Few have even heard of Mosteller, but if you look closely at photographs taken inside the White House, you can often glimpse him at the edge of the frame, omnipresent. From his chair, he is the only person in the White House with a direct view of the president at his desk. No one gets in the Oval Office without going past him.
8 comments:
I think this article does a great job of pointing out that there is almost always someone behind the scenes, setting things up, preparing, cueing, etc. Even at the President’s level, there is someone keeping track of all the details. I definitely can appreciate Mosteller’s attention to detail. I tend to be someone who tries to figure out the inner workings of things, so I can definitely relate to Mosteller's interest in how Reagan operated so smoothly when he saw the President at an event. I think that Mosteller had no intention of taking up another job which would take him away from Chicago makes the story of him meeting and going to work for Obama so much better. It’s a classic example of life throwing unexpected turns at you, and how although it can be scary, taking the jump may yield great results. The interaction between Obama and Mosteller over the fireworks is also so interesting. Knowing when to take a request seriously, even if it means cancelling an entire fireworks display, is super important when working to support someone else’s vision.
This article was actually incredible. Before I even got to the part about him being compared to Gary from Veep, I was already beginning to think that. In addition, all I really could think about that involves this level of detail in a time based fashion was stage management, because it seems like it could be compared in a lot of ways. While the SM isn't necessarily there to serve the director of a production in the same way Mosteller serves Obama, the SM definitely serves the production in a very similar fashion to the way that they are described to be interacting. The whole article was very inspirational as well, it's really good to hear that Obama has a gay man (?) working so closely with him. While he's in somewhat of a service position, it says a lot about the President's character.
I like how this article brings some light to the people who work behind the scenes to make all the things the President does run smoothly. It’s all too easy to forget those people exist and attribute everything to some mystical luck that’s watching out for you. Personally I would never want to be President, aside from all the stress that must come from have to deal with everting involved with running a country and dealing with the other parts of our government there’s the fact that you would constantly be in the publics eye. Its that amount of attention as much as anything else that makes me have no interest in holding the President’s job, I think making a presentation to a decent sized class involves too many people paying attention to me. The entire country/world would be way way too many, I’d probably last an hour tops. That being said Brian Mosteller’s job sounds far more interesting to me. It sounds pretty much like stage management on a much large scale and focused on one person instead of a group of people. His job would probably be the end of me as well but at least it would be something I’d feel comfortable doing and might actually enjoy.
I really like how this article shed light onto a job that most people don’t know exist, but things would not run smoothly without, almost like a political combination of stage manager and assistant stage manager. I hold Monsteller to a degree of awe; being able to keep track of so many things yet stay so much behind the curtain is amazing. I really like how there is a technical theatre-like side to politics, those who are behind the scenes, running everything without the general public knowing. I feel like Monsteller’s job is very attractive to me; you have the ability to influence politics and be in the know for many political things, but you don’t have the stress of being president and having the weight of the whole country on your shoulders. I can’t help but wonder what Monsteller is going to do after Obama’s presidency is over.
As someone who works behind the scenes and tries to share with unknowing people what it takes to get a production up, I am kind of disappointed in myself that I never thought about the behind the scenes of the white house. Yes, I know about the Chief of Staff but that is mostly from The West Wing. There really isn’t a character like this in The West Wing. This guy is pretty much the stage manager, to put it in theater terms. He keeps everything going as it should, the president on task, the room set up, he arrives first and leaves last, this is all what a stage manager does. I think it must be really cool to have a job working so closely with one of the most important men in the world, but to pretty much have nothing to do with politics. This guy doesn’t have a say in the president’s decisions or thoughts, just with making sure he has a meeting with the people who he can discuss those topics with.
How odd it is that we think of the president as someone so elevated, so important, so in control, that we never consider how important someone like Mosteller can be to him? If it weren't for their relationship, the president wouldn't have the relationship he does with a lot of people. Like, an entire nation full of people. We give Mosteller our trust every day without even knowing it, because that is his job, and not only is he okay with this - he thrives amid the details of maintaining that trust. What a remarkable man, and friend. I don't know that I could ever believe in one person that much, enough to devote my every move and breath to making each of theirs happen just as it should. Then again, I am going into theatre design. Sure, it's not the same thing as building my life to revolve around the inner-workings of another's. But it is a process of aligning my thoughts and schedule to revolve around the inner-workings of an idea. An idea in which I believe fully, because if I didn't why would I bother to put myself through this level of stress and exhaustion? I am no Mosteller, but I do believe in things, and I think anyone can understand that. And if anyone can understand that, then we can all appreciate this amazing person. I'd love to know where he finds himself in ten months.
What interesting parallels between the White House and theater! I will admit that the stuff that Mosteller is handling is probably a little more important than that of a stage manager or someone working backstage or closely with the director, they are pretty close to the same job. I am a big advocate for getting the word out about the people who work behind the curtain (both literally in my case, and figuratively in Mosteller's case). So much of what people see is done by people who you never see, people who's job titles you didn't even know existed. My favorite thing to do in the past few months has been watching all of the credits at the end of a TV show or movie. There are so many jobs in the entertainment business and we just shut them off when the guy and girl finally get together and the movie ends. And maybe this is my biased opinion because I'm studying to be a rolling name at the end of a movie or in a really small print in a playbill, but those people have such important jobs, and nothing happens if one of them doesn't show up. We have to start giving these people some more credit. They deserve it. I hope Mosteller gets another job real quick at the end of Obama's presidency, seems like the guy is pretty damn good at his job.
This article is amazing. I am actually really emotional over this. What a wonderful pairing to be working together.
I love that this article was posted here, because it really does mimic a lot of the things we do. I love that Mosteller was a child who was able to recognize that he enjoyed political events not for the fight for election, but for the excitement of making them happen. And I love that the masking is coming down for just a moment to shed light on a role many people aren't even aware exists (much like some roles in theatre). I wouldn't say that Mosteller is Obama's stage manager, because there's an extra level there in the relationship that we don't really touch in theatre, but he certainly has a lot of the qualities of a stage manager. He cares about Obama and how is perceived, he makes everything run smoothly and conveniently, he takes care of the little things so no one else has to think about them, and he works tirelessly. Mosteller has a lot of qualities I would like to emulate. I am very impressed.
Post a Comment