PROFESSIONALISM: How to Deal with Screwing Up

[MatthewShiner]

So, ever make a bad call, bad judgement, bad decision and ROYALLY screw up . . . how do YOU deal with it?

Edit to subject line-Rebbe

[Mac Calder]

Only one way to deal with screwing up in my book. Don't make a big deal out of it, admit you screwed up, appologise, correct it as much as you can and then endeavor not to do it again.

I made a call when loading a bunch of gear into our venue on a really hot day that some of the small and expensive stuff (namely 2 MacBook Pro's and 2 other laptops) should be stored in one of our cages  in the carpark near the loading dock (which is publicly accessible), instead of separating it all out and taking those items upstairs (which is what I should have done)

As the 6 of us left the cage, we all assumed someone else had locked the cage - a poor assumption resulting in all those laptops going missing along with some other gear (estimated replacement costs were about AU$15k).  One of my hats is equipment controller, so this screwup I consider to be entirely mine. So when we discovered the theft, I took full responsibility - I stayed back for 6 hours searching the venue top to bottom to make sure that the gear was not misplaced, I called the general manager and let him know - He hauled me over the coals - I contacted surveillance and worked with them to catch the guy who stole them (we ended up with everything except one of the Mac's back), I implemented new security policies, installed new latches and did a full security audit on our storage spaces. When I go to my next CapEx meeting and on that list is another 2 MacBooks and a bunch of other expensive (and small) gear I will probably get the incident thrown back in my face - and it will probably be thrown back in my face to win any number of other arguments - but you know what - no one can fault how I dealt with the incident - NO ONE.

When the GM asked why he shouldn't give me a written warning over it, I told him that everyone screws up sometimes - and I feel that whilst this WAS a big screw up on my part, the way I dealt with it showed a thorough understanding of how I screwed up and my desire to avoid any circumstances like this again. I explained my headspace (it was a 43deg C (109deg F) day, I started at 0300 and was 12 hours into the wind when I made the bad call) and how I was going to ensure it won't happen again. He was satisfied.

[megan.s.lehr]

MY biggest bad situation were I screwed up backstage was my freshmen year of high school, I was actually an actor in the musical we were doing but also doubled as one of the main set designers, I had been putting back same paint that i had taken out to paint the bar we needed for the scene and I heard something drop, a can of peptodismal pink leaked all of the floor and onto the muslin canvas laying on the floor with the freshly painted background...
That was definitely my worst experience backstage thus far and I didn't handle it well, but my director was extremely kind about it and said no worries and we just took it step by step in fixing the situation. And even though I hated what happened it definitely helped me to learn to be more tolerant of others and when they make mistakes not to be mad but to do whatever you can to help them. Also I learned sometimes things just happen so you have to get over it and move on.

[DeeCap]

I was working on a world premiere musical and rehearsing in NYC and not in my usual rehearsal space and I did not have an assistant.  The director had a lot of rehearsals that had a lot of staggered calls.  One time I accidentally forgot to add an actor to the rehearsal; and I noticed my screw up a 1/2 hour before he was supposed to "arrive".
I called the actor and begged him to come in (knowing that this was an Equity violation). He said if he was free he would, but he had appointments.

During the break I informed my director my screw up and naturally he was upset. I told him that there were other scenes we could rehearse and did my best to remedy the situation, but since I couldn't produce that actor there wasn't much to be done. It was that rehearsal/tech process that made me realize it was time for me to leave that theatre.

Then there was the time on tour where I thought the truck was 10'2" and the building we were trying to go underneath was 10'6".  I was wrong, and the building won. My production manager sighed and said "This is why insurance was created".

[SMrose]

Years ago ( SMing one of my first operas)  we were in tech and I got lost in the score.   I called the rail cue to bring in a backdrop too early and nearly wiped out the entire chorus standing right under it!  No one was hurt luckily and it taught me a lesson to pay more attention and don't panic if I'm lost in the script/score.

[maximillionx]

Last year I was running a show where we used a DMX controlled fog machine.  I accidentally held the control to the fog machine just too long, flooded the space with fog and set off the fire alarms.  It was a complete screw up on my part for various reasons and I owned it.  Thankfully the audience and actors were all good spirited, even giving the fire fighters a good ovation, and we continued the show.

Never been so stressed out in my life, but I learned so much that night in a matter of minutes.

I've also come to realize how owning a mistake well is a great trait that we have in this industry and something that isn't all that common in everyday life.  There was an article posted on SMNetwork a few weeks ago that pointed how a degree in theatre can be a real asset in a career outside of the biz.

[NomieRae]

In general I TRY to treat myself with the kindness I show to actors and designers when they make a mistake, meaning I don't beat myself up too much about it. Once I realize the mistake, I immediately own up to it, apologize, do what I can to fix it, and move on.

The only exception to this rule is if something happens and it effects the safety of another person - then I become a nervous nut about it for quite awhile. I am all fine and good admitting I didn't send that e-mail, but if an actor or crew member almost got injured because of MY oversight I get pretty frazzled. Luckily this is a very rare occurrence.

