onStage Pittsburgh: Hazel Leroy’s life took an unexpected turn in 2013 when she attended a performance by Shannon Knapp’s new theater company. Hazel was a 59-year-old professor and performer who had stepped away from acting for nearly 20 years. Instead of just an evening of theater, Hazel found a path back to performing — and a lifelong friendship.
3 comments:
Hazel and Shannon’s friendship starting with Hazel giving Shannon some advice while being a complete stranger shows that deciding to use your expertise to help someone and that deciding to take a stranger’s advice without feeling attacked can lead to something beautiful. A 36 year age gap friendship is something that a lot of people might feel weird about, but I have always found that you can learn a whole lot from someone who is at a very different point in their life than you. The fact that they both care about what the other person says and that they both give each other a lot of advice makes me incredibly happy. I have had times where I thought that a friendship was going to be a two way street when in actuality the other person just wanted someone to be the “wise elder” to and not actually listen to/care about what I have to say. To have a friendship with someone who is older/younger than them and still have it be an equal friendship says a lot about both parties and their ability to grow as a person.
This article reminds me of my relationship with my mentor/friend from home. Though our origination story is a little bit different from Leroy and Knapp we started out as a guest designer and student that turned into a mentor/mentee relationship and finally friend whom I got the privilege to work with for over a decade. With a lifetime’s worth of an age-gap between us like that of Leroy and Knapp it is a lot of listening, showing up, being able to dish it out and laugh it off, but it’s also been a source of learning, growth, and support. I think unfortunately a lot of these relationships are hard to find because it’s so easy to jump to being defensive when there’s unsolicited advice, but the input is invaluable once you can take your ego out of the picture and realize that it’s someone who wants you to do and be better. It’s also a source of keeping the old knowledge alive while trying to integrate knew technology. It’s kept me from trying to solve things that aren’t problems and given him answers to things he’s struggled to solve.
This is so sweet, I love a mentour/mentee relationship that blossoms into friendship. I have one person in my life I’d really consider a mentour, and it’s crazy to think I’m at a point now at which I think I’ve genuinely received more education in my field than her. It’s a lovely thing though, to have someone like that who is so willing to show up for you and support you and see you succeed. I think having someone to work with and be friends with has been more educational to me than more traditional education because you know all of the feedback is personal. Everything is out of love and kindness and respect. This story also highlights why networking in the entertainment community is so important- someone who sees your show could also be a part of your dnd campaign could also be the reason you do or don’t get a job. Our industry is so small, so interconnected, and it’s so lovely.
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