Becoming a Full-Time Theatre Maker:

Paul Snider’s Journey from Software to Stage

S1E13 of What the Fringe?!

This week, we feature content from our interview with Canadian Fringe Artist Paul Snider of Orchestra of Sound. If you are a fan of the podcast, you hear his sweet tunes every week. Thank you, Paul, for sharing your music with What the Fringe?! It's an honor to feature your work. Go check Paul's website, because he is releasing some new songs this fall!!

For Paul Snider, the road to becoming a full-time theatre maker was not a straight line but rather a long arc connecting rhythm, logic, and creativity. A trained musician and computer scientist, Paul spent years developing software by day while nurturing a growing artistic career by night. Eventually, that balance shifted. In 2009, he left the tech world behind to pursue the arts full-time, and he has not looked back.

Music and Computer Science

Paul’s story begins with childhood creativity. He remembers drumming on his school desk, inspired by the rhythms he learned on his mom’s old organ. Even then, he was both an artist and an engineer, building toy diggers out of popsicle sticks and selling them door-to-door. That early mix of invention and expression shaped the trajectory of his adult life.

In university, Paul chose a joint degree in music and computer science. Unlike many who choose a backup plan “just in case,” he truly enjoyed both disciplines. He saw parallels between composing music and writing software—both involved structure, nuance, and countless creative decisions. Software, like music, begins with a blank canvas and becomes something personal and precise through trial, refinement, and vision.

Making the Dream a Reality

Still, the dream of making art full-time never went away. Paul spent over a decade immersed in tech, eventually helping lead a startup in Vancouver that became one of British Columbia’s fastest-growing companies. Yet even at the height of his tech career, his evenings were filled with theatre, film, and songwriting. By the time he made the leap into full-time artistic work, he already had a strong sense of what that life entailed—both the rewards and the realities.

Paul’s advice to aspiring full-time artists is clear: do the work before you take the leap. He emphasizes the importance of building creative habits alongside a day job. That real-world experience helps separate fantasy from sustainable reality. As he puts it, “Acting is 2% glory and 98% sweat”—something he learned firsthand producing over 85 film, commercial, and theatre projects, including his musical Junk and films like The Walk and Everywhere But Here.

Discipline and Curiosity

Being a working artist means wearing many hats. Paul is not just a performer—he also composes, directs, edits, and even invents instruments. His show Orchestra of Sound features him playing music on found objects and handmade creations, including a functioning keyboard built from Lego bricks. When he does bring in collaborators, it’s usually for tasks that fall outside his skill set, like advanced audio mixing or color correction.

What sets Paul apart is not just his talent but his mindset. Paul approaches art with the same discipline and curiosity that once fueled his software career. He follows his creative instincts, works tirelessly, and stays open to learning. Paul's journey is a reminder that shifting careers is not about abandoning one path for another—it’s about integrating every part of oneself into a new direction.

Tips for Making the Leap to Full-time Theatre Maker

1. Live the life before you quit the day job. Make your art in the after hours so you know what the full-time version will feel like before you commit to it.

2. Go in with clear eyes. Paul describes the work as "2% glorious and 98% sweat," so be ready to put in the unseen work.

3. Pick your moment, and know your safety net. Wait for a natural time to step away, know what you can fall back on, and be honest about how much you need to live on.

4. Learn what serves your vision and hire out the rest. Take on the skills that help you realize what is in your head, and bring in others when the project needs something you cannot do yourself.

5. Build a show that can travel. Think big in concept but small in footprint, because a show with fewer people and less gear can go to more places. This not only applies to Fringe but to making your own work and touring where you live.

6. Ask, because the answer might be yes. If something seems out of reach, reach out anyway and be upfront about what you want to do.

7. When the admin takes over, go back to the art. Applications and marketing can pull you far from the work, so when it feels overwhelming, get back into rehearsal and remind yourself why you are doing this.

8. Bring your family along. Kids and family do not have to be a reason to hold back, and they can be part of the work itself. Don't be afraid to bring them along.

For those dreaming of becoming full-time theatre makers, Paul’s story offers both inspiration and a roadmap: work hard, stay curious, and build the dream one project at a time.

Listen to the Episode with Paul Snider

This blog post was inspired by S1 E13 of the What the Fringe?! podcast, and was written utilizing AI technology, in conjunction with human oversight and editing.