This past Sunday, the Fells Point Corner Theater concluded the 5-week run of Eugene O’Neill’s famed work, THE ICEMAN COMETH. I had the great pleasure and honor to have been selected to appear in this show, one rarely produced (our director, Lynda McClary, guesstimates its been at least 20 years since ICEMAN played in Baltimore; I played "Jimmy Tomorrow").
The show ended with an audience “talk back,” and it was gratifying to hear so much said about the efforts of the “talent on the stage,” as well as that of the director, producer, and the assorted “stage hands” who made this 4-act, 3 ½ hour production possible.
Yes, you can’t put on an 18-actor ensemble piece without teamwork.
But that’s teamwork , well, one might EXPECT. This is what theater companies do. The actors work together, the director directs them, you put on a show.
For me, though, the great exhibition of teamwork came after the applause had long ended, the patrons had all gone home, and it was just the actors et al left on stage. Time to get to work!
There were what seemed like a couple hundred chairs and tables that had to be taken off the stage and moved to the third floor (no elevator). The set needed to be disassembled, so there was “Hickey” and “Harry Hope” whirring away with their power tools, while “the tarts, Margie, Pearl and Cora” swept and moved props.
All chipped in to buy gift cards for the backstage crew who, as Lynda noted, “aren’t seen by the audience, and receive no applause.” The theater put in dollars to buy pizza and drinks and despite a long day, the culmination of four successive performances that week – and 16 shows over the past 5 weeks, not to mention rehearsals that went back to OCTOBER of last year! – all were happy to work together to get the job done.
Oh, and if I hadn’t mentioned it already, none of the aforementioned actors et al are paid.
Working til late on a Sunday for no pay. Actors removing nails from pre-fab walls, dumping trash and hefting furniture. All for the greater glory of theater.
If only this kind of passion existed in EVERY occupation.
Twenty plus years ago, I participated in the Adult Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama, a 3-day training session for astronaut wannabes. We all came together as strangers but 72 hours later, we were talking about holding a reunion. It occurred to me that the academy would make a great team-building exercise, and years later, I learned that it was being marketed just that way.
I felt the same way about my theatrical experience. Take a group of office workers on retreat with their project, to “put on a show.” You quickly learn who are the leaders—or better, the “leads”—who are “in the chorus,” and how to best utilize one’s talents to complement all those around him (or her).
It would offer some great lessons, because if one actor fails, the whole company fails. You are highly motivated to put aside your own ego to help those around you. And I’ve noted, in my brief “stroll on the boards,” that actors are great about helping each other out. I miss a cue, I get a nudge from my fellow actor. Another forgets a line, someone standing close offers a hint to get him going again.
As the saying goes, “There is no ‘I’ in TEAM.” We’re all in this together. If we bring all our talents to bear, to not just forward ourselves but those around us, we all win. That’s a great lesson—whether you’re in PR, or any other business! (Even show biz!)
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