The Show Must Go On
1991.
We stood in the wings waiting for the set change. Weeks of practice had led us to this moment. My two actors were about to perform the 1-act play I’d directed as part of my Directing class for my never-to-be-finished Theatre degree.
“You know your lines. You know your blocking. All you have to do is go out there and have fun. And don’t fuck it up.”
Even at the un-ripe age of 20, everyone could tell I was leadership material.
They did not fuck it up. They did great. Not much can go wrong when you’re doing a 1-act comedy about suicide in the safe, welcoming environment of a private school’s theatre in front of a group of people who are working as hard as you toward the same goal.
As part of the class, we spent a fair amount of time on risk. What could go wrong? Well, everything. Doesn’t actually matter that things go wrong. It’s inevitable and constant. What matters is how to plan and how you react.
2015.
I run Refresh Portland. In a lot of ways it too is a safe, welcoming environment. But it isn’t like private school. It’s open to anyone who wants to RSVP¹. Since it’s open, it can lead to a lot more opportunities for risk. But we (me and my co-organizer Susan) do our best to make it work.
We plan by having a Code of Conduct.² We plan by building trust with our attendees. We plan by being purposeful in the events we host and where we host them.
So far, we haven’t had to react. Knock wood, etc.
I don’t look into the personal lives of our presenters, nor our attendees. I have an expectation that everyone who shows up wants to be there and is willing to play broadly by professional-grownup-meetup rules.
If someone were to say to me, “I won’t go to your event because Q. is there,” well, that then becomes an opportunity for a conversation. And, unfortunately, it becomes something personal that should be professional. But, hey, Is is more important than Should Be, so there ya go.
My goal is to put on a good show. That’s in my roots. The purpose of all Refresh Portland events (workshops as well as meetups) is to Inform and Entertain. In that order. Learning new stuff should be fun, which is why both are important to me. And I think our attendees feel the same way.
If you won’t attend because someone else is there, that’s your choice. There are a few people in my profession I really don’t get along with, some of whom are, in my opinion, wholly untrustworthy. It’s fine though. I can easily avoid them.
It’s harder to do so when the person in question is speaking at the same event you are speaking at. You’ve made a commitment to help put on a good show. Something has to be pretty out of whack to get things to the point where you can’t, or won’t, fulfill that commitment.
If it does get to that point, you have a choice. Back out or go on stage.
As an organizer, I’m focused on my goal. Only a small part of that goal is how the speaker feels. Obviously we can’t put on a good show without the speaker in a good place. But, ultimately, it’s the audience I care about.
So when I read the tidbits today that led to the cancellation of a Portland Startup Week event, I feel very confused. Granted, with my outsider/organizer perspective.
I don’t know the backstory and back-channel details that led to canceling Ignite Bridgetown.³ I only know what I read on Twitter and subsequent write-ups in the news. But that’s certainly enough to start formulating an opinion.
Scott Kveton should have been asked to back out (and should have done so) out of the public eye. Crystal Beasley should not have had to get to the point of publicly calling out Scott or the event organizers. The event should not have been cancelled.
The show should have gone on. Without Scott. Without Crystal. As part of the plan, you have backup speakers. My inclination would have been to replace Crystal and address the attendees, as the organizer, in place of Scott.
But, hey, Is > Should, right?
Every day, there’s eleventy events on Calagator that serve as an opportunity not just to meet up and chat about the topic-du-jour, but also as an opportunity to make sure every person in this city knows they are welcome, on stage and off.
My hope is that every person or group running those meetups puts a fair bit of intention into their efforts. Plan. It’s hard work, but it pays off. Eventually the events mostly run themselves with minor tending.
Speaking of which, if you have any feedback on how we’ve been running Refresh Portland, please get in touch. Best to start by @’ing me. If you’d like to speak (we’ve had a few people who’ve never given a talk before!) or give a workshop, please get in touch. If you need help organizing your event, please get in touch.
I don’t have all the answers, or even many answers. I have ideas. I have what I do with Refresh Portland. But this is the type of thing it takes many minds to work on.
Next-to-final note: Read what Mara said.
Final note: It looks like the event might be rescheduled. Which is great. It will be good to make sure the voices of those willing to help put on a good show get heard.
¹ I say “RSVP” instead of “completely open” because we are sometimes in venues that can only hold a certain number of people.
² Read more about how I feel about Codes of Conduct.
³ Separately, I don’t get why there are 2 Ignite groups. You gots too many disparate groups, Portland.
