Time for Change
Well, I’ve had to rebuild my blog, at least temporarily, as my other has crashed spectacularly. Maybe it’s simply time to move on from that site and build the new one that will lead me on in my life path.
Scale
I had the wonderful opportunity, within the span of a week, to be reminded exactly what theatre is. My first moment was on a backstage tour at Mystere in Las Vegas. An old friend of mine is in the cast and toured us around their theatre. What a site! And yet, they still don’t have enough backstage space and they have an elevator (up to the dressing rooms six floors above) that doesn’t always work. They’ve had to figure out how to store those pieces efficiently and effectively – a problem many theatre people will recognize.
At the end of the at same week, I also got a personalized backstage tour (complete with a barbecue at the prop shop) of the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. I work for a smaller company and to us, these guys are part of the “big guys” in the festival circuit. But to them, they are not the “big guys”, that’s Oregon and Stratford. (Same perception, different level.) They creatively use their storage space, so do we – just on a smaller scale. They need rehearsal space – so do we, and we find it where we can. The list goes on but the key point I came away from both of these experiences with is that no matter the size or budget, we are here to put on a show. The basic elements are the same whether you are small like us or big the the “big guys” – script, artistic staff, cast, crew and audience.
PS: I got to stand on stage at the Adams Shakespearean Theatre where moments before Brian Vaughn was rehearsing his Petruchio for this years “The Taming of the Shrew.”
Have you had an experience where someone or something you idolized helped you gain perspective and realize your place in the grand scheme? Please share.
Adams Shakesperean Theatre
Cedar City, UT
Utah Shakespeare Festival
joyjourneynow 
Really interesting article Lori Ann, being outside of the theatrical arts I guess I do not really think about the space limitations and issues that go on behind the scenes. I do know what you are saying regarding the “big guys” perspective and it’s relevance to the individual. I had this a while ago when I was conversing with a contact who lives in the US, and he spoke of million dollar deals in a matter of fact way as they are quite common in his industry. My industry, not so much. 🙂
LikeLike
And he probably has people in his world that he feels the same way about! Some things truly are universal. Thank you for your comments!
LikeLike
Enjoyed reading your traveling theatre experiences, Lori Ann. I have a lot of experience in the music industry and my daughter is an actress, mostly for television, so I have some experiences I can relate to. I think my most exciting time was being backstage and then actually siting on the stage (out of sight of the audience) for a concert of my favourite group Daryl Hall and John Oates. Hanging out with them was amazing too. As far as someone I look up to who has helped me put things into perspective, this would be my art mentor. Finding her and Arscura-School for Living Art when I was very ill, literally helped save my life. The way she holds a space for healing is truly remarkable and I feel blessed to have been led to her and the work we do at Arscura. I was on death’s door when I arrived there and am grateful to have transformed my health and my life through her brilliant art processes. Appreciate hearing about your observations and resulting realizations. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLike
Great perspective on scale – each organization faces the same challenges. AND big guys, little guys, you all put on amazing shows within whatever constraints present themselves. Don’t have experience in theater world – appreciate all of the good work that you do!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. We strive to do our very best!
LikeLike
I don’t have a personal experience to share with you about stage craft, but what I’m walking away with from your blog and the comments is, everything is relevant. Size & scale may make the problem seem larger but the solutions seem the same. Sounds like you had a great personal time.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It is a great point to remember that it is all relevant, no matter the industry!
LikeLike
First of all, your website looks great! I really like the picture on the top. It’s a very interesting article. I don’t have experience in theatre world, but I’m interested, so someday in the near future I would like to see some plays. Thank for sharing!
LikeLike
Thank you. It’s a redesign and it was so much easier to just start from scratch instead of trying to adapt my old content into it.
LikeLike
Hi Lori Ann,
Really enjoyed reading your post this week and sorry to hear that you had to redo your site……but you have shared an awesome post and that is the best part! Thanks for sharing 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Joan! I figured it’s all for the best as it looks more like I want it to now.
LikeLike
The basic elements are the same whether you are small like us or big like the big guys is a nice reminder that each of us face trials and tribulations and find ways to manage the hand we are dealt.
LikeLike
Exactly!! And we littles need those bigs to keep us moving forward.
LikeLike
Hi Lori-Anne,
It seems to be an exciting world, even with its challenges. Interesting to learn about the challenges, it’s true that we don’t often think of the work involved backstage to bring together a great play. Awesome!
LikeLike
Thank you, Renee! It is exciting. I often find new things in each project that keep me coming back.
LikeLike
Interesting, each situation is the same and different. I remember in my old career where a million dollar deal was talk about like a 1 dollar deal. I didn’t think anything of putting together bid in 100’s of million dollars. Crazy really.
It took a job change, a major accident for 2 family members to really gain perspective back to what was really important and at that point I became an entrepreneur.
LikeLike
Kind of amazing what it takes. For me, when I visit a place like Bryce Canyon, I’m reminded how small I am. When I came home, I set my mind on the entrepreneur track!
LikeLike
Yes! We are often in a bubble consumed with our own problems and don’t realize that we are no different than those whom we idolize. We are all the same and can learn from our collective experiences. In fact, this is one of the lessons I try to pass on to my business coaching clients when they become frustrated and think they can’t compete with the “big guys.” After working with so many companies, both large and small, I know that most have the same fundamental issues at their core. The differences are only a matter of scale.
LikeLike
Thank you! It’s really hard not to compare to the big guys, and it’s important to gauge where they are and where we want to be, but not to use the same metrics when measuring success.
LikeLike