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Practicing and Performing
Valuing both in workplace cultures
This past week my son performed in his school production of Avenue Q: The School Edition. There were four shows during the week; the culmination of months of practice. When they started rehearsals in February, none of them knew the lines. Or the words to the songs. Or the stage positions. Or what their fellow cast members were capable of. Or what they were capable of. Every week since then they have practiced. They have learned new things. About the show, their role, their fellow cast members and themselves. There is no doubt they have all grown.
This week it felt like high stakes. After all, the performances are what this is all about, right? People are paying to attend and see a show performed well. Even if it is a school production. After the second performance, my son was riding a high. The buzz of being on stage and the feeling they had all done a great job. The feedback from the audience confirming this feeling. On the drive home, he shared that he didn’t think his solo song had gone that well. He conceded the feedback was to the contrary, but it had not met the standard he had set for himself. After all, this is show time. Time for perfection.
The reality is that none of these four performances will be perfect. Perfect is an illusion. As a collaboration of human effort, these shows…