A lot of the time a small flub in tech definitely helps bring back to light that while we do super human things - we are just people who sometimes make mistakes.

[SaraAnn]

My biggest mistake I've made yet would have been when I was ASMing Beauty and the Beast. Two days before opening we were still getting down Act II scene changes, and the crew needed to do something behind a drop that was in, but another drop was prohibiting us from doing so. So, me jumping the gun like I tend to do when I'm stressed, took the pressure off the already-busy fly crew's hands and brought out the drop that was blocking us. Well, I forgot to let said fly crew know, and when the front drop was brought up, you saw a big fat back wall, and definitely not a castle interior.

Obviously the fault was mine, but a friend of mine on fly crew got kind of upset. Not to mention the already-stressed director was pretty angry. Thank god it was only a tech though. I would have been mortified has it been with an audience. All was well afterwards though. I forced myself not to freak out, which I tend to do when stressed as well. But hey, you live and you learn!

[missliz]

Deep breath.

Fix as much as possible.

Apologize, and make sure it doesn't happen again.


The other night I made a dumb error during our preview and was really hard on myself about it...but I had to remind myself that if it had been an actor who screwed up I'd have said to shake it off, because there's a whole rest of the show to finish. Funny how I didn't think to give that advice to myself!

[loebtmc]

(on that note, one of my key frustrations is how we graciously allow actors to screw up and fix things, but - esp w directors who run rather than tech during tech - we are not allowed that same grace, expected to get it right the first or second time with no grace beyond that, with no rehearsal other than during tech, and even knowing things look different and need to be retimed from the booth. ARGHH.)

[MatthewShiner]

but there are times when you make a mistake, and we make a bad decision with poor judgement - ala, I know this wrong, but I am doing anyway.

There are honest mistakes, and not-so honest mistakes.

[NomieRae]

Matthew - are we talking a judgement call based on opinions (I know so-and-so told me to do this, but I think THIS is the way to go) or purposely doing something wrong instead of fixing the issue (I know I should do xyz, but I'll do none of that, and let it ride)?

I guess they can be seen as pretty similar things.

In those veins I have definitely made a judgement call in the moment that was wrong, knowing it was wrong, but still thinking it was the lesser of two evils. For those things I think it is harder to bounce back from because you have to own up to a lot more, and it can really tarnish a working relationship with the higher-ups if it's a big enough issue.

[iamchristuffin]

For the first show I worked on at Drama School, I was working as part of the LX team. We were rigging a bar onstage, and someone asked to borrow my knife to cut some tape. Handed it to them, they gave it back. Finished rigging the bar, bar flew out. All fine.

At the end of the session, I realised my knife was missing. We all searched high and low, but to no avail. I put up signs, sent out an email - nothing.

(I bet you know where this is going.)


Four weeks later, the last show came down and we all piled in to do the strike. I was in the second theatre rigging for another show, when the Prod LX came in, holding my knife. Turns out, I had put it down on top of a lantern while my hands were busy, and forgotten to pick it up.

There were 80 cast onstage for the majority of the opera, so if it had fallen off the lantern, it could have been a lot worse. LESSON LEARNT.

[Trak26]

The big thing I learnt is that no one comes along and wants to make a mistake.

No point in yelling abuse at a person because they missed a line, left out a song (yep worked on a show and the lead skipped an entire song), jumped a cue, etc it happens and what is done is done.  Best thing to do is to find a solution.

For me when I go up and chat the person is already contrite and beating themselves up - no need for me to add to their woes by screaming at them. In fact they seem more relieved when I say are you okay, anything I can do to help.

If I or my crew make a mistake, I take responsibility. I do not believe in fronting up to Directors etc and blaming the crew. I normally go with, Yes a mistake was made, and yes I have addressed the problem and found a solution.

The biggest issue is when it happens again and then the serious chat has to happen.

[Samazon]

The first show I ASMed in college also happened to perform in the on campus roadhouse where I worked, which assigned calls and responsibilities relatively separate from the theatre department. Part of the roadhouse's policy with outside groups (and the department, though right next door, was considered an outside group in this case) was to have someone on staff there with keys to babysit, help out if necessary and most importantly, lock up at the end of the night. I checked every door the night of the last rehearsal before tech but decided to not check the doors that allowed scenery to enter from the scene shop. I found out the next morning from the TD in class that those doors had indeed been unlocked all day.  He was willing to overlook it and not tell my boss; unfortunately, the assistant artistic director also discovered the doors and not an hour after the TD mentioned it, he did as well. I did own up to it and apologized (nothing went missing) and understandably I was removed from the list of people trusted to lock up.  Luckily, he did believe in second chances so I am still working there (as well as finished the run of the show) and have been able to regain a bit of that trust.

In hindsight, lying to either the TD or the asst. artistic director would have been a very bad decision as it would have been impossible to continue working with them if I did lie. At least now the relationships still strongly exist.