7 things every leader needs to quit

Being a leader is not easy, especially in an arts organisation. I found the article below interesting and useful - hope that you do too.
1. Measuring success compared to another’s success
Your leadership will not be like someone else’s leadership. It’s not designed to be. You’ll likely be successful in ways other leaders aren’t. Some of those may be visible and measurable, but some may not be. The goal should be to be the best leader you can be.

2. Pretending to have all the answers
There’s an unfair expectation many leaders face to be the person with the answer in every situation. Seriously, how’s that working for you? The sooner you admit you don’t have all the answers, the quicker your team will be willing to fill in your gaps.

3. Trying to be popular
If you want to be popular, be a celebrity. If you want to be a leader, be willing to do the hard tasks to take people where they need (and probably want to go) but may be resistant to along the way. Leadership can be lonely at times. Be prepared.

4. Leading alone
Just because leadership can be lonely, doesn’t mean you have to lead alone. Good leaders surround themselves with people who care, people who can hold them accountable and sharpen their character.

If you have a tendency to separate yourself from others, stop now and reach out to someone. Take a bold risk of being vulnerable and release some of the weight of responsibility you feel.

5. Acting like it doesn’t hurt
When people you trust betray you…it hurts. When people rebel against your leadership…it hurts. On days where it seems you have more enemies than friends…it hurts. Don’t pretend it doesn’t. You won’t lead well if you’re a crybaby, but you should have some outlets where you can share your pain.

6. Trying to control every outcome
Three reasons not to: 1) It doesn’t work. 2) It limits others. 3) It’s not right. Leadership is not about control. It’s about relational influence.

When you control others, you limit people to your abilities. When you empower people, you limit people to their combined abilities as a team…and there’s strength in numbers.

7. Ignoring the warning signs of burnout
At some point in your leadership, if you really are leading through the deep waters of change, relational differences, or simply the stress of wearing the leader hat, you’ll face burnout.

When you start to have more negative thoughts than positive thoughts, when the pressure of leadership is unbearable for a long period of time, or when your leadership starts to negatively impact your physical or emotional health or your relationships, it’s time to seek help.

Be honest: Which of these do you most need to quit?

I Am Hamlet: Review by Daniel Dercksen

Reviewed by Daniel Dercksen :What Simon says, matters
'I am Hamlet'
Directed by Patrick Walton
Cast: Leon Clingman and Aidan Whytock

Capetown theatre buffs are fortunate to have an independent producer like Sugar-Daddy feeding us with slices of imposing international plays.

Following its sensational Line, the staging of British playwright Richard James' witty and intelligent I Am Hamlet is another sumptous feast.

Theatregoers are ultimate voyeurs, and ultimately want their craving satisfied. With the delicious mindbender I am Hamlet, one viewing is definitely not enough.

The stage becomes a battleground of wit and willpower between a conceited actor and imposing director, who use the 'flowery' words of the Bard to duel to the death.

It's one of those ingenious creations where a deadly secret is neatly wrapped into its core, and as the play unfolds, the audience slowly unravels with the characters and the result is devestatingly profound.

Swapping roles, where the director's impassioned and over-dramatic interpretations have to be reigned in by the actor, or where the actor's lack of interest of understanding forces the director to tear out his hair, it's amusing drama that playfully untangles the knots and unnerves thior confidence and bravura.

The Intimate Theatre is offers a perfect setting for the play, allowing the audience to step on to the stage with the actor, and share the audition process intimately. It is this soothing seduction that ultimately poisons reason and reveals its melevolent nature.

As hidden motives and buried secrets reveal the true nature of the motivations of the characters and the action, Shakespeare's Hamlet is indeed a wonderful metaphor to reflect the turmoil and disillusionment of the characters. I am Hamlet skillfully journeys into the mindscape of the anxious characters, exposing emotional torment

An underlying anger exposes a fragile vulnerability that is sometimes funny, and sometimes heartbreaking.

There's definitely "more than meets the eye!" and what Simon says, matters.

Knowledge and knowing battle ignorance as the ritualistic audition becomes a platform that tests theirs strengths and weaknesses. The audition and Shakespeare's words touches a nerve that triggers unexpected behavior and crucifies morality. The audition turns into a personal interrogation that result in some great interaction and reaction between the performers.

Leon Clingman delivers an astounding (and sometmes frightening) performance as a director who yearns to gain recognition in mainstream theatre.

Aidan Whytock is a revelation with his masterful abilty to balance introspective silence with intense emotions; his sensitive vulnerabilty and fearful aggression is superb as we slowly learn that Simon has more in common with the Prince of Denmark than meets the eye.
Imaginatively directed by Patrick Walton, I am Hamlet is one of those rare gems you have to experience.

Bench

Bench is an interesting interaction between two men contemplating a crime. Initially it has a "Waiting for Godot"feel in that the characters are waiting for someone who never appears. There is a clever twist that leads to a satisfying end.

