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Recently, I uncovered an old blog of a stagehand in Houston. This person raised a question in the blog regarding the true definition of "professional": Does it mean you get paid for what you do, or does it mean how you behave at work? Personally, I'm inclined to believe the latter. A long time ago, I might have believed the former, but as I've been working in the theatre industry, I've encountered stagehands who show up to collect a paycheck without expressing any real interest in the work, listening to directions, or even just plain thinking. Others gossip, argue, and shirk. Some spend more time trying to be cute or funny than improving their work performances. The aforementioned blog described one of the pitfalls of working as a stagehand: He said you will always work with idiots and creepy people. Not, of course, that all stagehands are idiots or creepy people; just that there's a certain inevitable percentage of them. Also, stagehands can become bitter, lazy, rude, and/or useless; some are always like this. The blog said that the kids in high school you hoped would grow up in college, don't. A lot of them don't even go to college. Regrettably, some people like that migrate toward this industry and don't make any professional advancements. Now. I feel that I should take a moment here to explain that I do have a great deal of respect for many of my colleagues. They work hard, are safety conscious, try to be pleasant, and don't stir up trouble. BUT. The colleagues I do not respect . . . holy hell, do they ever manage to ruin it for everybody else. And that is where the rant portion of this rant comes in. I tried to tone it down since bitching about work in a rant about other people bitching about work would be appallingly hypocritical, counterproductive, and unprofessional. Nevertheless, y'all know me; I cannot resist a little vitriol. The challenge was preventing it from avalanching into a career-destroying novella. There are many kinds of unprofessional behavior. Some people come to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs; some people ignore common sense and safety regulations; some people don't bring the appropriate tools for the job; some people don't show up in the appropriate attire. All of the above are more serious than the subject of this rant, that being the tendency toward malicious gossip. This seemingly minor pet peeve is, I believe, the root of more serious problems. People who gripe constantly—and yes, I do realize I'm treading a very thin line here—lay themselves open to all the myriad troubles that plague bad stagehands. There is a difference between gossiping and downright mean spirited bitching. Apart from making one look bad, it also indicates that one isn't paying attention to one's surroundings, meaning one can miss important instructions. Recently, I worked the load in for a large Broadway show on tour. I got stuck working next to two college students who did nothing but bitch about their classmates and professors the whole day. I found them arrogant, obnoxious, condescending, and unprofessional. They didn't talk to anyone else, which made them seem cliqueish and bitchy. I thought it might have been because they didn't know anyone else; I then realized that they'd worked there before, which told me that they just didn't want to talk to anyone else. I very carefully avoided working with them at the load out; I did not want to be around them and their bile again. Not only did I not want to listen to that (again), I also didn't think it did me any favors to be seen around people like that. My fears were all too true. At one point during the load in I was standing near the pair backstage, and I was horrified to glance up and notice that the assistant stage manager, whom I respect a lot, had seen me near those two girls. I had not actually met him at the time, which made it that much worse since he couldn't have known better than to know I don't like hanging around people like that. I did not want him remembering me not-so-fondly as a girl who hangs around bitches, so I slunk off quickly and kept my distance from those two girls after that. As I said to a fellow stagehand when I got home from the in, "I pointedly avoided [those girls] later on, but sadly, it was too late and nobody saw. Sure, nobody saw THAT." Although I realize there are far worse things than mean spirited coworkers, those girls grated on my last nerve because of their lack of professionalism. I discussed it a bit with aforementioned fellow stagehand later. "They were the kind of girls who formed cliques and picked on other girls in high school," I said. "They were laughing about this one girl in one of their classes, who did sound awful, but damn." "Not at the workplace," my friend agreed. "In a glorious moment of irony, one of them said that she'd heard a bit of career advice along the lines of good stagehands are quiet and wait for directions rather than talk constantly." "Well," my friend observed, "you should have told her to heed that advice." "I would have, but then she'd keep getting work; I'd rather have her Darwin herself out. . . . *sigh* The mortification of being seen with them. !" My friend cracked up at this but had to agree. At the load out a couple of weeks later, I very pointedly avoided those two girls by maintaining a distance of at least several feet between them and me at all times. I also stayed away from a few other people who were obviously not taking the job seriously, such as a crowd of people goofing off as opposed to standing by and waiting for directions. There is nothing wrong with a little conversation, but they weren't paying attention to their surroundings, which, aside from being unprofessional, could be dangerous. I didn't feel like being either yelled at or hurt, so I walked across the stage away from them before the stage manager or his assistant looked over. I also introduced myself to the assistant stage manager and said that he looked like someone I wanted to work with, which he seemed to appreciate. I hope he remembers me favorably for that. Perhaps in the future I can also point out that I don't want to work with people like the girls I got stuck with at the in. In conclusion, there are indeed two definitions of professional: You get paid for what you do, and how you behave at work. The former definition does not matter at all. The latter is how people will judge you and remember you, and your career and reputation can hinge on it. Older stagehands have told me that reputations are hard to shake; rumors spread and people listen and hire you or not accordingly. So, young stagehands reading this and hoping to remain in the field as I do, remember this: If you want to go far, shut the fuck up. |