The Show Must Go On
For the last two weeks I’ve been away working hard on a theatre festival in Suffolk, working with an amazing team who were determined to raise the festival’s game and make it bigger and better than ever before. We set ourselves a huge challenge and it’s been unbelievably hard work, but hour after hour, day after day and night after night we worked our arses off to make it all happen and more than that, make it look completely effortless to the incoming audience. We turned tiny village halls and a big old dusty warehouse into an extraordinary venue and although we hit more than our fair share of problems and got basically no sleep for much of the festival we did it, and we did it well.
The team I was working with is the same team who I’ve previously worked with on another large festival over the last god knows how many years, and the team ethic and complete dedication to getting the job done is something that continues to inspire and amaze me. Even when people were feeling far from their best and just wanted a rest they continued to turn up and try to lend a hand however they could and made sure we got the job done.
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I feel incredibly privileged to work in two industries where people are so dedicated and passionate about their job that they will do whatever it takes to make sure they do the job correctly. In theatre there’s a saying that “The Show Must Go On” and it really is the working ethic of every theatre practitioner that an audience must never be let down. The wedding industry is exactly the same – the lengths people will go to to ensure a bride and groom are not let down are extraordinary. Photographers, videographers, makeup artists, florists… everyone will turn up for a wedding even when they’re on death’s door, and they’ll do it with a smile on their face, spending their time trying to look after the bride and groom and do absolutely anything they can to make them happy. What’s even more impressive though is what happens when something goes wrong and for some reason someone in the industry really can’t get there.
When the call goes out that someone’s in trouble fellow industry colleagues rally around to help however they can. Recently when a photographer became stuck in traffic and it looked like they would be late for a wedding ceremony a call went out on Facebook and within an hour and a lot of phone calls by numerous people trying to help 3 photographers were volunteering their services to be there just in case, at least one of whom would have a several hour drive to be there. It’s rare to find an industry where people are so self-sacrificing to make sure that the show goes on and nothing is spoilt, and I’m honoured to have the chance to work in two such industries.
So today I offer thanks to all those working unbelievably hard and completely selflessly to just get the job done regardless of the personal consequences, to those who never moan despite being completely entitled to and to those that put other’s needs ahead of their own and above financial gain. You are the people who make this world a far greater and happier place.
