You can tell someone how awesome they are every day, but if you never tell them the things they need to work on, they will never grow; not as an entertainer, not as a person. Stroking one’s ego doesn’t do an individual any good. To act like they have no faults, nothing they need to fix, is delusional and unrealistic. No one is perfect. I don’t care if you’ve been performing for over a decade, there is always something you can improve on.
In my 7-odd years of doing drag I’ve had the privilege of participating in several pageants, competitions and contests. I’ve competed, I’ve judged, I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I’ve gotten positive feedback and I’ve gotten constructive criticism and in this business you need to learn that you really only grow from the constructive criticism.
You can tell someone how awesome they are every day, but if you never tell them the things they need to work on, they will never grow; not as an entertainer, not as a person. Stroking one’s ego doesn’t do an individual any good. To act like they have no faults, nothing they need to fix, is delusional and unrealistic. No one is perfect. I don’t care if you’ve been performing for over a decade, there is always something you can improve on.
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com·mit·ment [kuh-mit-muhnt] noun
1. the act of committing. 2. the state of being committed. 3. the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself. 4. a pledge or promise; obligation: We have made a commitment to pay our bills on time. 5. engagement; involvement: They have a sincere commitment to religion. Those of you who have worked with me know that one of my biggest pet peeves is lack of commitment. That doesn’t just mean bailing on shows, it means lack of commitment to all aspects; ie. half-assing facial hair or binding, not bothering with costumes, basically making zero effort. But a commitment, or lack thereof, to shows is probably my biggest issue. I generally book my shows several weeks ahead of time, and my entertainers know what is expected of them. However, I have had performers show up late, not even close to being ready, or bail completely without even a text to say “Hey, I can’t make it.” I am very well aware that shit happens. Life is messy, humans are messy. But we need to keep in mind that when you flake on a commitment it screws everyone over. There have been less than a handful of times in my almost 7 years of performing when I’ve had to cancel my appearance at a show. Generally it was due to illness, which means I was basically dying. I’ve performed with tooth pain so bad it knocked me on my ass; I’ve performed with walking pneumonia. So when I say I’m sick and I can’t be there, I mean it. There are times when I feel like poop, but I still show up and do at least one number (that was communicated to the show director) because I made a commitment (there’s that word again) to be there. |