Volun-Tier 4
Why you should always go pro.
With a panto tour cancelled and the country enduring Boris Johnson’s latest rendition of Tiers of a Clown, my final work of 2020 ended up being a performer for an outdoor event in Sudbury, Suffolk.
Despite the latest pandemic ruling (as of the last third of December), as the event was outdoors with a pre-planned route, we were all good to go. My role was as a town cryer, ringing a bell, giving gustful Oh-Yays and welcoming visitors, explaining rules and getting everyone’s journey off to a good start.
As I have experienced in past work for this particular venue, outdoor events can be plagued with queues. With different entertainers and things for the kids to look out for, different groups of people will inevitably take different times to make their way along the route. When a build-up occurs, it can be tricky to make everyone happy — especially when there’s a pandemic about.
As a professional actor with much improvisation experience, and having worked on the site previously for their Halloween events, I know how to handle this situation. Should there be a build-up, one of the on-site marshals will let me know and I can adapt whatever I am doing to accommodate this.
Being at the beginning of the route, I didn’t encounter this issue too often. I was however told about the reaction of another performer at being asked to adapt their spot due to queues building.
They said “No.”
I was shocked. Why would they be so rude, for starters, at the marshal’s request? And why wouldn’t they do what they’re instructed? It’s a part of their job.
Then I was told the reason…It wasn’t their job. The individual in question was doing it voluntarily.
The venue is a huge area of land, with the main hall having a prestigious lineage. It is one of many places that have volunteers among their staff. Most of the year, the land is open for events with many volunteers dressed in period costume, using the house and land as they would have in centuries gone by. In the aforementioned Halloween events, volunteers regularly work the event as something fun to do. There is nothing inherently wrong with that.
However when a build-up occurs, with people rightly concerned about queuing in the winter weather trying to maintain 2 metre between bubbles, a volunteer not wanting to change their routine is not the best thing to have in this situation.
While I understand why event organisers would want to save money, here’s why you should choose professionals every time:
- A professional will always be aware of queues gathering.
- A professional will always adapt to the situation.
- A professional will never snap at someone for asking them to adapt.
- A professional will always have a backup routine.
- A professional will always do the job asked to the best of their ability.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that volunteers do not have any of the abilities listed above. But for certain jobs, you want to make sure someone in those positions will deliver what you need.
Professionals will do that.
And if they’re like me, they’ll look darn good doing it. I mean, check out that picture. Phwoar, am I right?
