When Cinders was working her butt off for her step mother and tolerating the sisters, her life of dust, ash and low calorie meals became the norm; it was familiar. She knew what to expect every day. When she finally got her Prince she was faced with a choice - stay where she was or go with the prince. On the surface choosing the prince seemed to be a no brainer. But stepping out of the familiar (Cinders awful life) was actually a huge risk - a walk into the unknown.
So too for us. Change tends to freak us out and so we creep back to the familiar, even though we're not happy there. We can sense that there's more to our creative life. Where we are is not right for us anymore but the risk of big change can find us justifying the dust and ash that has settled around us.
Leaders, think about your theatre organisation. When was the last time you examined your marketing methods, audition processes and governance structure? Often being busy producing a show means you don't find the mental space to examine such things.
You can tolerate the dust and ash of low ticket sales, no one new at your auditions, or the inability to attract production creatives that could really take your shows to a new level. What about the creatives you do manage to attract who never return because of a poor experience. We justify that dust and ash by blaming others, never turning the light on our selves to consider if what we've been doing for years is still the best way to do things.
As actors we can suffer the Cinderella Syndrome as well, so comfortable in our ash that we stay in the same company for years, becoming part of the furniture and letting the dust and ash settle on our shoulders. We complain about everything from how the director works to the biscuits at break time. We no longer take those singing or dance lessons and we make safe choices when auditioning for roles.
Earlier this year I accepted the role of Artistic Director of a theatre company (Honour Productions) in Brisbane. I've been on the management of a theatre organisation before, one that was over 60 years old and spent an average of $100,000 on each musical, but here I am developing one that is starting from scratch; one that could be or do anything.
Talk about dust and ashes. Sometimes my glass slippers feel like wooden clogs but then I can spend a day swishing around in Cinders ballgown, ideas flowing and courage up the wazoo! Today? Today, I'm in my office, staring at my computer screen in between making trips to the kitchen for yet another cup of tea.
I love starting something from scratch. It's why I love the rehearsal process - taking something from nothing to a beautiful finished show. I love the challenges, working through the personal doubts, the excitement of seeing creatives grow and change, the many bottles of red I feel I could consume if I let myself believe I was solely responsible for the end result (I'm not - teamwork, baby!).
Starting a theatre company from scratch - whole different thing. I've decided that I'm going to record how this goes down. Not a new idea, I know, but I hope that other creative leaders out there will take encouragement or even just have a good laugh from my efforts.
So, today marks Day 1 of Sherryl-Lee's first step in her glass slippers. Expect cracks, might lose a heel, will definitely be taking them off to carry them at some point but, it will be honest, sometimes brutal and always seeking the joy in it all.
I'll write here, post on socials and I hope to hear encouragement from those of you who 'get it'!
Cheers,
Sher.
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