I haven't worked with a professional theatre in any capacity; my theatrical experience is pretty well limited to work at the University of Louisville. Therefore, when it comes to the etiquette of the professional theatre, I have only questions and some hearsay. What I saw during the special effects tech run for THWBP answered a question, and it also made me smile a little.
The director, actors, and crew members treated one another with respect and civility. Unfortunately, this behavior is not often seen in our theatre department. Instead of barking orders at others, those involved with THWBP made polite requests. Rather than give attitude, they offered thanks for having been accomodated. No one person acted as if he or she was better than another. Similar ideas may have been thought by some, but they were not shown. The director did not scream, the actors did not talk down to crew members, and the crew members did not insinuate that the actors were buffoons. How nice it seemed. Furthermore, the star playwright that we met was a nice as anyone that I have spoken with for only half-an-hour.
Granted, this was one experience. Despite my lack of knowledge on the matter, I highly doubt that all professional theatre is always so courteous. I even doubt that the same behavior was seen throughout every inch of ATL. We've all had our moments of shameful behavior, I have certainly had mine. But that is the absolute most that they can be: moments. Those mere moments are still too much, but all cannot be perfect. I am not asking for rainbow smiles and Beach Boy sing-a-longs, but something as simple as politeness can make all the difference. Theatre, both inside and outside of this particular class, should be about community and collaboration. Anything else and the work is no longer art, it becomes a gross product of the ego. Good manners are an elementary component of the collaborative process and an easy way to establish that egos have been put aside for the benefit of the community. I've had a fear that passive-aggression and high-horse attitudes would to be ever-present in my hopeful future. Two Thursdays ago, I regained an optimism that the days ahead may not be so grim.
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Funny enough, with the little experience I have in the professional side of the Theatre, it ranges. I've worked with some, that are like ATL in set-up, and the people are just lovely to each other face to face. It's when one isn't in the room, that's where the fun begins! I'm always suprised at how nasty and ridiculous people can be about other people. I've also been in situations where those feelings are placed out in the open in the middle of a prod. meeting and/or a rehearsal...right before opening fight backstage, ha!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, my experience with the world where Unions are involved - everyone is just SO super nice. Ego's are allowed (that means, everyone recognizes that they're the best and recognizes that everyone around them must also be the best). I exaggerate. There is a sense of understanding of why we are all here, and perhaps it is because the MORE professional you get the less of a rat race for fame/money/employment it becomes. In Academia, the school is trying to produce the best and often times there is incentive for students to renegade themselves (Scholarships, etc.) and the faculty is held responsible for the outcome of the students. In the real world it's a job and you will get fired if you do it poorly, so a more serious tone is found. Also, with the seriousness comes understanding and acceptance and you realize that each and every single one of us would fall to the floor if one of us stepped out of the game. That make any sense?
but in the end...who doesn't love juicy gossip? :P
I'm glad that you posted this thought, Will, because have thought the same thing so many times. I didn't get to see the tech for "Hard Weather.." but I have gone to tech for the opera with Zac before and I remember thinking that everyone was on the same page and working toward a common goal. That's what theatre is in the end- it is made of a lot of different people doing individual jobs to make one big product. It is definitely a team effort, but often in our experiences at UofL at least, the production is divided into several different teams that seem to want to compete against one another, and that never works well for the outcome. Sometimes, it is very discouraging to be talked down to, or to feel like you are being walked on when you are a part of the production, so it is good to see that there is hope for a better environment in theatre that we may actually work in later on. Another thing that I wanted to add about "real world theatre" was that when I went to the opera tech, I remember commenting to zac, "wow... we do the same things that they do." it was a relief to find that their jobs entailed exactly what we do, and that they run into the same silly problems that we do in tech. When it came down to it, theatre was theatre, wherever you go. It was calming to know that it's a sort of universal language.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great conversation to have started, and it sounds like another facet of our department that we would like to work to change. These professional experiences we have had prove that working together doesn't have to be a struggle, so how can we communicate that to the rest of the department? Can we put our finger on exactly where the points of disagreement are and come up with a solution? I have been involved in only productions here, but in my experiences in general, conflicts arise when people are not actively listening to each other, not respecting each others wishes, when one person or team is on a power trip, when someone lets their pride get in the way... those sorts of things.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find it online, but does anybody know the department mission statement (I think it's hanging in the lobby), and does it talk about recognizing and teaching theatre as a collaborative process?
How can we approach this in a way that may actually bring some success? This is more important than having a good experience working on any one production, it is about teaching students (us!) how to behave in the real world.
I was having an interesting conversation with my mom the other day about some of the frustrations I have had with the department. Nothing too bad, I've just been here a long time and am clearly ready to move on. I work in the costume shop and have for most of the duration of my time here. My bosses have become my mentors, and I have professional as well as personal relationships with professors. I can candidly interact with professors in the costume shop or the hall, and then go into class and keep my distance. It gets very difficult when the boundaries are muddied up. And usually there is no one to blame in these situations, its just some thing that happens in small and close communities. Also, within the student community, we learn together, work together, and play together. I have absolutely no regrets regarding this situation, and have had an emotional blast here at UofL. I don't know, just some thoughts I was working through the other day.
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