A Little Theater Personality Test
Which role fits you?
You might have wandered into, and perhaps out of, a little theater production in your town. Because you were a volunteer, you probably did what you wanted to do. You arranged your time and responsibilities to suit yourself.
My first theater experience was as a teenage apprentice at the summer stock Woodstock Playhouse in upstate New York.
I built and painted sets, supported each week’s cast of traveling actors backstage, patched costumes, managed props, cleaned “the house”, did anything needed by the pros.
One afternoon in the theater I heard a record of West Side Story for the first time and discovered dancers in their work clothes performing on stage for the love of it, not for applause. The musical had just opened on Broadway and they probably knew the choreography.
Years later, in 1988, the Playhouse caught fire. “The completely wooden structure burned quickly and ferociously, lighting up the early morning sky over Woodstock.” It turned out that the new owner had set the fire to collect the insurance money. Drama.
Hometown little theater is a world unto itself. Each personalities have a role to play. Here’s a test for your entertainment, to see which role you would like the best. Remember, all the world’s a stage.
The 4 Thomas Personality Types seem basically true. You might choose other ways to match the types with volunteer jobs. Let me know!
If you chose as your top volunteer jobs: Director, Stage Manager, Set Design, Costumes, Make-Up, or Props, you are:
Type A: The director; goal oriented, sets high standards, extremely competitive; a risk taker, tries for the best, good under stress, hardworking, works best alone, creative; a leader.
If you chose: Actor, you are:
Type B: The socializer; grounded, relationship oriented, outgoing, enthusiastic, knowledgeable; likes to be liked; loves being around people and the center of attention.
If you chose Lighting, Sound, Publicity, or Box Office, you are:
Type C: The analyzer; likes detail and stability; wants to control everything, is well-prepared; likes facts and logic over emotion; the thinker.
If you chose Set Crew, Refreshments, or Usher, you are:
Type D: The supporter; hardworking, detailed, task-oriented, very organized; compassionate team player; likes repetitious tasks; dislikes change and variety, likes to be liked for a job well done.
“All the world’s a stage!”
Sam and I love to visit the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton VA. Below is a scene from their production of As You Like It. You can see on the left that some of the audience is seated on stools on the stage. If you choose to sit there, be prepared to be singled out during the performance by an actor speaking his lines about, perhaps, old age!
So enjoy your posts. You are so talented and done so many things with your artistic talent.
Clever using personality types!
Another great post, Deda. I grew up in Saugerties in the 60s and 70s and my introduction to theater was at the original playhouse. I still remember seeing "Cabaret" there, I believe it may have been my first time attending a live performance. Do you recall working on that production? This was probably sometime in the mid to late 60s. Thanks for the link to the history page -- great stuff!