![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Thursday morning is our quarterly All-Hands Meeting at work, a production with which I have been intimately involved as a member of the leadership team. But this time has been very different from previous ones. This time, during the planning session, one of the Directors came up with the idea of doing a skit illustrating some of the elements of a product (cell phone) lifecycle, with a focus on educating about some of the pain points we are a division are trying to relieve. And thus was the "The Adventures of Harry the Handset" born.
I volunteered to write the script.
It actually turned out to be a highly educational process, as I found out more details about the product cycle than I had ever known before. It was a big job just to map out all the various options the storyline could take and then narrow them down to one or two manageable paths. And of course, being me, I didn't just write a script, I created the powerpoint slide accompaniment (as all the All-Hands presentations have ppt), pulled together a cast, and started making props.
We had our run-through today in one of the large conference rooms. I came in with my script, my pile of props, and my notes on the initial blocking (where everyone is supposed to stand at the beginning). As my actors started coming in and sitting down at the long table, their scripts in front of them, asking questions about the process (some serious, some silly) I was suddenly struck by how familiar and right it felt. First readthrough around the table. I've been here before. . .
It's been all too many years since the last time I directed a play. It was before I was engaged, which means at least fifteen or sixteen years (today would have been my 14th wedding anniversary) since![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pathdancer cajoled me into the completely absurd endeavor of directing The Taming of the Shrew for an SCA holiday feast. And what a wonderful and gloriously successful experience that was!
I haven't directed a play since then.
This afternoon, our communications person commented to me, as I was in the middle of typing up script revisions and finishing the props, "It's obvious where your passion is." It took me back for a moment, and then I realized how true it was. I was putting tremendous energy into this project without thinking about it, taking it further than anyone had expected, and having a wonderful time.
It wasn't just that it was a theatre piece, either. It was that it was mine. I didn't have to consult with, defer to, or otherwise subject myself to any other authority on this one. And I like that. I can collaborate. I like collaboration. But if I'm working in an area of strength, and if I'm asked to take significant action on something, I really like to be able to Just Do It.
We admins don't get to do that very often. We do, and then we submit for approval, or for inclusion in someone else's project, or whatever. We don't often get to develop and present on our own authority.
But hopefully I won't be an admin for long. . . The Transportation Manager will be back from vacation tomorrow, and I am really, really hopeful of a job offer by the end of the week.
I volunteered to write the script.
It actually turned out to be a highly educational process, as I found out more details about the product cycle than I had ever known before. It was a big job just to map out all the various options the storyline could take and then narrow them down to one or two manageable paths. And of course, being me, I didn't just write a script, I created the powerpoint slide accompaniment (as all the All-Hands presentations have ppt), pulled together a cast, and started making props.
We had our run-through today in one of the large conference rooms. I came in with my script, my pile of props, and my notes on the initial blocking (where everyone is supposed to stand at the beginning). As my actors started coming in and sitting down at the long table, their scripts in front of them, asking questions about the process (some serious, some silly) I was suddenly struck by how familiar and right it felt. First readthrough around the table. I've been here before. . .
It's been all too many years since the last time I directed a play. It was before I was engaged, which means at least fifteen or sixteen years (today would have been my 14th wedding anniversary) since
pathdancer cajoled me into the completely absurd endeavor of directing The Taming of the Shrew for an SCA holiday feast. And what a wonderful and gloriously successful experience that was! I haven't directed a play since then.
This afternoon, our communications person commented to me, as I was in the middle of typing up script revisions and finishing the props, "It's obvious where your passion is." It took me back for a moment, and then I realized how true it was. I was putting tremendous energy into this project without thinking about it, taking it further than anyone had expected, and having a wonderful time.
It wasn't just that it was a theatre piece, either. It was that it was mine. I didn't have to consult with, defer to, or otherwise subject myself to any other authority on this one. And I like that. I can collaborate. I like collaboration. But if I'm working in an area of strength, and if I'm asked to take significant action on something, I really like to be able to Just Do It.
We admins don't get to do that very often. We do, and then we submit for approval, or for inclusion in someone else's project, or whatever. We don't often get to develop and present on our own authority.
But hopefully I won't be an admin for long. . . The Transportation Manager will be back from vacation tomorrow, and I am really, really hopeful of a job offer by the end of the week.
