Happy New Year - Time to Quit

Happy New Year. A time to assess, reflect and move onward and upward!

I'm not one for New Years Resolutions but, today on January 2, after a great weekend with friends and family, I asked myself these three questions that I've learned from the business world but, also, these are the basis of good theatre! All director's notes are a combination of these! 

1. What are you going to STOP doing in 2023?

2. What are you going to START doing in 2023?

3. What are you going to KEEP doing in 2023?

I wrote the answers in my journal/calendar and I'm taking action to do them!

Everyone will have a different STOP, START and KEEP. 

Feel free to share yours here! 

That Degree CAN get you THERE!

Sometimes I read an article and have to sit and stew on it for a few days as I ponder what I really think about it. I came across the article 9 Ways a Theatre Degree Trumps a Business Degree last week. The author is a theatre major but currently working as a PR and Communications professional. He was inspired to write the article to encourage a friend who felt like her theatre degree didn't mean anything in the business world.

According to the author, here are the key advantages that an employee with a theatre degree brings to the table:

1. Advanced critical thinking and problem solving skills
2. Calm in a crisis
3. Understand deadlines and respect them
4. An eye on audience perception
5. Courageous
6. Resourceful
7. Team Player
8. Versatile
9. Flexible

I mostly agree with him on all these points. And, in fact, when I was working at a large corporation and things ALWAYS seemed to be delayed, I made the comment that delaying an "opening" just DOESN'T happen in theatre. The show goes ON!

What I do enjoy MOST about this article is the creativity he employees to help his friend see all her positive qualities; and move forward in confidence in a career that isn't directly related to her degree. The amazing thing is, YOU could create a list like this for nearly ANY degree you have and how YOUR degree helps you in your current profession. (Note: Of COURSE, there are SOME careers that require a specialized degree. If that is what you want to do, then this post MIGHT not be for you!!)

So, get creative friends. IF your degree doesn't match a job you a) currently hold; or b) wish you had; then get out a piece of paper and write down all the positive and TRANSFERABLE skills you learned from your degree. And, if you are a college dropout (like me) you can STILL create a list, just use PAST JOBS to identify positive/transferable skills!

We Know When You're Lying

Professional actors learn to watch others and study the way words combine with behavior for different meanings. These performers consciously choose their behavior in a scene to combine with words for a desired effect. They understand that sometimes what a person is thinking might not match what they are doing. When aiming for a portrayal of honesty and truth, they are thinking honest thoughts, they are matching their words to their actions so their words support their behavior. These performers are also aware of the disconnect between thoughts, words and actions. When done effectively, dissonance between thoughts, words and actions makes good theatre and we can see the character lying, conniving or trying to deceive.

Think of your favorite movie, TV show or play,  consider those scenes where a character is saying one thing but thinking and doing another. Sometimes it is played for comic effect. Sometimes it heightens the drama or the mystery. As we watch those scenes it is obvious to us what is going on.

Great leaders understand that it is obvious in real life, too! People know when you're lying because they see that your words don't match your behavior. They come to the conclusion that you must be thinking something devious or untruthful if your words don't match your behavior!

Do you have co-workers who say one thing but do another? Do you trust them? Do you call them out or let it slide?