For the next several weeks, different cast and crew members of our talented Signature in the Schools program will be taking over our blog. Check back for frequent updates to get an inside track on their process ad mindset with our latest production, Hero Worship!
Today we hear from our lovely and talented Stage Manager, Emily. A four year Signature in the Schools veteran, Emily has worked her way up the stage management ladder thanks to the valuable experience she has obtained through the program.
Emily is on book and ready to go.
When I auditioned for the Signature in the Schools program
my freshman year I had no idea what a stage managers job was. That year I joined the program as an Assistant
Stage Manager and learned all about the job and its responsibilities. I loved every part of stage management and
felt that it was the best way I could use the skills I have in theatre. Thanks to the Signature in the Schools program I continued to work on
productions and have since decided to pursue a career in stage management in
college. I am now a full blown Stage Manager on my
fourth Signature in the Schools production.
Signature in the Schools has absolutely changed my life in a way I never could have imagined. This unique opportunity has given me a newfound confidence and taught me so many things. From learning information covered in boot camp to different experiences encountered in rehearsals, everyday at Signature presents a new challenge. I have not been treated with this much respect or given this much responsibility anywhere else. The chance to work in a professional environment as a high school student has truly been a blessing in my life. Although this is the last year I am able to participate in the program I know I can look forward to continue working in theatre because I feel Signature has properly prepared me to do so.
Hero Worship performs March 10th and March 17th at 8:00 PM. Tickets are free, but reservations are required. To reserve seats, call 703-820-9771. Reservations are available beginning February 10th.
Does everyone possess the capacity for heroism? Is heroism thrust upon individuals or do the individuals in question thrust it upon themselves? In Signature in the Schools upcoming production, Hero Worship, young armed service members of The United States of America wrestle with the desire to be heroes and the desire to remain intact physically, mentally, and emotional.
“Wanting
to be a society-certified hero is a specialness issue. I see people killing
themselves at work and at home to pay for mortgages that are too much for them,
or taking vacations they can’t afford in the right spots, all to be special.
Wanting a medal in war is just killing yourself at a faster pace, for all the
same wrong reasons.” – Karl Marlantes,
Vietnam Veteran
Sometimes,
the desire to be a hero can lead to doing it for the wrong reasons. The desire
to be recognized and seen as extraordinary can cause people to take unnecessary risks
or disobey orders and cause more harm than good. Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes
remembered a critical moment in the heat of battle, when he had to decide whether
or not to run under heavy fire to try to retrieve a kid from his platoon named
Utter, despite the orders from his Staff Sergeant to stay with the rest of the
group:
“I was split three ways. I’d known
Utter for months. He was my guy…he was hit. I simply wanted to get to him
before he bled to death. Another part of me was screaming to listen to [Staff
Sergeant] Bell
and stay safe. Then there was the third part. I wanted a medal.
I’d always wanted a medal, ever
since I looked at my father’s medals from World War II, ever since I’d seen
Audie Murphy in To Hell and Back,
ever since I was never chosen first when we chose up sides. All that. It wasn’t
enough to do heroic things. I had to be recognized.”
Karl
Marlantes ended up going after Utter, shooting uphill against incoming enemy fire.
He brought Utter back, but the young soldier died anyway from a bullet wound to
the head. Marlantes was left wondering whether he had accidentally shot Utter while he was charging up the hill
like an action-hero.
Mr. Incredible has a case of
Chronic Hero Syndrome
The
desire to be a hero can also become an obsession, referred to as “Messiah Complex” or Chronic Hero
Syndrome, when a person is incapable of turning away from someone who needs
help. This can be a very admirable quality, but taken to the extreme, it could
lead to the person becoming exhausted or depressed when they can’t save
everyone. They are idealistic to the point that they struggle to face the
reality that sometimes you cannot save everyone. Their compulsive heroism also
can make them easy to manipulate. The enemy can use their compassion to trick
them or discourage them. Other times, the hero may charge into a situation to
save someone without knowing the whole picture, making matters worse. This
happens frequently to vigilante
heroes, ordinary people who act outside of the law and police forces to
administer justice on their own. If the vigilantes are not well- trained or
well-intentioned, they could cause as many problems as the criminals they
fight!
Some
of our most famous fictional heroes in pop culture have a Messiah Complex!
Batman: Often pushes himself to
his physical limits to save people, and ends up wearing himself out.
Mr. Incredible: Can’t help helping people, even if it costs him his job; makes him easy to manipulate.
Harry
Potter:
Voldemort uses his need to be a hero as a way to lure Potter to him: “He will hate watching the
others struck down around him, knowing that it is for him that it happens.
He will come.”
(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Avatar: The Last Air
Bender:
Katara often takes side-quests because she can "never, ever turn
[her] back on people that need [her]."
Doctor Who: He breaks the “Time Lord” rules by leaving
his planet to use his time-traveling powers to help humans; so he is not
there to help his own planet when it’s destroyed.
Jack Shepherd (from
Lost):
Jack often charges into situations and ends up causing more harm than good.
Assassin’s Creed:
Revelations: Ezio is continually
distracted by side-quests.
Heroism, particularly in a “soldier” or “warrior”
occupation, can inspire people to greatness. Heroes are an important part of
our culture because they represent “the best of us.” However, misguided
heroism, or heroism for the wrong reasons, can turn that positive motivation
into a negative thing. The fixation with being “special” can lead people into
risky decisions that hurt, rather than help, the situation. The real heroes are
often the ones who don’t receive metals, who do the job because they have to,
not for the glory.
Hero Worship performs March 10th and March 17th at 8:00 PM. Tickets are free, but reservations are required. To reserve seats, call 703-820-9771. Reservations are available beginning February 10th.
