ChurchProduction.com: After a week of constant challenges, feeling very under appreciated, and just ready to “throw in the towel,” I asked my seven year old daughter, “Do you think daddy does a good job at his work?” She responded with, “Oh yeah! You’re cool!” After chuckling, I asked her why she thought I was cool. Her answers left me speechless. She proceeded to tell me all of the things I used to know about myself and my career, but have somehow forgotten along the way. Her answers were so innocent, un-tainted, real, and I loved it.
7 comments:
This article puts me in a more positive attitude. I like the change of perspective from "I have to..." to "I get to..." In any working environment, it's always a better place if people like what they are doing. Even if it's just a job to get paid, you should still find part about the job that you enjoy. This is a problem I had when I was working as a waitress. It was a bad side of town and a horrible staff. However, I kept looking at the positives so I wouldn't be upset everyday at work. I love my boss, they way the staff treated me, and getting tips from costumers. I just tried to keep those in my mind everyday so I wouldn't get upset. Other things that help were being healthy and staying active so I felt energized for my job. I also added yoga into my weekly routine for a more rejuvenating experience. The more positive I included in my life, the more enjoyable my job was. Once I left, I remember my boss said I would be greatly missed because I brightened everyone's day. I will never forget that experience.
This is a very tricky article, and has really got me thinking about how I evaluate a lot of things that my job requires me to do. I personally think that with everything that there are certain aspects to a job that suck more than others, and that is simply something that is just inevitable. However, I think the challenge then becomes turning those things into something that is fun so that they suck less. In evaluating myself, I think what I do to make the switch from “have” to “get” is the fact that no two days are the same. Every day has its own set of unique challenges and rewards, and that is what keeps it interesting and is why I come back day after day. I have always said, and I stand by it, that the second I have two days (back to back) that are the exact same I know its time to switch careers. I love what I do, so I hope that that never happens.
When I first decided that I was going to study drama, my mindset was definitely "I get to...". I felt so lucky that I got to go to school to study the field that I decided was my passion. That being said, as the year progressed, I felt less and less motivated to do what I was doing. I found myself complaining about having to sketch something in pencil or to design a storyboard. These are things I would have never imagined I could do in school, and suddenly, it was feeling like a chore. I wasn't sure why this was happening, and honestly, I'm still not sure. That being said, every time I see a show outside of CMU, I'm reminded of why I'm here. I love theater and sometimes when it gets broken down to such a degree that it does here, things start feeling like chores. When I look at the bigger picture of what comes out of all the hard work, I'm reminded about what I take part in creating. I'm not to into the the avant-garde theater that is meant to change someone's perspective on their entire life, I'm not interested in big theatrical pieces that leave the audience in tears. I just love to entertain. I could work on the campiest musical known to man and I would be a happy camper. I just have to remember what I'm here for and what I'm heading towards. This article definitely helped with that.
I think the title of this article alone can speak to a lot of people in theater/ theater school. When you’re so wrapped up in your work, and you’re losing sleep/stressing out over making your work perfect, it can be easy to forget how lucky you are to be doing the artistic work you’re doing, and to forget why you’re working so hard in the first place. While I’m not sure about the idea of “God giving you these opportunities”, I think this concept is an important one for everyone in theater, regardless of religion, to think about. I think a lot of people in theater do it, not just because they have a weirdly specific passion for creation and creativity, but also because of the diverse and passionate people they are able to work alongside. This past summer I was scenic designer for a musical that the producers rented an equity theater to put up. I was really excited to be working on my first show alongside “professionals”, but when I went to introduce myself to the head of the crew, I was upset to hear her angrily yelling at me and the rest of the crew, before we’d even started unloading our set. She continued to be rude and condescending to our entire team (teenagers and adults) during the whole load-in, tech, and performance experience. When I talked to others about my bad experience, most of them had the same response (well, that’s how professionals are, you’re going to have to deal with a lot of rude people in the working theater world, etc). While I understand this, it was still very discouraging, and even confusing, to try and work with a professional theater adult, especially as an eager 18 year old about to go into theater school. I’d like to think that people who are successful in theater have had to work so hard to get where they are that they are appreciative and grateful to be doing the work that they are doing, but, unfortunately, I don’t think everyone remembers to keep the innocent, child-like gratitude and spark that got them started.
People often get tired of their jobs and do not like them after working for a long time. They view work as a chore and something they just need to get done. It is sad that after working in a job for so long people forget why they started that career in the first place. Some people have jobs that they do not enjoy because they did it to get money and be able to survive and become successful. It is not as common as it should be for people to have a career in something they are passionate about. Even if you did pick a career that you are passionate about, over time that passion may die. People just need to stop and remember why they chose that career and how lucky they are to be pursuing their dreams. I hope that I do not lose my love of theatre over the years. I hope I look back and realize how lucky I am to be given the amazing opportunity to do what I love.
I think this article said what really needs to be said. I really am a supporter of finding a positive in everything. I think that we need to focus on the good and be thankful that we have what we have. In the world of theater it is easy to fall into a trap that the author talks about where you no longer are aware of the effect you have on a production, audience, or yourself. I think the phrase of "I get to.." is really important, because I hear a lot of people always saying they have to do things when in reality they don't, no one is forcing you to play a role, or design a show, if you do not want to do it, then don't. But thats not what they mean 90% of the time. Everyone can always use taking a step back and really looking at where you are and being appreciative of it.
I definitely appreciate the positive attitude this article brings. Especially being in such a stressful environment, it is easy to get caught up and stressed out about doing well on every single assignment and lose sight of the ultimate reason of why we're here. This article reminds me that it is okay to not do well on an assignment as long as "I get to" learn something from it. Expectation and reality rarely coincide, and holding a "I get to" attitude definitely turns something seemingly negative to positive. I think attitude is something that exerts great influence over our mood, mental health, performance, etc. It doesn't even have to pertain to theatre - just the fact that we are safe and able to learn without worrying about surviving/making it to the next day is a huge privilege. With everything that's going on in the world right now, this is something I used forget but now certainly appreciate more at the end of every day.
Post a Comment