Commitment

So working on Helena Troy has been fantastic. The cast has been really amazing and super fun to work with. I've learned a lot about myself and how people work together.

So we have the honor of performing at the Page-to-Stage Festival at the Kennedy Center this Labor Day and now one of the actors has told us today that they will not be able to make it. WTF?

I really don't want to talk shit about anyone, but I'm a little peeved, especially since earlier in the week they had me find out our time slot because this person wanted to attend a Labor Day barbecue with friends. I don't want to get into anymore specifics, but this does prompt me to talk about commitment.

Commitment is defined as an act of committing to a charge or trust. To commit is to obligate or pledge oneself.

To commit yourself to a production means that you are there for the duration. I understand that this is a group of volunteers that are doing this for the pure love of theatre, but that does not mean that your commitment should not be just as strong as someone who is getting paid to be there. You accepted the role, now follow-thru on what you said you were going to do. You disrespect the production and your fellow cast and crew by backing out of something that had been planned since the process started. You disrespect yourself and violate your own integrity. It is not okay to give last minute notice saying that you will not be able to make a performance that had been previously scheduled.

If there is one thing that Rich's play taught me it is "no matter how much you love the theatre, it will never love you back." Let me just say, he totally nailed that one.

8/28/08 - Update before I'm off to rehearsal. The lovely actor who had conflict problems has rearranged their schedule to join us at the Kennedy Center. I appreciate this actor living up to their commitment that they made. It shows true integrity to follow-through.