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Over time, I am learning a little of the history of Crazed Imaginations. I have almost not intutitive relationship with the passage of time, but I think the stories I have been hearing cover just the last few years.
That surprised me. A lot.
I am not privy to all that is going on, but the emotional turmoil around the cast doesn't seem particularly out of the ordinary. People are weathering their personal storms and the recent and still current cast storm with considerably above average grace and acceptance.
But it seems that just two or three years ago, that wasn't the case.
Looking at the cast as a unit with a common mission, I would say that the difference between the historical cast (from the stories I have heard) and the cast now (many, many of the same people, mind you), is the expectation of professionalism as a theater company.
Morale is high because we are putting on a good show. A damn good show. Yes, it is rude, lewd, crude and thoroughly disgusting. It is suppose to be. It is a major part of the moral of the story (Be Just and Fear Not).
It has become routine for people to do what needs to be done for each other and for the show. There are exceptions, of course. We don't give up our cultural history easily and Crazed Imaginations is a culture.
I know that I would not have wanted to join or stay in the cast that existed in the stories I have heard. The stories suggest that it was slipshod and driven by personal agendas. Some evidence exists in the current cast that corroborates that surmise.
To use a metaphor, the conversation has changed. One definition of "leader" is one who changes the conversation in a community. It's a skill. Few people have that ability if they haven't received some form of training (even informally). They are usually called natural or born leaders. (I watch for that kind of leadership because I am training myself in the skill set.) Many people in CI have the skill. I will single out two (my biases again).
Amy. I suspect that most of the transition from slipshod to professional can be laid at her feet. I believe she caused that idea to exist as a real possibility and many cast members (especially the ones with education and training in theater) were ready to wave the banner and climb on the bandwagon. And she has kept that conversation alive through a major cast trauma.
Joey. He has a charisma that draws folks to him. It can feel lonely and I suspect that is doesn't want that ability as strongly as he has it. He generates enthusiastic followers willing to learn anything (especially his mischievousness) he wants to teach. People feel special when they are with him. They feel they have room to have fun and to play in a bigger sandbox.
Then in general, there are many players who work very hard at the parts they play. High energy and personal pride. They keep the conversation for professionalism alive by being dedicated. They throw themselves into the show even when exhausted or sick; when upsets and circumstances threaten to overwhelm; when depressions and elations come and go.
I love the members of CI. I love the conversation that I get to be part of within the company and the conversation that is RHPS. We are a "Don't dream it, be it" crowd. In our way, we are a collection of Ghandis and MLKs. We inspire each other and our audiences to greatness. I am proud to be part of it.
That surprised me. A lot.
I am not privy to all that is going on, but the emotional turmoil around the cast doesn't seem particularly out of the ordinary. People are weathering their personal storms and the recent and still current cast storm with considerably above average grace and acceptance.
But it seems that just two or three years ago, that wasn't the case.
Looking at the cast as a unit with a common mission, I would say that the difference between the historical cast (from the stories I have heard) and the cast now (many, many of the same people, mind you), is the expectation of professionalism as a theater company.
Morale is high because we are putting on a good show. A damn good show. Yes, it is rude, lewd, crude and thoroughly disgusting. It is suppose to be. It is a major part of the moral of the story (Be Just and Fear Not).
It has become routine for people to do what needs to be done for each other and for the show. There are exceptions, of course. We don't give up our cultural history easily and Crazed Imaginations is a culture.
I know that I would not have wanted to join or stay in the cast that existed in the stories I have heard. The stories suggest that it was slipshod and driven by personal agendas. Some evidence exists in the current cast that corroborates that surmise.
To use a metaphor, the conversation has changed. One definition of "leader" is one who changes the conversation in a community. It's a skill. Few people have that ability if they haven't received some form of training (even informally). They are usually called natural or born leaders. (I watch for that kind of leadership because I am training myself in the skill set.) Many people in CI have the skill. I will single out two (my biases again).
Amy. I suspect that most of the transition from slipshod to professional can be laid at her feet. I believe she caused that idea to exist as a real possibility and many cast members (especially the ones with education and training in theater) were ready to wave the banner and climb on the bandwagon. And she has kept that conversation alive through a major cast trauma.
Joey. He has a charisma that draws folks to him. It can feel lonely and I suspect that is doesn't want that ability as strongly as he has it. He generates enthusiastic followers willing to learn anything (especially his mischievousness) he wants to teach. People feel special when they are with him. They feel they have room to have fun and to play in a bigger sandbox.
Then in general, there are many players who work very hard at the parts they play. High energy and personal pride. They keep the conversation for professionalism alive by being dedicated. They throw themselves into the show even when exhausted or sick; when upsets and circumstances threaten to overwhelm; when depressions and elations come and go.
I love the members of CI. I love the conversation that I get to be part of within the company and the conversation that is RHPS. We are a "Don't dream it, be it" crowd. In our way, we are a collection of Ghandis and MLKs. We inspire each other and our audiences to greatness. I am proud to be part of it.
no subject
1) Chris left and put Jolie in charge. Jolie ended up slowly leaving and putting Jason in charge, which in many ways really meant that Amy ended up in charge. And Amy is generally a very professional person. Actually even Jolie and Jason really helped move it from the private little dictatorship and ego factory that it often was before that.
2) There was a big influx of 'theater people'. Partially because we just needed /people/ and theater types were the easiest to drag in. Partially just because it happened that I and Kate and Jessica and, later, the SLBs and some others with strong background in theater all joined. Which meant we had consistant lighting and tech crew as opposed to the days of dragging people out of the audience and saying 'Here's how you run a spot light' or having 2 people who could run board and us having to beg and plead other members of cast to come up and run spots or having only one or two people who knew what was supposed to happen on a tech-end backstage and heaven help you if they weren't there. It also meant that a lot of people in cast expected a more 'professional' performance and behavior standard.
We also got the weird dichotomy element going where cast was mostly either in highschool or in their mid to late twenties. And the older cast who hung around were generally the more responsible ones. (Or.. well.. the more responsible, but actually willing to share ones. Chris was responsible in a very 'I'm the only competent person and the only one who's opinion matters so I will be doing everything while complaining about how much of a martyr I am for cast' kind fo way.) The people who consistantly showed up to perform drunk or high have mostly gone away... and in general the cast expects people to care about their parts and to care about each other. I mean, a lot of us are still flakey in various ways and to various extents. But we are better... and less self-destructive as a whole cast, I think.
However, this is all just my personal opinion and what I saw happening from sort of... sidelines. I just happened to have gotten lots of stories about cast earlier as it was happening even if I wasn't there.. and then I joined right about the time that Chris quit so I've seen a lot of the transition from what it was to what it is.