As for the title, this is something I had been toying with four years ago or so, as a "response" to another singer-blogger who seems to always get under my skin. For whatever reason, I never used the title, but it came to mind again a few weeks ago when I was watching the Christmas special for Last Tango in Halifax. One of the subplots involved an amateur production of Blithe Spirit that was in an area apparently so talent starved that they had to scrape the bottom of the barrel (meaning strongarm someone with no acting ability and no interest) into playing one of the male roles. (The role of Madame Arcati went to a woman my age who had done some acting when she was young.) Does this scenario really exist? Are there still AmDrams (I word I learned recently) that are geographically located such that they will not be crashed by professionals coming from far and wide to get a role under their belt (or "rehearse" one they will be performing in a loftier venue later)? Are there still places where the performing arts are so thin on the ground that people will actually come to a performance that at best can be called "a rough diamond"?
I posted this question in a British tv lovers Facebook group that I belong to and people assured me, yes, that this scenario was not so far afield, that most "small towns" (how is that defined, I wonder?) have an AmDram that is really that - for amateurs.
As for the term "mediocre" according to the dictionary, synonyms are "average", "unexceptional", "amateur", and "amateurish". (There are also other synonyms, such as "uninspired" that don't capture what I am trying to say.) The point is that the term does not mean "so embarrassingly substandard that people want to run screaming from the room". I would take it to mean "not the best of the best, but still pleasing on some level".
Now to me mediocrity is not the same thing as "laziness". A person is lazy if he or she could achieve excellence but is not willing to put in the necessary work. The potential A student who gets Bs. But what about the C student who has worked his or her tail off to get Bs. The end result is the same. But the point is, are Bs bad? Should only someone who is "A" grade be allowed or encouraged to [sing, play a musical instrument, paint, write, design furniture or clothing]? I would guess that if someone is so unskilled (and untalented) at something that they are in the D or, heaven help us, the F league, they should not be encouraged. They can probably find some other arena in which they can at least make B league. But should only the best of the best exist, with everyone else going back to paper pushing or doing something else uninspired that most people don't want to do?
This subject is wrenching my heart because as someone with, possibly, a major talent, but one that was not put to use until past the 11th hour, and who probably in terms of skill level (if you put Met stars at the top and people who love to sing off key on karaoke night at the bottom) would be in the 88th percentile, has found every door closed to me. The opera companies that don't pay people use professionals who can't find work (or professionals who want to use that gig as a rehearsal for a paying one). People that invite performers into their spaces (for no pay, other than the use of the space) have a long list of people from Marilyn Horne's "Song" finalists to chamber music groups that have been reviewed in the TIMES that they can donate their space to and don't want amateurs with a few rough edges. And its not only existing organizations and performance venues who aren't interested. Colleagues aren't interested either. I was told once to look for people who are really good, better than I am, but then, of course, they will flit if they get a better offer (my voice teacher included!!) And people who are at a lower skill level are just not all that interested. They just think it's too much bother. So in addition to having to learn my music I have to be the "impresaria" and do all the managing and planning and spend all the money. I'm not a professional singer but I once was a well-salaried manager and really don't want to do that for free (I have done it, but I think I'm burned out).
So I had resigned myself to singing in nursing homes, which, actually, if I look at my values as a human being, should not be viewed as "settling" for second best. I love the elderly and spend a large part of my life taking care of my 83-year-old partner who is severely impaired. But other than the place I sang this past October (and for my birthday in 2016), I can't get anyone to "bite" despite having left repeated phone messages and having sent emails. I actually don't take this personally. I think they probably go for people they know if they're looking to fill the calendar. Which brings me back to a subject I have written about in the past, that it really is about who(m) you know, not in the sense of fraudulent dealing, but in the sense of being part of a network and I am not part of one. Here's an analogy I thought of the other day. I can always get copyediting work not because I am absolutely the best copy editor anyone could ever hire (although I'm damn good - probably I would put myself in the 99th percentile there), but because people know me. I have worked in the publishing business since 1979. So who are people going to give work to? Me, or someone they don't know, who writes to them out of the blue and asks to take a test. Even if they get 100 on that test, they don't have a "track record".
As I have said before, I am not ready to give up and throw in the towel. Every week I am singing better and I certainly have more confidence than I did before. But I can't say that I have expanded my network in any way, and this is not for lack of trying. So OK, if I weren't a caregiver, I would have more options: start my own Meetup, venture forth on a Saturday or in the evening, maybe even see what's doing at one of the three big conservatories within shouting distance from where I live. But not now.
So I defend "mediocrity" not because I think people should be lazy or lacking in discernment, but because I think there should be a place for people who aren't the best and never will be, but still want a place to muddle through something they love, in like-minded company, with friends and acquaintances cheering them on.
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