by Chris Peterson
I don’t care how talented you are. If everyone in the rehearsal room has to worry about being your next target, you’re exhausting to work with.
And I think we give people like that far too much room in theatre.
We know someone is cruel. We’ve heard the comments they make about the person who got the role they wanted. We’ve watched them roll their eyes when a castmate asks to go over something again. But then comes the excuse: “Well, they’re really good.”
Okay. And? So everyone else has to put up with it because they can sing?
What bothers me is how often this behavior gets defended by people who would never accept it directed at themselves. They’ll tell a younger performer to develop a thicker skin instead of telling the grown adult humiliating them to knock it off. Somehow, the person being treated badly becomes the one with something to work on.
I’m tired of that.
Yes, you need to be able to take criticism. A director telling you a scene isn’t working is doing their job. You won’t get every role you want, and nobody owes you constant reassurance that you’re wonderful.
But you know the difference between getting a note and being mocked. Most of us learned that distinction well before we ever walked into a rehearsal.
The “I just have high standards” excuse is especially irritating. What standard are you upholding by whispering about someone while they’re singing? Explain to me how that helps the show. Because from where I’m sitting, someone is trying to get through a rehearsal while you’ve decided their struggle is entertainment.
And now they have to do the scene with you.
Think about how unfair that is. You expect this person to trust you onstage after spending their break making sure they know you think they’re terrible.
I’ve seen people pull back because of this. They stop asking questions. They apologize before they’ve even tried something. Eventually, some of them leave, and the people who made them miserable take that as proof they couldn’t handle theatre.
Maybe they could handle theatre just fine. Maybe they got tired of dealing with you.
I want good work, too. I want people to come prepared and take rehearsals seriously. That includes being able to work with someone who needs more time than you do without making them feel like a burden.
Your castmates shouldn’t have to earn basic decency by impressing you.
If you’ve been doing this long enough to have a résumé you like reminding everyone about, you’ve been doing it long enough to know better. And if people keep excusing your behavior because you’re talented, somebody should have stopped doing you that favor years ago.