You can only burn so many candles at both ends without, eventually, burning out.
Just ask John Caywood, who, last week, tendered his resignation as artistic director for the Egyptian Theatre Company in Park City.
While that was Caywood's official job title, he was also beating the bushes to raise funds (which are in mighty short supply, as every other theater company in the region can readily attest), and functioning as marketing director. Each one of these areas could easily be a full-time position.
Caywood admits that he'd been through "a pretty rough spring." He knew he was going to take a loss on ETC's recent production of "Yours, Anne" — but the loss was nearly double his projections.
Of course, he's not alone. There's a monetary drought in corporate funding and patron attendance is also falling — not just in Park City but all over the region. "There are 124 nonprofit organizations in Park City, and there are no deep pockets," Caywood said.
The theater has canceled one of its planned summer projects, a musical version of "Eating Raoul," but is moving ahead with "Doctor, Doctor! The Medical Musical Comedy Revue."
When he was hired more than a year ago to take on the artistic director post, Caywood said, "it was not the job I had imagined it to be. I don't enjoy fund-raising, and that consumed a lot more of my time than I liked. This is the first day of my adult life without a theater job.
"Maybe it's time for a career change, but I don't know to what."
Becky Stedman, the Egyptian Theatre Company's general manager, will ride herd on things until a new artistic director is found.
Caywood said his personal health was also a factor in the decision to move on. In 1998, he was hospitalized following a heart attack while he was directing "Crazy for You" for for Pioneer Theatre Company.
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