"If you can weld, you'll always get a job in the theater." Those words introduced Lizzy Hallas to her current career. A theater major at Normandale Community College, Hallas had asked about in-demand theater skills during backstage tours at the Guthrie and Penumbra theaters.
"I looked into welding. It's a one-year certificate at MCTC [Minneapolis Community and Technical College] and reasonably priced," she said.
On her first day at MCTC, "I didn't really know what to expect. I found myself in a dungeon of a place -- all cinder blocks. The instructor was amazing -- he laid it all out, told us what was expected of us. It was honestly just very easy to get into."
Before the school year ended, Hallas interviewed at Johnson Screens, a company that makes precision screens and filters. She started work the week after she graduated. "We make a lot of different things," Hallas said. "Everything is small diameter stuff. The lead guy will tell me what he wants from me. I get everything set up, I give it a try. If it isn't working, I can ask any of the men working around me.
"Getting your foot in the door with welding is a great thing. You've got time and money, job security, so you can figure out what else you want to do."
For Hallas, that includes performing in a Minnesota Fringe production, Broken Memories, that runs August 5-12 at the Gremlin Theater. "It's about bullying, being a teenager and driving through the pain and the angst of high school and coming out of it," she said.
What's it like to be a woman in welding?
I absolutely love it -- it's great. All the men are very nice and easygoing, very easy to talk to. It's a lot less stressful than working in retail. You can see everything you're doing.
