Inside my heart is breaking
My makeup may be flaking
But my smile…still stays on…
I’ve been thinking a lot about what different things mean to different people, and what it means to live out here, what is required, what you can and cannot get away with, and what is simply just…accepted without words.
My father raised me to be a Professional. The capitalization is on purpose. He used to tell me that I would meet a lot of people in my life who claimed to be pros, but that not all of them would be, and he taught me well how to tell the difference.
A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that professionalism has to do with how much you are getting paid, has to do with the credits on your resume or how many high-end names you can drop in a conversation; but it doesn’t.
Professionalism is an attitude. It’s a way of living, a way of performing, a manner of knowing and presenting yourself and your craft, that has nothing to do with how many theatres you have worked, how big your paycheque is, how wide your vocal range or how many hours a day you spend at the barre. All of that may make you a performer, perhaps a very good one, but it doesn’t make you a pro.
A professional knows how to balance her surrounding environment with her personal needs, how to treat her colleagues, cast members and superiors with a balanced mixture of respect and appreciation, knows how to stand on her own two feet and stand up for herself while also understanding the need for respecting her superiors. A professional knows how to approach a conflict kindly and without any more drama than necessary. A professional, knows how to correct a mistake, point out a flubbed note or a missed step, without crushing the pride or the emotional well-being of the one being corrected. A professional knows how to react to a situation, even one they do not like, with grace and clear-headness, knows that on time is already late, and no matter how difficult your personal life, how sick you feel or how stressed, you leave it at the backstage door because it has no place on the stage.
You could have performed on the stages of London, walked the boards on Broadway, and sung to the vaulted ceilings of Carnegie hall and still not be a professional. Or you could make nickels and dimes busking on the street corner and be the most professional person in the world.
And out here? If you can’t be a professional – a real professional – in whatever position or department you are hired for, you will not, and cannot ever, belong.