Written by Rosie on July 13, 2009 – 10:58 am
Thanks to the generosity of Laura, I was priviledged last night to see Midsummer Night’s Dream in the impressive setting of Corfe Castle. The rain held off, and the summer evening sky provided a perfect backdrop to a wonderful play.
The Illyria Thetare Company provided an alfresco version of the play and did it brilliantly. With only five actors for twenty one parts, plus selling programmes, stage prop moving and organisation of the event, they worked with boundless energy and impeccable timing. The comedy was amazing and with the broken walls and white doves behind them, it gave a great feel to it all. Afterwards, it gave me thoughts of team work and presentation skills.
You can say it is just acting, but this is their job, their business, and if you could recreate what they did, imagine what your business could achieve.
The first thing that stood out for me was their energy and fun. This is with a nationwide tour, going from Liskeard one day to Berwick on Tweed the next. They were so happy, and this made the audience enjoy the experience more. In this time of hard conditions, I see so many miserable faces in shops and businesses, which does nothing to draw customers in or to come back for more.
The second aspect was the teamwork. They could not have achieved what they did in the time, the costume changes, scenery moves and delivery, without working as a cohesive team. They knew each other’s cues and limitations. Again, this is vastly important in the business world. In hard times, we can retrench and look after our own, but for the business it is about looking after each other, pulling out the stops and working to each other’s strengths.
Thirdly was their dedication to learn their lines and deliver them with passion, creativity and without a PA system. This showed great skills, which can make a performance memorable. How passionately do you sell your business to customers? How clear, creative and well rehearsed is the message you want to deliver?
Finally, it was their time management. Comedy relies so much on timing. This comes with practice. How good is your time management? However good your product, message and service is, if not delivered on time, it will not have the desired results.
The play tells how love conquers all and you can live the impossible dream. I believe the moral for business is love what you do and hold firm to your vision. Thanks again Laura and the Illyria Company. Visit www.illyria.uk.com for their programme
What lovely comments about the show, thank you so much. Yes teamwork plays a BIG role in what we do. As does fun. As I director I describe my job in these simple terms: To create a creative environment – and people are always most creative when there is a balance of Play and Problems. Trust and Responsibility also are very important in this team, as everyone has to know that everyone else will be where they’re supposed to be and doing what they’re supposed to be doing. There is a whole bunch of stuff which the audience never sees, where actors are helping each other into costumes in order to achieve a lightning-fast costume change.
Oliver Gray, Director, Illyria