This is what happens when you're too prepared?

I got offered an interview this morning for teaching a writing class at Bentley University. That's awesome! Except... I don't know if I could accept it if offered. UGH.

When I was concerned that my third class at Lesley might get cancelled due to low enrollment, I started applying to other universities to see if I could get another class elsewhere as a backup. It turned out that the class isn't going to be cancelled after all, so my schedule was safe. However, I'd sent out a handful of applications by that point, and today I heard back from Bentley asking if I could come in for an interview.

This is of course a good thing! I'm glad my resume and cover letter were strong enough to get invited in. Bentley is a four-year college that's literally like ten minutes from my house, so getting a relationship there would be awesome. But when I was planning my schedule for the fall, it was taking into account how I'll be directing Vivat Regina and the inaugural production of Base Instruments for Arisia this year. Directing two plays, even if one of them is a reprise, is a lot of work. I was pretty burnt out last year by just that plus two classes and tutoring. I wouldn't have to tutor with a fourth class-- tutoring is easier, but a class is more money --but the real kicker is the grading.

Lesson planning and actual in-class time are certainly work, but for me at least, the most seriously labor-intensive is the grading. Literally the worst part of being an English teacher is reading and responding to all those papers in an actually constructive manner. Taking on an additional class would likely mean an extra fifteen to twenty students' worth of grading for the semester. Maybe I could manage to do it, but I imagine it would be a pretty miserable workload. Do I really want that level of stress?

I consulted the archives of Ask a Manager, a great advice website from a woman who is a consultant in management, professional practices, and job searching. She's a great source on the best practices of modern professional life. She is of the opinion that one should not accept an interview one knows one will turn down. Her reasoning is that you risk the hiring manager feeling that you've wasted their time, which could alienate them from ever calling you back in should you ever apply there again, and stealing an interview slot from someone who actually does really want the job. The former I definitely don't want to do, as I could see myself in a situation in the future where it would be great to be teaching there, and the latter I know how painful it can be when folks don't call you back.

So I guess my only two options are either politely decline the interview for scheduling reasons, or accept the interview with the intention of taking the job if offered. I'll have to think which one is going to be right for me.

31 Plays in 31 Days, #3 - "Rich Boy Out of Water"

Today's scene is in fact one I wrote today. It's one of the last scenes I have left to draft for the Hood pilot, which I need to have a solid and serviceable first version of for this Friday.

A tenent of dramatic storytelling is that for your protagonist's arc to be compelling, they must have a journey that really challenges them and requires the farthest possible distance for them to go in order to reach their goal. In this case, we set Robin up as a trust fund brat who inherited a huge company and never had to work hard or struggle in his life. We did that so that in the course of the story he would have all that taken away, all his money, position, and power, so that when he starts on the journey of the series, he cannot fall back on all his usual tools and safeguards. That will require him to develop skills, self-reliance, fortitude-- and most of all, an empathy for others who don't have the advantages he lucked into.

This scene is right after he's been declared an "outlaw" basically. Even though he's innocent of the crime they accused him of, the police are closing in on him. They follow him constantly and shut down his bank accounts, and he concludes the only way to remain a free man is to run away. Unfortunately his escape plan goes awry and he is run aground by police pursuers in "Sherwood," the local rundown urban area. Up to this point, his privilege and money has shielded him from all struggle. But here's what happens when the prince is forced out of his kingdom to live in the real world, and how hard it is for him to face that kind of suffering.

( Day #3 - Rich Boy Out of Water )