This week has been the first for four weeks that I have not been working every evening and at the weekends phoning Open University alumni to try to raise funds for the university’s student funds. And I might have thought that things would have been lots more relaxed.
That has not actually been the case. You see, this is the last week of rehearsal before our show, ‘Salad Days’ goes public. We are only a little am-dram group, but nevertheless, the amount of work we put into a show is considerable, and we think that the resulting three performances are going to be pretty good. The age range of the performers is wide: I guess our youngest is in her twenties, and our oldest performer is over 80. We are, as the show says, ‘Having the Time of our Lives’ putting the song and dance together, and the principals have made a wonderful job of learning and performing their lines.
We have sold an adequate number of tickets, have tried on and fitted our costumes and are ready to throw ourselves to the mercy of our audiences. The whole show will have taken, from first session of reading the script to performance, thirteen weeks. This could not have happened without an awful lot of work and commitment (some of us wonder if we should be committed to some institution or other) and real dedication.
What it boils down to though, is teamwork. And it doesn’t really matter where you are, or what you are doing, you are as effective as the team you are working with, leading, or supporting. When asked, in the past, whether I was a good team member I gave the matter a lot of thought. I am bossy, forceful, thoughtful and resourceful, and have lots to give. Most of us are all of those things. A whole team of such people could get a great deal done. Of course, you also need tact, good manners, flexibility, the ability to compromise, and a bit less ego than most actors have. But it is always possible to put ego aside and get on with making the thing perfect. Of that I am sure.
So I go back to the burning subject of the moment. Why, when you put a team of eleven wonderful footballers together, can’t they get their combined act to work and play a better game of football than that we all witnessed on Friday evening? Am I sounding just a little obsessed with footie at the moment? Well, it’s kind of what’s happening in the world, the World Cup. Cars sport national flags, men and boys (and some women and girls) are sporting the national shirt. Everywhere you go references to the competition are to be seen. This is what is going on this week.
And it seems to me that it might all come down to teamwork. Perhaps on Wednesday the young men representing their country (my country too) will really get their act together and play with the genius we know they all have. I shall be watching it with a piano student of mine whose family have a really BIG screen, and who would be watching it alone if I weren’t to share it with him. I do hope it’s a better match than Friday’s. And after the match we will have a piano lesson. This was my compromise. Our normal time is Wednesday at 1600 hours. His compromise this week is to do his piano practice during the half-times of all the matches he watches. This should amount to more practice than usual and result in a great playing of his current piece. We, he 14 and I, (somewhat older) have reached a compromise that suits us both. I’m looking forward to Wednesday. We shall share the experience of seeing if they can play as a team, not as a bunch of talented egos on legs. I’m really looking forward to it!
Dianna Moylan (editorial team)
Tags: compromise, Open University, teamwork, World Cup
