In today’s episode of Parents at Work, Tom Spiggle and co-host, Lori Mihalich-Levin, introduce us to two moms in the performing arts, Rachel Spencer Hewitt and Roberta Pereira.

Rachel details her personal challenges as a working mom and the logistics of trying to find acting work while juggling new motherhood. Roberta addresses common practices in the theatre industry that previously haven’t been questioned. Join us as they share insight, tips, and resources for theatre moms, on today’s Parents at Work Podcast. 

Rachel Spencer Hewitt received her MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama. Her credits include Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatre. She is mom of 2 children, a 4 year old and a 2 year old, the Founder and Executive Director of The National Organization for Individual Caregivers in Institutional Support, and the Founder of the Parent-Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) for the performing arts.

Roberta Pereira is a Tony-nominated, Olivier-award winning theatre producer. She’s currently the producing director of “The Playwrights Realm”, an off-Broadway theatre company committed to amplifying the voices of emerging playwrights. She’s the solo mom of 20-month old Bianca.

Show Highlights:

• Scheduled craziness and chaos of hours
• The need for invisible labor, contingency plans, creative problem-solver
• Saying yes to opportunities that may have a 24-hour notice and then prioritizing that opportunity over everything, no matter how healthy (or unhealthy) that decision is for everyone
• Reaching out and receiving help from family
• Broadway Babysitters based in NYC, composed primarily of artists who are used to long hours and understand industry norms
• Urban Sitter, an online database that will show locations for caregivers while traveling
• Washington D.C. just passed a paid-leave law
• FMLA applies to some people, but doesn’t require paid leave
• Celebrating the individual and saying yes to everything that they are
• Hostile work culture can break an individual, because of their needs outside of the industry
• Prioritizing the health and independence of the individual Rachel and Roberta’s goal is to make the industry better for everyone
• When you’re home, be focused on home
• The Radical Parent Inclusion (RPI) project - providing childcare at auditions
• Sometimes not being able to afford being seen is the reason people don’t get the job, and not because they are not capable or don’t want to work.
• Changing rehearsal dates to coincide with a child’s holiday from school, so that it becomes a day off for both the parent and the child
• The idea of the “disposable artist”: you work until you’re burned out. Once you burn out, you’re replaceable. If we care about longevity, we need to care about practices that are sustainable.
• Caring about inclusion through the lens of parenting
• What lessons can we learn that are transferable?
• Hiring parents can be an asset
• Providing a child-care matinee, where children do activities while parents watch a play
• Being an agent of change within the industry and leading by example
• Find community! Don’t underestimate the value of resource-sharing.

Links / Resources:

https://www.spigglelaw.com/podcasts/parents-at-work/

https://www.broadwaybabysitters.com

https://www.urbansitter.com

https://paaltheatre.com

Facebook.com/paalperformingarts

Twitter.com/paaltheatre

Instagram.com/paaltheatre https://www.playwrightsrealm.org

https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/rpi

Anna Moensch's Mothers: https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/2019-20

Book:

Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster” 

Article:

“End the Plague of Secret Parenting” by Emily Oster

The “Parents at Work” Podcast is sponsored by:

The Spiggle Law Firm, representing people who have been wrongfully fired, or fear they might be, with a particular focus on pregnancy discrimination.

In today’s episode of Parents at Work, Tom Spiggle and co-host, Lori Mihalich-Levin, introduce us to 2 working dads in the HR field: Wiley Simmons and Adam Calli. Human resources are generally a women-dominated industry, yet men contribute a unique and valuable perspective.

Wiley Simmons is a single father of 2 and came to the HR field through a complete accident. Having an executive and administrative assistant background, he took an admin assistant temp job in the human resources field, and his boss was so impressed with his work, he was offered a position as a benefits coordinator. What he found was that with being prior military, the rules and regulations of the HR profession, as well as his enjoyment of helping people and interacting with staff, turned out to be the perfect career choice for him. 

Adam Calli is the proud father of 2 and an HR professional. He is also the principal consultant and founder of the human resources consulting firm, Arc Human Capital, LLC. Prior to working in HR and having children, hotel operations were Adam’s specialty, but it was not especially conducive to family life. He did something quite revolutionary for 2002: he saved up his leave time and took 3 weeks FMLA leave after the birth of his son.

Both HR and non-HR professionals alike will enjoy hearing this discussion on industry trends, and finding that perfect balance between work and life. There’s something for everyone here. Please join us!

Show Highlights:

• Hard to trust HR personnel when you’re on the other side of the fence
• HR doesn’t get the accolades as a profession that it deserves
• Allowing time off to take care of family issues
• A support system is extremely important
• Parents need time off, too
• Mandatory leave law
• Talking to a therapist as a way to maintain balance
• Dealing with mental health issues 
• Taking care of yourself and enjoying parenthood
• Watching other parents and deciding what kind of parent you want to be
• Why more companies are becoming interested in paid parental leave plans
• How the opportunity to utilize technology makes it easier for today’s parents to be more productive
• Why the “work/life balance” terminology is becoming obsolete
• The “work/life blending” concept is more practical for today
• Work and life is still just life
• Why progressive companies will accept and embrace the blending concept
• Old-school-mentality companies are in danger of fading out
• Hyper-efficiency as a brand new parent
• Which generations might be less accepting of this work/life blending
• HR availability to remote workers
• Helicopter parents
• Families being committed to everything but the family
• The value of committing to your children and your community
• Learning how to say no and understanding the commitment of saying yes
• Being a victim of your own success
• Encouraging employees to tap into the employee assistance program
• How a phone is critical technology when managing multiple people
• The benefit of family-shared calendars/apps
• How to teach our children time management as members of the family
• Time management is an incredibly valuable skill to have no matter what your field

Links / Resources:

https://www.spigglelaw.com/podcasts/parents-at-work/

https://www.mindfulreturn.com

http://www.archumancapital.com