By:
Robert Aaron Taylor &
Michelle Kei Ishuu Taylor
We’re some of the most determined people you’ll ever meet
Artists are accustomed to rejection. We put ourselves out there every day in an attempt to get gigs. That’s how we pay the bills. We are the product we’re selling, so every rejection is personal. Yet we persevere! We get back on the horse and keep trying until we get a “yes” and then we go out and try some more.
We’re highly educated
Performing artists are Renaissance (Wo)Men. In order to understand and communicate the plights of the characters we play on stage, we must do copious amounts of research on the various details of many cultures and periods in history. We often speak multiple languages. We build our own websites and do our own taxes. We read… a LOT! Usually it’s literature but we also keep up with current events. We like to stay on top of trends and new technologies and we talk to each other about ways we might adapt them to improve our performances.
We value tradition, but embrace innovation
Most artistic traditions have stood the test of time for centuries, but that’s no excuse to let things stagnate. We happily embace innovations that work in harmony with and improve the quality of our performance. Every performer is on at least one social media platform and we all have videos that we’ve uploaded to the web. If we can reach a broader audience by using an iPad as a prop instead of a quill and parchment, then why not use the iPad?
Creativity is our business
Thinking outside the box comes naturally to us. No artist is ever satisfied with the explanation, “because that’s the way we’ve always done it.” If there’s a way to improve a concept or process, we’ll find it. Oftentimes, the moment of inspiration hits us when we’re in front of an audience and we’re able to seamlessly adapt it into our well-rehearsed performance. Your colleagues think you’re a genius and those in charge make it a permanent part of the show. It’s just another day at the office for us creative types.
We work well under pressure
You know that horrible feeling you get right before you step out to talk to a big group of people? It’s like your stomach is turning summersaults and there’s a voice inside your head screaming at you to run away as fast as possible. Well, that’s where we artists shine! We’ve learned to put that nervous energy to good use. Pressure is just another part of the process, and it helps us do some of our most inspiring work.
We thrive in the spotlight, but don’t pull focus when it’s someone else’s time to shine
A good performer knows how to own a room. When we turn it on, you just can’t look away. Luckily, we have an intensity adjustment for our charisma, so when it’s a colleague’s turn to take center stage we can fade gracefully into the background. We’re still there to give them our full support because this is, after all, a team effort. We all have to cross the finish line together.
We save the drama for the stage
Most people think that artists are moody and dramatic all the time, but that’s just not true. We get our fill of death, deception and melodrama on the stage. We don’t need any of that in our daily lives. You’d be hard-pressed to spot an incognito performing artist out in public. “Why is that?” you ask. It’s because we’re just normal, witty, unpretentious people who like having fun with friends and who do our best to have a positive impact on the world. We portray villains and their helpless victims too often to not want to be a force for good in our own communities. If you give us a chance to show you what we can do, you’ll truly understand why performing artists make the best employees!
This list is by no means exhaustive. Have something to add? Leave it in the comments section below.
About the Authors:
Robert Aaron Taylor is a Performer and Business Owner who is transitioning into the corporate world. A creative and confident Problem Solver and Strategist, he offers a natural ability to dive deep and craft innovative solutions to complex problems. Connect with him on LinkedIn or email him at robertaarontaylor@gmail.com .
Michelle Kei Ishuu Taylor, a charismatic leading lady on the stage and in the office, is in great demand for her contagious positivity and her ability to organize, energize and mobilize. If you’re looking for someone to help reinvigorate a stagnant work environment, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
Robert Aaron Taylor 
Well said, Robert. I think there are a couple of areas that you hinted toward but that you didn’t specifically say. The first of these is our flexibility. We are willing to try anything, anyway, anytime if we think it will improve our end product, i.e., our performance. A new director wants to reinterpret the role, no problem. A new choreographer wants to change the dance style or steps, point me toward the rehearsal room. A fellow performer calls in sick before a crucial performance, we are prepared, ready and willing to step up. Being able to roll with the punches, to deal with whatever happens to pop up that day, whether it be an allergy attack, a transportation strike, a hostile audience is something in which we take pride. This flexibility has allowed me to have a great deal of success in the world of education (which in many ways imitates the corporate world.)
The other thing is our attention to detail. As you indicated, we spend hours preparing ourselves for the task at hand. It’s not enough to have a surface knowledge of a score, or an aria, or a role, we need to know how our role influences others, what the public perception is, what the performance history is, what the current trends are. We know that the audience expects us to inflect a phrase a certain way, or to hold a certain note a certain amount of time, so we consider that and give them what they want, while simultaneously looking for ways to surprise them with something they never considered. We know a performance prep isn’t complete until every last detail has been examined, scrutinized, evaluated, and dealt with in the appropriate fashion. We carry that attention to detail over into our private and public lives. In my current role as a budget manager for a large university unit, the thing that earned me the position was my attention to the details of the ledgers I had to balance each month. It was never enough for me to merely make sure that the bottom line matched up, I had to know why this charge was made, why it was processed this way, why it was coded like that. And that instinct comes from years of teachers constantly urging me to not only do every single thing I saw on the page, but to seek the meaning and logic behind it and understand why it was done that way.
http://www.inc.com/carey-smith/forget-the-mbas-hire-a-liberal-arts-major.html