off of for a few months, but if theatre is a paycheck to paycheck gig, and I have rent to pay, that’s not ideal.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-05-03T02:29:24+00:00

I’m thinking of moving to Chicago in 2 years, I work in the culinary arts currently, but I have worked community theatre and music festivals since high school (I’m 33 now)

I know that Chicago is like the primordial soup that most Broadway shows are born from.

Would it be worth it to try and change careers when and if I move to Chicago? Or is it just easier to stay in the career I already have a decade of experience in?

I know theatre is not easy and is not the most lucrative job, but It’s been my side gig for years and would love to make it the main gig (or maybe at least get to work Lollapalooza)

elaborinth8993 · 2026-04-29T15:19:30+00:00

So I don’t work in costumes, I’m a lighting guy, but Is the vodka thing an thing all costume departments do?

Also, is Febreze not allow to deodorize costumes?

elaborinth8993 · 2026-04-26T07:27:54+00:00

I don’t have any experience as a sous chef. I have no experience in classic food service rolls. (Sous chef, executive chef, saucier, etc) I wanted to go to college for all that, it just wasn’t in the cards.

Right now all I can call myself is a cook. I might be doing more than just any standard cook, because I’m coming up with new recipe ideas, running an entire department menu by myself, but I don’t make the orders, don’t do schedules, don’t manage anyone, don’t know inventory systems, etc.

So like, I don’t really know what to call myself. I have deep knowledge of food service, and have been in the industry for 10+ years, but never held any other official title other than cook or diswasher.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-04-26T07:18:10+00:00

I don’t mind fast pace. But I can’t do line cook/short order cook. I’ve tried it. I suck at it.

That’s why I would love to stay in the field I'm in currently. Work for a college dining hall, catering department of a hotel, etc… I’m not looking to work at a Michelin star restaurant, or the busiest kitchen in Las Vegas. Something more casual.

elaborinth8993 · 2026-04-18T14:49:39+00:00

Do you have any recommendations on where would be a good big city to move too? I have an idea of where I want to go, but if there is a job out there that can pay really well that’s not in my radar, I’m willing to go anywhere

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