I enjoyed the banter between the two characters. Brent Palmer and Adrian Collins are brilliant together and play off each other so well. Its is an emotional and clever journey between comedic and serious moments as you get to know the characters. Henry, the con man, is so greasy that he almost becomes endearing. Dwain initially appears as the passive aggressive fool but slowly upwraps the different layers of their lives revealing Henry's character.


I attended the script reading at the Baxter several months ago and this is a tighter version of the script. The play has a lot of swearing that wasn't in the reading which I initially found irritating. However it fit the context of the play and added to the comic moments. The audience was completely absorbed in the play and there were many outbursts of laughter at the clever dialogue. It is a must see and well done to Brent on the script and both Brent and Adrian for a fabulous show.

"Business" Education for Artists

I firmly believe that the performing arts needs a corps of "non-creative" professionals who can run the industry effectively. People who can let our talented artists improve their skill and perform more. Cynically you might say that it gives people like me a place in the industry.

It seems like madness that an artist has to create, produce and then manage their work to be able to perform. In any other sector we bring in others who specialise in a particular field like financial management, human resources, logistics and so on; and yet artists are expected to do all this and provide a world class performance. Ask any creative and all they want to do is perform / create. Unfortunately there is often not the work - unless you create it yourself. In South Africa the arts courses focus on the creative aspect of the arts with a few modules on the business of the arts. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all our higher institutions offered a business of the arts programme?


This idea has been growing over the past three years which has led me to research the curriculum for arts studies in the USA, UK, Europe and Australia. The arts is seen as a reputable profession that needs trained / qualified people. The programmes focus on the above aspects as well as technical skills, arts history, arts education / audience development as well as performance. 

Butts In the Seats takes this as a given but focuses on the teaching of the curriculum referring to an excellent article by The Savvy Musicians Blog called Reimagining Higher Education for the Arts. Cutler suggests that students looking for a career in the arts need to be more than just talented artists. They need to be good collaborators and have some basic entrepreneurial ambitions.

Internet Ideas for Artists

I often joke about being a technophobe and a dinosaur who uses pen and notebook as preferred form of recording. However even I am being dragged into the 21st Century (kicking and screaming all the way). Ironically I am an avid collector (or hoarder if you ask Paul) of information and so am completely in love with the internet. I have become a regular follower of arts blogs and getting the most amazing information and ideas from all over the world. My favourite is Butts in the Seats.


Through various links I came across the Internet For Artists Handbook web site. It is fabulous with very clear and simple explanations of all aspects of using the internet and social media to promote the arts. There are also links to best practice in each media - wonderful. Now I just have to implement them all

Desperate First Ladies

Pieter Dirk Uys has done it again as he has managed to do it in the last thirty eight years of show biz drawing inspiration from the political role players his new show Desperate First Ladies. In the show he highlights the influential women who pull the strings in the world and in the South African arena, that we have no choice but laugh.

For those of us who are old enough to remember he takes us back to an era that sometimes we wish to forget. We get meet our old friend Mr. PW Botha, the bald headed state president who was famous for licking his lips whenever he spoke and put us in our place by waving that famous finger to the current ladies who are the movers and shakers on the African continent. The Late Mother Theresa manning the switchboard gives an insight into life in heaven for those who aspire to get there one day. Mrs. Grace Mugabe the first lady from Zimbabwe shows how first ladies should behave, and the former first lady of Libya makes a guest appearance at the end of the show.

There is however also a serious side to the show, when Pieter gives us a humorous lesson on HIV/AIDS and how to use a condom. With the lesson over he soon reverts back to looking at the world once again and we even get a glimpse into the South African political landscape when Mrs. Evita Bezuidenhout gives a speech welcoming in the newly president of the country and saying farewell to the old president and his wives.

This show is funny and will have you laughing in the aisles of the theatre and is a definite must see show. The show runs until 1 October at the Baxter Theatre, so hurry and buy your tickets before you miss out

Living Remote

Bertha Cummings reveals the secret life of the elderly. Masquerading as an angelic frail, helpless little old lady to her family, she is in fact an artful and wily mover, shaker, dispensing advice and “health products”.

Quite telling the show opens with how we live by the remote of the television, gate and sprinkler system and with our relationships, only visiting family occasionally. She points fun at the signs of getting old and then proceeds to inform the audience how to use this to your advantage. Some of the scenes were bizarrely funny like her fitness tips on the gym master and pole dancing. It reminded me of an elderly friend who still thinks that he is an irresistible gigolo – the wonderful delusional aspects of the elderly.

Anthea Thompson is brilliant in capturing the resilience of a survivor who refuses to let life get her down. Having only seen her as Kate in Taming of the Shrew – I was struck by how completely different she was and convincing as this wicked old lady.

This is a great show but not for the fainthearted.

Purgatorio

It is quite difficult to describe this play - moving, complex, mind blowing....totally absorbing!

