Communication
Before building something new, you can take stock of what works very, very well – and so here’s a memory of work that worked very, very well.
The teacher of a class of small children (they were 5 years old) called me one day at the theatre: she wanted me to come and help her put on the school’s famous end-of-year show.
Since she brought this class to the theater twice a year – and she’s a great teacher – and I wanted to get out of the walls – I said yes, of course.
And then I found myself in my little car, a little rotten, getting lost on the roads of the Pyrenees, looking for her little school.
The children were waiting for me: they were all sitting comfortably in the playroom. I was their apparition: the lady of the theatre.
I had to play the fool so that they wouldn’t be afraid of me anymore – and then, pure magic.
I asked them to show me what they had already found: they rushed (I admired the patience of the teacher).
And then, all around me, telling me what was wrong: I don’t want the green one, I’m not the bad guy, and so on… I didn’t understand everything, it’s true.
But thanks to the teacher, I saw that they needed advice on the decor: it wasn’t very difficult – but an outside look, it was the voice of knowledge.
about make-up: a lot of the children were scared to death at the thought of being made up, the teacher didn’t know how to do it, so I brought my make-up friend and they spent a lovely afternoon.
They needed a lot of advice on their placements (at 25 on a very small stage, it’s not easy) – so we worked on it.
I went to see them once a week for two months: they showed me their progress, I was genuinely amazed. I suggested the next step, they tried it. We started over. And see you next week.
Of course, I found myself the guest of honor on the afternoon of their show. And since they had done a good job, it was a really, really nice show.
They did it, their little end-of-year show, where great “green” knights fought fearlessly and restlessly against the nasty “orange” dragons that kept their moms from picking them up from school. 5 years old – They truly amazed me.
And the following year, when I welcomed “the mediums” in the theatre lobby, they rushed to give a kiss to “the lady of the theater” – some even dared to call me Barbara.
I don’t really like normal means of communication – I find them very artificial – very expensive – and relatively useless. On the other hand, to think of going outside the walls, to answer the calls of mistresses, teachers, educators, what do I know, to share this passion, then there, yes, I think it is an effective communication: because we are there to communicate the love of the show – and not: don’t forget to buy my ticket – which I for one forget with the regularity of the clock.
By taking the time and the means to get the staff out of the theatre, we won’t sell a ticket – but we will have an audience with whom we will have created real bonds, human bonds – and those people will stay with us.
Featured Image : Lac des Bouillouses – Pyrénées.
ALTAIR - Concepts 