Theatre teaches you a lot about life, even if you don’t want to be on Broadway. Here are five theatre lessons that will help you win at work and in life.
If I ruled the world, it would be required for all high school students to participate in at least one theatrical production in order to graduate. I’d also dramatically reduce customer complaints with my Everyone Waits Tables For A Year policy, but that’s another post for another day.
The thing about theatre in particular and the arts in general is that they teach you a lot about life, even if you don’t want to be on Broadway or perform Shakespeare in the park. And while those lessons learned vary from person to person, there are still some things that hold true for most people.
Here are five theatre lessons that will help you win at work and in life:
1. Put yourself out there.
In theatre and other performing arts, you don’t get the part unless you audition. (Unless you’re Hugh Jackman or something.) After all, you could be the second coming of Dolly Parton, but who would know if, instead of showing up to the Dolly Parton impersonator auditions, you stay at home, doing your killer impression for your cat. Putting yourself out there is a huge part of the artistic process- and failing is, too. More about that below.
It’s the same in life.
Showing up for opportunities and giving it your best shot- even if you fail- is the only way to move forward. Sure, we all need breaks sometimes, particularly after an especially painful rejection. But showing the world what we’ve got, whatever that may be, is the only way to make things happen.
2. Become a Zen master.
Any actor can tell you there are few things more nerve-jangling than an audition room- except maybe an audition room that’s filled with dancers 20 years your junior, all of whom seem to know the choreographer.
I still get nervous about auditions, but over time I’ve learned how to tune out everything else- the inner voices of doubt, fellow auditioners who are literally younger than my dance shoes, the stifling heat due to the broken AC- and tap into my focus. I go to a quiet inner place that is protected from the outside world. A place that knows who I am, what I can do, and how to do it. Going to that place while ignoring everything else around me as best as I can ensures that I’m giving my best performance possible; not losing it to nerves.
Life, as it turns out, is full of audition-type scenarios: interviews, presentations, first dates, difficult conversations, the list goes on. Being alive means that sooner or later you will be in a stressful situation that can rattle your focus. Learning how to strip away what is unimportant and/or out of your control and hone in on placing your piece of the puzzle can truly be life changing.
3. Diversity is our strength.
One of my favorite parts of doing a show is meeting different kinds of people than I interact with on a daily basis. In so many ways, we are more isolated than ever. It feels like people are off in their own corners, associating with likeminded people, sharing likeminded thoughts. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it can get a little boring at best and make us hostile to outside viewpoints at worst.
In collaborative environments like theatre, people from all walks of life come together with one shared purpose: to make art. And the crucible of producing that art often bonds the cast in a way that few other things have in my experience. Then, after the play closes and the set is struck, all of those people go their disparate ways, taking a bit of each other with them.
In times where diversity can be weaponized by politicians who wield it as a boogeyman, it’s important to remember that diversity enriches all areas of our lives. Not only does it broaden our world view and bring variety to our life experiences; it can also bridge gaps and help bring us together.
4. Comfort is the enemy.
In acting, it can be very easy to fall into the comfort trap: taking class after class, auditioning for the same kinds of roles, working with the same people at the same theatre, year after year. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with this approach, depending on what your goals are. But artistic growth requires taking risks, and that just won’t happen if you stay in your comfort zone.
Of course, with those risks comes the possibility of rejection, which is why most of us cling to our comfort zones to begin with! But once you accept rejection not only as a learning opportunity, but an expected part of the process, it loses its sting. What separates successful artists from the rest is their ability to learn from rejection and keep going.
The same is true of life.
As we age, we become settled into our routines and have fewer things that challenge or provoke us than when we were kids. It can feel like we need a jackhammer to jolt us from our comfort zone- a comfort zone in the shape of, say, a cozy bed that seems much more appealing than that marathon we were going to train for.
But again, while comfort has its place, we won’t achieve our goals from there. Starting our own business, crossing things off our bucket list, starting a new relationship- none of it will happen without some discomfort. But isn’t living the life you want to live worth it?
5. Don’t take it personally.
This, by far, has been the hardest lesson for me to learn as an actor. I used to get really wrapped up in every role I auditioned for, obsessing and preparing for weeks. Then if I didn’t get the part- which is the case more often than not in theatre- I would obsess even more, wondering why I wasn’t chosen. My confidence would be so shattered that it would take me months or even years to audition again.
Slowly, I began to understand how much of the audition process was truly out of my control. I could prepare my material as best I could, but the truth was that my performance in that audition room was only a small piece of the casting puzzle. Production teams weigh so many factors: height, chemistry, voice type, and believability, to name a few.
Once that clicked, I began holding the outcomes of my auditions much more loosely. I still do my best of course, and I definitely always want the part. But now, I know that if I don’t get it, it’s not personal. Sometimes I still feel sad or even hurt, in which case I take some time before auditioning again. But as soon as I can, I get back out there again and focusing on what I can control instead of what I can’t.
Admittedly, this might be the trickiest theatrical lesson to apply in life, because it’s really easy to take things personally. (See my list of grudges against people who were mean to me in high school.) Sometimes things are actually personal, but so often they really aren’t. That guy cutting you off in traffic, a grumpy cashier, even an acquaintance’s snarky comment- most of that stuff probably has nothing to do with you. The more we’re able to let go of things that are out of our control (traffic) and focus on things in our control (which podcast we listen to in traffic), the happier we’ll be.