Say as Little as Possible...

When it comes to social acting, which is something that everyone (Yes, even you the totally narcissistic twenty year old with the mental acumen of a fifteen year old) does on a daily basis, there is only one rule to follow: when you want to get all the information without giving yourself away, then say as little as possible.

One of the reasons that people like actors is because they seem easy to get along with, they seem happy even when they are stressed and they bring a great personality and life to any party. An actor can fit into any situation whether it is black tie, rager or one of those awkward cheese and cracker parties at your most stuffy professor's home. I was once asked how it was that professional and semi-professional actors could pull that off. The answer is simply that they know how to observe.

Let's be honest now. The vast majority of people do not like feeling awkward or tense. We have been told that it is bad for our health. some people avoid those situations, but good social actors just act. They know enough and can keep their mouths shut long enough to avoid looking like a moron.

Now, there is another part of social acting that is very important in my personal life that has to deal with saying as little as possible. That is when I go back to my little hometown and walk into the theatre. The six or seven full time board members will be meeting with the three or four part time I-want-my-kid-to-have-a-lead-in-the-next-play-that-is-really-a-bad-junior-version-of-a-Disney-movie mother members of the board will be seated in a circle on hard chairs in the lobby where the really old member who single-handedly destroyed any chance of the productions doing well in the future sits and tells everyone else what to do while the president of the board isn't allowed a word in edge-wise until everyone else has backed him into a corner. In this situation, even though I personally have more training in running a theatre than all of them put together, I am the youngest, and therefore am ignorable and ignorant. It is all I can do to keep from screaming at all of them.

Instead, I take deep breaths and remind myself that if they wish to run their program into the ground, then let them. It will make everything so much cheaper when I come back and buy the building out from underneath them and turn it into the sparkling symbol it could have been if they had only listened to me.

Now, I would like to apologize for the unprofessional turn this post took. I obviously have issues with people who treat me like an ignoramus, like the board, my grandmother and my sister. I will post again soon.

K