puppetmaker | LJ Idol 6 Week One Empty Gestures

I hate empty gestures. Insincerity drives me up a tree. I much prefer honesty rather than a weak try at empathizing with something or someone that means nothing to either party.

I have to say that this goes back to my childhood. I always knew when I was being hosed by others. My gut was something that I trusted to show me the truth of the matter. I knew when I was being pushed off to the side or marginalized by others and it really made me very angry. I would seethe about it for weeks.

It wasn’t until I was in grad school that I learned how to deal with those types of gestures and those types of people. A wise stage manager told me that although you might not like everyone you worked with nor may everyone like you either, you have to find a way to make it work. But when your drinking buddy screws up, you have to call them on it and be as even handed as you can be within the confines of the work space. Never play favorites for it will bite you on the ass. And remember that when you leave the work-space, leave any negativity there.

Those words served me well during my career as a stage manager. Stage Managers get reputations when they work in an area a lot. Mine was consistently Firm but Fair. And that was fine by me. Actors knew that with me within the confines of the rehearsal space or the performance space that everyone was treated the same. Problems were listened to without favoritism and the solution wouldn’t take my friendship with someone in as a factor.

And that is the way I expected to be treated by my cast and crew. For the most part it worked in my favor. I also got the rep of being able to work with impossible actors and directors and getting them to do what needs to be done. People like to know that they have been heard and understood. I even managed to get one actor with a drug habit to abstain from the habit while at rehearsal or before performance which amazed their friends.

I still get angered by being patronized and being praised with faint damns, but I have learned to deal with it. There are times that I wished that I had learned those lessons earlier in my life, but I don’t think I was ready to listen and understand before I did. And I think I am a better person for it.

This was my entry for the 6th Season of LJ Idol. If you liked it, please vote for me when the time comes since I will be somewhere in New Zealand and unsure if I will have Internet at the time