For the next two months, I will be researching the experiences of women in the restaurant industry. I received an Unbridled Learning grant from SMU to conduct interviews with female servers, hostesses, and bartenders in Dallas, and to use their stories to create and perform a solo performance piece in the fall of 2012. The goal of the project is to expose some of the expectations and pressures placed on female workers in restaurants. For example:
How is the female worker expected to "perform" for customers?
What demands are placed on the female worker's appearance?
How does sexuality factor into the female worker's interactions with customers?
How does the female worker's job differ from her male coworkers'?
I am incredibly intimidated to begin these interviews--to cross the delicate line from patron to investigator.
How to approach these women: that is the question. I have worked as a hostess in several restaurants, and I cannot imagine where I would begin if asked to tell stories about my experiences from the host stand. A loyalty forms between workers in restaurants as all staff members, from the kitchen to the floor staff, work together to make the job as not-excruciating as possible. An outsider attempting to peek in (a.k.a. me) could potentially threaten this harmony, which is exactly why my job is not an easy one.
It is the theatre artist's job to stir up the ordinary and to question the way society operates. So although my job is admittedly not the most desirable or familiar, I must press onward to find out which questions need to be investigated.
I'll be blogging about my findings, so be sure to check in throughout the summer. Wish me luck!