Terry Norton and Dawid Minnaar were magnificent in the way that they seamlessly changed characters, appearance and roles from the soul searching for clemency to the interrogator driving the deep introspection needed to escape the room and "them". Slowly the audience becomes aware of the terrible events that brought them to purgatory - the passions and self interest that is so much part of us all. What is fascinating is watching the knife turn as each facade is stripped away and how we rebel against self awareness.

I sat there breathless hanging on each word not sure how it would play out. It is an intense drama but well worth every second

ouroboros

Janni Younge, the director, says “When I gave birth to my first child, I felt closer to death than I ever had. It made no sense, but there it was – my experience. When I was writing “Ouroboros” this powerful encounter with life was so present, I could see only that. So I created this play. Fascinated by the fragility of the human being, the moment of creation [of the Self, of relationship and of art], the journey towards trust and wholeness and also by the cup of tea of glass of whiskey that happens along the way. “Ouruboros” is not a conventional play; it is structured across space and time; across interior and exterior landscapes. Watch “Ouroboros” as if you are reading a poem. Let the images and stories make connections and trust you own interpretation. …..”

Synopsis: “Ouroboros” is inspired by the poetry of Billy Collins, and is unconventionally structured and can be viewed as a weaving of interaction between the two main characters and is essentially a love story between a poet, Andre and a dancer, Nokobonisa.

“Ouroboros” is an ancient symbol of a serpent swallowing its own tail, forming a circle. It represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality in the sense of something constantly recreating itself.
The obtuse nature of the director results in one’s seemingly inability to easily grasp the meaning of the play first hand. Therefore, before one can begin to fathom this rendition of “Ouroboros” by the Hand Spring Puppet Company, one must first read the programme, otherwise you may react with a lack of information.

The cuteness and exquisitely expressive puppets are well observed and the animations are beautifully and expertly handled. I did however find the puppeteer’s cream coloured outfits were rather unappealing and very distracting to me. The general rule for puppeteers is they must blend into the background and the puppets seen to be the main characters. The idea is the audience be conscious of the puppets- not the puppeteers. The stage in this context of puppetry must always be black. Likewise, the puppeteers should be clothed in black thus blending into the background so the puppets remain the main feature.

Quite disturbing was a screen shape being totally visible as a background. Once as graphic visuals at the beginning – intermittently – and at the end; otherwise the screen should fade away completely. Manni Manim, as a lighting expert should know this.

In the modern times of technology, I ask myself: “Why is it not being used to create depth?” Another non-bio-degradable thought came to mind during the performance: Each tableau was laid out on a bare table with iron legs; the audience is constantly conscious of the puppeteer’s foot-work under the table. It would have been more pleasing if the table had been covered with floor hugging black cloth thus giving the puppets the full reign of the stage they deserved.
Remember when seeing this show to read the programme first.

A Raft In A Sea Of Madness

This evening’s show is fast, furious, frenetic frenzy, not for the faint-hearted. As usual the one man show reveals Gaëtan Schmid at his rolling marvellous crazy best. Not only does he personify the world at large, but the individual of everybody’s body language, both personal, private and what we show our friends at foes. It certainly is an eye opener when you recognise bits and pieces of yourself. I did wonder on the night how many people saw themselves and were laughing at themselves or recognised and laughed at people they know.

After touring nationally and internationally for the last three years with the award winning and popular Rumpsteak Gaëtan moves from the food that delights us to the human gestures that unite us. As in The Dog’s Bollocks, Gaëtan in his very own hilarious and informative way will entertain audiences with the fascinating subject : the secret language of the human body. Fascinating… even if you don’t want it to, your body talks and talks and talks and it won’t ever shut up!

Anthropologically, sociologically, biologically, psychologically, neurologically, but not too seriously, Gaëtan will analyse the provenance and the hidden meaning of everyday gestures. Underneath its irrelevant and comical narrative body language, social message is on the ever increasing importance of human interaction and communication. Gaëtan says our entire social system is based on communication. If we can improve the quality of our communication we will improve the quality of our society.

As always, the Gaëtan’s shows are timelessly well seamed, red hot and meticulously primed. At the World premiere he had a very good audience to play his part and to react with the people he was entertaining. He reacts so quickly and puts himself in an audience. He takes you into one situation and you think it is going a certain way and surprise, surprise, it takes you down a completely different road, while you are racing and laughing to his cleverness of approach.

This show is a tour de force which only halts for the drinking of water and laughingly complains about the heat of the lights. We are then back on the race, which is pure fun and observation of one body part and the relation from your eyes, nose, hands and private parts. The poetic reaction to the words of body language shows the actor’s depth of not only these words but action and reaction to the farce. It is always a delight to see a true professional that he is when he has his one man act. Having seen Marcel Marcus over many years both in London and Paris I tried to equate the two acts and found it impossible, as one is silent mime and the other is a portrait as a mime artist talking, shouting and acting out his body language in a hysterical way. This must see show will tickle your fancy in many ways.

His mannerisms and gestures are sheer delight to behold!



Raymond E Meylan