TAMPA, Fla. — A life in the arts may seem like a wonderland, just living in creativity. But trying to manage your time could make you mad.

Just ask Matthew Doolin of the Tampa City Ballet. He’s stretching out before his part in the Alice in Wonderland ballet rehearsal at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center.

“Most dancers, including myself, had four other jobs in Tampa,” said Doolin. “Teaching at this dance studio, taking care of these kids, teaching after to school here, being a secretary and bartender.”

And they come to rehearsals five days a week.

“It’s insane,” he said.

Doolin’s solution is becoming a neuromuscular therapist. With that, it’s just two jobs.

Doolin and the Tampa Ballet Company are part of the inaugural Fall Festival at the New Tampa Performing Center. It’s free for the public to enjoy, and it includes many acts, from Improv to Ballet.

Saturday morning kicks off with a free showing of Disney’s Encanto.

“So, I imagine we’ll have a lot of kids out here singing ‘We don’t talk about Bruno,’” said Center Manager Keith Arsenault.

From the wings offstage, Doolin says he still gets a ping of excitement before hitting the stage.

Doolin’s connecting and sharing his humanity, even as he portrays the White Rabbit in the Alice in Wonderland ballet.

He explained his mindset on stage.

“Is my intention clear? Is what I’m doing going to read to the back of the audience,” said Doolin. “If it doesn’t read, it doesn’t make sense, they’re not interested, they might not come back.”

So the art is ready, the connection is there, and the audience is all that’s missing.