Group Work
There was this whole teaching movement when I was in grade school--and maybe there still is--that hinged on a little idea called Group Work. Suddenly, every teacher was structuring their entire curriculum around Group Work. Can't figure out a mathematical equation? Don't ask the teacher! Ask your Group. I think Group Work was supposed to prepare our young minds for the practicalities of the real world and force good interpersonal communication.
I hated Group Work.
Group Work was the bane of my young existence. I was always paired with the remedial kids who needed help that I could offer. I would do the work and they would write down the answers. I raised their bar and nobody raised mine. I ended up doing all of the work because I couldn't stand turning in a sub-par project. Do I sound like a snob? I was. I am? No no. I think I have evolved. I'm pretty sure I've learned how to work with people in a normal and healthy way. Sometimes.
Maybe this is a personal problem?
The difference between a good creative experience (and ultimately product) and a sucky creative product is staggering when joy is thrown into a working group of highly motivated, productive, talented and communicative creative people. Let's face it: as actors, we have to learn how to work with other actors, directors, writers, producers, stage managers etc. to get the job done. I simply can't function in my little bubble of snobbery and be a part of something cool. Maybe my teachers didn't do a total disservice to my impressionable and stubborn mind.
I won't go so far as to suggest that sly manipulation is the key to asserting creative ideas in a group situation, but I can say that toeing the line of asking for what I want in a scene/play/film/script and accepting and trying the ideas of others that may raise the hairs of my inner skeptic (or know-it-all, if you will) can be a slippery slope. When do you give in? When do you challenge? How do you suggest a new idea and also make your scene partner/director/writer/producer feel like their idea was equally brilliant (but maybe not working)? We all have egos to maintain.
I interviewed the amazing Katherine Helmond a few years ago and she offered some great advice that changed my way of communicating with other creative people when things got sticky.
She said (and I fully quote): "The director
is responsible for the total. He or she must take a position and try to get everybody to agree to it. You don’t accomplish anything by going
head on into disagreement. You try
to always do it the director's way first.
Let them see their vision.
Let them see what is working and what is not working. If it’s a good director, if it’s a
person that’s open, they will see what’s not working, and that’s when you have
the opportunity to say, “Okay, I had an idea, what about if I try it this
way? Well, then the field is
open. There’s communication
between the two creatively, instead of locking horns. So, it’s a genteel way to get your way."
What a wonderful approach. I have a silly voicemail message she left me when the article came out and I still haven't erased it! I love that woman! What a great model of success and kindness.
I worked with an editor on one of my self produced projects tonight. He's doing a fabulous job, but there were things that I felt were missing in the cut. There were also things he noticed that I hadn't. I was nervous that if I gave him too many notes, he'd feel threatened or self-conscious. We hadn't worked together before, so I didn't know if he was the type that could delve into a creative conversation with gusto and intrigue. I had worked with a different editor in the past who was of the mind that, as an actor, I did not know what I was talking about. The cut this editor presented was "the cut" and all suggestions were scoffed at. I still look at that project and cringe.
But tonight reminded me that Group Work can be an amazing opportunity to meld minds and create something better that all parties originally envisioned. What's that saying about "two minds are better than..."
I'm so excited to see this project come together! It feels like a real partnership is blossoming. I'd actually like to do a little Group Work with this editor in the future! Wow. It's taken me a long time to develop language that is both assertive and affirming when arguing a creative position. Maybe all that Group Work was good for me after all? But please don't tell my elementary teachers.
Above with my lovely and constant Group Work ladies, Franci Montgomery and Jaime Andrews
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