Another cold, wet and windy week in Liverpool has gone by, and Sunday has rolled in once more. The days seem to blur into one when the sky is looking so grey every day. Every step outside feels like a step into the sea, my breath in clouds like strings of silver bubbles. It’s a busy time of year, with everyone desperately scraping for cash to celebrate those long-anticipating family reunions (all being well). The result of this scrabble to get ready means that, of course, there never seems to be enough time, and nothing, nothing whatsoever seems to be getting done.
Amongst the the self-induced chaos that comes with this season, I find myself appreciating the ability to easily make connections with people online. Maybe I’m a little late to the party (having only just discovered this morning that my phone can receive emojis in texts), and I suppose it's a given that the separation artists have experienced from each other these past couple of years has made networking online such an important part of nurturing creative communities. Bear in mind that I have also only just discovered Twitter, so maybe the world has been like this for a while, and I need to- quite simply- get a grip.
I think Networking is something I’ve always found daunting (capitalised to summarise my feelings of doom at the word). Not least because I’d call myself introverted (unless dancing is involved), but it also seems like something only characters in Mad Men do- being loud men laughing lasciviously over tumblers of whisky about how stupid their wives are, and how much money they’re making. It’s safe to say that networking doesn’t (or hasn’t for a long time…hopefully) resembled that image. And I suppose it seems like something a lot more daunting than it is, because surely making friends and making money shouldn't be mixed together. How is it possible to keep a straight face going to a networking event as if you just happened to be there and you’re loving the conversation, when you nearly cancelled 3 times and your briefcase is empty bar about a million business cards that reek of desperation?
I think it’s important to recognise that networking comes in a lot of forms- and most of the time, in the arts anyway, you won’t really notice you’re ‘doing it’- unless you're an arse. And even for us people that do consider ourselves introverted, there is so much value in just listening to and learning from interesting people or even better, are like-minded creatives. And it should be as simple as finding likeminded people, or just people that you like and would enjoy working with. Because it does make it so much easier when you already have that understanding with someone before you work with them. Begrudgingly, I can understand how this structure of power relating to ‘who you know in the business’ comes into play. Why hire someone you don’t know when you could hire someone recommended? This has, and has always created a problem for anyone who is not a white-middle-class-cisgender-physically-able man. But why claw for a seat at the table when you can create a new one? Or, as so well-put by the cabaret artist (@hausovdismater) I saw at a drag show last week- 'burn the fucking table to the ground'. Debra Stevenson describes representation as a “really heavy door” that different people take turns holding to get a couple of people running through (this was described with regards to class -a difficult one these days because its largely unseen- but I think represents quite well the struggle for representation generally. Not least because we all need to stick together with this ‘burning the table down’ business).
I suppose on the flipside this shows that there are, always, people out there who are like you. Whoever you are, however you identify. The divide between the A-lister and the starving artist isn’t binary- we’re all just people trying to get work doing something we love and we’re good at (hopefully). And wouldn’t it be nice to get to know those people and create work and opportunities for each other? It really should be that simple.
I think this is one of those times where your mindset makes all the difference. If you go in with the title of this article in mind, you will fail. You should probably get your money back for those business cards because no one is going to look at them (not least because it’s a bit of an outdated example of self-promotion I should really have replaced). We talked about this on our Wicked Women course (@Tmesistheatre) recently (which I suppose it in itself could be called a form of networking? Cue panic!)-artistic director Eli Randall said that with networking in the arts, you have to realise that you in the same boat with everyone else. It can feel cringe-worthy at times, but having an unspoken understanding about how cringe it is helps. When you know that everyone is just trying the same way you are, its easier to get over yourself. To share what you’re up to and share what other people are up to as well, getting a few more people through that really heavy door.
All this should be held with a light hand anyway. Even though every industry will have its own level of schmoozing and self-promotion, what a gift to be able to do it within an industry where you make people happy or make people laugh or cry or make them remember things about themselves or the world that they forgot, or by being just plain silly (paying the bills with it no less). At the end of the day, whatever it is your form of art does, it does everything to brighten these otherwise darkening, cold winter months.
References
The cabaret artist was @hausovdismater (Instagram)- check them out they’re incredible. As is @eatmeclub ‘s monthly drag nights.
Debris Stevenson (Instagram @debrisstevenson) appearing on The Proper Class Podcast
*Elinor Randle, artistic director and co-founder of @Tmesistheatre, who co-runs the Wicked Women programme with Clair Bigley, producer of the same company.
Also recommend a book by Susan Cain- ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’. Introversion is not something often celebrated as it was in this book- especially within the arts- after reading, I've reflected its traits to hold a lot of value.
Cover photo: Playing Polonius in Hamlet, directed by Judith McSpadden (@judemcspad). Photo credit to Jessica Wallace (@jlwjessica).
I also want to point out the irony that I'm talking about cringe-worthy self-promotion and posting blogs plastered with photos of myself performing. I guess I'm only human.