Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2007 - 70

chologists Tony Cassidy and Richard Lynn. These
components are:
Work Ethic: concept of the "Protestant work
ethic," including the desire to work hard;
Pursuit of Excellence: motivation to perform
to the best of one's ability;
Status Aspiration: motivation reinforced by
climbing the social ladder, or becoming
a leader;
Competitiveness: motivation to "win" in
competition with others;
Acquisitiveness: motivation based on material
reward;
Mastery: motivation to succeed in undertaking
difficult tasks. (Cassidy and Lynn 1989)
Although acquisition of material rewards
doesn't often figure prominently in theatre, other components of achievement motivation do.
Anyone living in the United States is heavily influenced by the motivations of status aspiration
and work ethic. Theatre artists are strongly motivated by the pursuit of excellence, and designers, and technicians are particularly motivated
by mastery of their artistic or technical tasks.

Achievement and Self-esteem
But there is a dark side to achievement motivation. In many cases our self-esteem or sense of
worth becomes dependent on our achievement.
The workaholic uses achievements to prop up
her/his self-esteem, to feel less inadequate. This
dependence on achievement can begin in childhood. Some children perceive parental love
and approval as dependent on their achievements, while others follow the example of their
workaholic parents into achievement addiction
(Seybold and Salomone 1994). The addiction
to achievement in order to bolster self-esteem
seems to be on the rise. Citing reasons for increased workaholism, Griffith states "On a
psychological level, there appears to have been
an increased desire to achieve, accomplish,
and succeed as a way of enhancing a person's
own self-esteem." (Griffiths 2005). Over eighty
percent of all respondents to our recent survey
selected "Proving myself through my achievements" as usually or always important to their
success. Only one respondent indicated this
was rarely an important factor. (Ramirez and
Ellsworth 2007) When circumstances prevent
expected achievement, the loss in self-esteem
can be psychologically devastating. Retirement,
for those addicted to achievement, can loom
as a major threat. "In a survey of dancers con-

templating retirement, Wallach (1988) vividly
reported on the emotionally wrenching quality
of the separation from dance..." (Kogan 2002).
For the theatre artist who usually connects self
with work, addiction to achievement is a compelling motive for workaholism.

Freelance Employment
For designers, technicians, and stage managers,
work in the professional theatre is primarily a
freelance, entrepreneurial endeavor. Numerous
studies of entrepreneurs have identified need
for achievement as an entrepreneurial trait.
Other factors defining entrepreneurship include
initiating business decisions, creating new business opportunities, and assuming moderate levels of risk (Collins et.al. 2004). The freelancer
in theatre does all these. Collins' study also finds
that managers resemble entrepreneurs in terms
of achievement motivation. Many theatre positions, such as technical directors, shop supervisors, production managers, stage managers and
designers involve managerial dimensions. So
whether we work as freelancers or employees,
many designers and technicians work in roles
characterized by achievement needs. And achievement needs are conducive to workaholism.
Another dimension of freelancing is that
we become more self-directed in our careers
and lives. There is also evidence that creative
personalities are inherently self-directed. In
Helson's study of the creative personality, she
writes "One implication is that the creative personality develops in individuals who are...selfdirected as opposed to other-directed." (Helson
1996). However, there is a downside to being
self-directed. "For one thing," writes Helson,
"self-directed people do better in work than
they do in relationships." This relative ease with
work and relative difficulty in relationships is
likely to contribute to workaholic tendencies.
A byproduct of freelance theatre employment is a lot of travel. In an article by David Barbour, costume designer Susan Hilferty observed
that so much travel can make having a personal
life difficult. "I happen to be unmarried with no
children...I couldn't even have a cat or a dog."
(Barbour 1993). Lighting designer Robert Wierzel, in a published interview, spoke of the
toll travel takes on his family life. "...Michele,
my wife, and I try to involve the twins more in
what I am doing. We took them out of school
for a day for the New York premiere of the Bill
T. Jones concert. And when I am at home, we try

to separate our private time from my work time,
which can be very hard to do sometimes." (Lampert-Greaux 2002). But it isn't only families that
struggle with theatre careers. As David Barbour
explains, "It's hard to hold on to the things that
most people take for granted-family, friends, a
sense of coming from somewhere-when you've
got to get on the plane for that new production,
or a six-month tour..." (Barbour 2005). When
we lose touch with family, friends and a sense
of home, the distraction or substitution of work
becomes increasingly seductive.

Corporate Work Ethic
The corporate work ethic in America is a major
player in the growth of workaholism. According
to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, people in professional, technical and managerial careers are likely to work approximately
50 hours per week or more. (Florida 2004). In
2003 the BLS found that nearly 10 million Americans worked more than 60 hours a week (Holt
2004). In their study of workaholism and organizational relationships, Johnstone and Johnston found support for claims "that demanding
work environments, where staff are pushed to
work extra hours and to dedicate themselves
to the company, are likely to contribute to the
development and maintenance of workaholism"
(Johnstone and Johnston 2005).
The entertainment industry has not escaped the destructive effects of corporate
workaholism. In an interview with Ellen Lampert-Greaux, then marketing director for Entertainment Lighting Services Paul Dexter said
of corporate influence, "It's hard-many of us
started in lighting because it was a liberating lifestyle. All we have now is the ramped-up pressure
to compete in a congested and fragile business."
(Lampert-Greaux 2003). Respondents to our recent survey were asked, "Do you think that if you
don't work hard you will lose your job or be considered a failure?" Seventy-six percent answered
affirmatively. (Ramirez and Ellsworth 2007)
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act determines minimum wage, overtime pay, and
workplace standards, for both "non-exempt"
hourly employees and "exempt" salaried positions. Bryan Ackler and Lila Stephens provided
an excellent analysis of how the FLSA applies
to theatre, in their article published in TD&T.
(Ackler and Stephens 2003). Some key provisions of the FLSA are conducive to workaholic
tendencies among employees and employers.
THEATRE

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DESIGN

TECHNOLOGY

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