Four weeks, you rehearse and rehearse,
Three weeks and it couldn’t be worse.
One week, will it ever be right?
Then out o’ the hat, it’s that big first night!
These lyrics, from the song “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” in Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate, easily translate to the world of staged opera, as they convey the stress involved in the preparation time leading up to a staged performance. Many opera professionals cope well with, and even thrive under, such stress. Some, on the other hand, do not—and their resulting behavior can make rehearsals and performances miserable for their colleagues.
How typical is this behavior? To soprano and producer Iris Karlin, very. Out of 30 productions she has performed in over the past five years, “perhaps five were ‘rage free,’” she says. Karlin attributes this low percentage to several factors. “When the sets, the costumes, the staging, and the singing are all put together with long hours, day after day of being in constant stress and nervousness of how it all comes together, personalities clash and rage attacks.”
Bad Behavior—Witnessed
Among the incidents Karlin recalls are 1) a sword fight that turned into a real fight when one colleague accused the other of attacking him too hard on purpose, 2) singers threatening to quit because they don’t want to work with another singer in a production, and 3) a conductor so furious with a singer’s incorrect entrances that he stopped conducting and left the building.
Bass and artistic director Waundell Saavedra has also observed many incidents of stage rage. “I’ve seen directors and conductors throw their weight around, thinking they can speak to singers in tones they would not accept themselves,” he says, but notes that sometimes it’s singers who behave badly. “Some have deliberately thrown out insults to other singers during rehearsal, made snide comments about the pianist or conductor’s qualifications, and even tried to stage a mutiny.”
Bad Behavior—The Receiving End
It is especially unpleasant to be the target of stage rage, as one mezzo recently discovered. Her German is not very good, and when she worked with a German-speaking director, she misunderstood his instructions. Consequently, the director got very angry, pounded his fists on the table, yelling, “Das ist furchtbar [That is horrible]! Nein, Nein, Nein!”
“I start saying that I don’t understand and am looking at the floor trying not to cry,” the mezzo recounts. “He then stands up to show me and yells even louder at me for not looking at him and says that I am an ignorant singer and that he is sick and tired of working with ignorant singers.”
Another singer (called Singer A for the purposes of this article) was a target of stage rage during a summer program many years ago. Singer A made a mistake in the final dress rehearsal, upon which the coach/pianist stopped, stood up, slammed both hands on the piano and screamed, “You f&*@-ed that up!” More recently, Singer A worked with a director who “used sarcasm and yelling at every rehearsal.” The effect, says the singer, was that rehearsals “felt like an abuse cycle.”
Singers are not the only targets. Conductor Joseph Jones worked with an artistic director (and singer) who demonstrated extreme stage rage. Her anger simmering over another issue, she had a “meltdown” during a discussion about cuts. “Realizing that it was a lost cause, I excused myself as gracefully as possible and headed for the stage,” Jones remembers. “She followed me, stood in front of me to prevent me from walking to the pit and—on stage, within earshot of everyone—continued to berate me for several minutes.”
Reactions
How did these musicians and other targets of stage rage respond to such onslaughts of temper?
In the mezzo’s case, she took a deep breath and asked the German-speaking director if she could do the scene again. He agreed and was happy with the result. At the end of the rehearsal, the director came up to her, kissed her hand, and said, “I am very sorry; this is my issue. You are wonderful.”
She notes, however, that if the director had not apologized, she would have tried to have a conversation with him explaining the misunderstanding and expressing her discomfort with the yelling.
Singer A’s reaction to the summer program incident was inaction and explains: “I was a student/young artist, and felt that if I said anything, I would never work again. People in this business talk.”
Jones, too, felt that inaction was the best response to the meltdown of the artistic director. “I allowed her to have her say, did not reply, and sheepishly made my way to the pit,” he recalls. There was a silver lining to the incident, however. “To my amazement, the orchestra members and several singers approached me with words of support,” says Jones. “In the end, it brought us together.”
He feels that his response was appropriate at the time. “I’d advise any singer caught in a similar situation to simply walk away,” he suggests. “I believe that there are appropriate moments for frustration, but a full meltdown is difficult to come back from. Walk away, take some time, and think about what is best for the production.”
Another singer (Singer B) experienced many unpleasant incidents during a recent production because of a director’s frequent fits of rage and temper. Singer B says that most of the singers on the receiving end took no action, but points out, “Our collective response has been primarily to stay as far away from this company as possible and to spread the word about the issues.”
Saavedra is an advocate for speaking up. “There is no contract where you have to tolerate abusive behavior,” he says. “There is no agreement that requires one to keep quiet when someone is on an ego trip. So, first, without being inappropriate, I suggest singers learn how to speak up regardless of what they think the retaliation may be.”
Nor does Saavedra tolerate rage in his capacity as an artistic director. “I simply know that if I have a problem with someone, I can and will speak directly to them,” he says. “And if they don’t get the message, I never hire them again. They may not care. But at least they know I’m not going to put up with their emotional disorders.”
Recommended Responses
What does an expert in anger management recommend in responding to fits of anger? Susan Obrecht, LCSW—who is a faculty member, supervisor, and training analyst at the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis and National Institute for the Psychotherapies as well as a trained stage director—believes that “it is best to respond in private and as soon after the incident as possible.
“The rage-aholic behaves the way he or she does because of a feeling of powerlessness and a lack of control,” she adds. “Usually after the storm, the rage-aholic feels deeply ashamed. A public condemning exacerbates the situation. In private, you hope to re-establish contact, communication and, perhaps, some level of trust.
“In responding to outbursts, I recommend asking enraged people to lower their volume,” she continues. “You could say, ‘I cannot hear you when you are yelling.’ If they still can’t contain themselves, then the recipient of the anger should take a ‘time out.’ Leave the room. Say you will return when the other person can control him or herself. I know this all sounds very idealistic, and in the pressure of artistic production it might seem impossible to follow, but who can work effectively in combat conditions? And why should you?”
If rage persists, there may be other steps singers can take. The mezzo suggests talking to a union rep, director of the company, stage manager, or “someone who can take the complaint to the next level.”
Singer B agrees with this approach: “If possible, bring it up with company management, if they will listen. If you have a manager, you should definitely talk to him or her about it.” That said, Singer B admits that “If you don’t, it’s a bit harder since you don’t want to come off looking petty yourself.” Singer B’s own situation fell into the latter category. And what was the solution? “To find my own ‘zen’ place to continue being the best performer I could be despite [the director’s] obvious issues.”
Extra-sensitive Artists
Part of the problem, says Saavedra, is the nature of the arts industry. As he sees it, it is “filled with a lot of talented people,” many of whom “have inflated egos and insecurity problems. This brings about jealousy and other problems that make people snap.
“Artists of all disciplines should not be competing against each other,” he continues. “I look at it like the golf course: you are playing against the green, not the other players. In music, we are challenged by the music and technique and study of the history, not by other artists. When we can fully know ourselves and be comfortable and mature in our own skin, then you will see less rage. When people are qualified to be in the role they are in, they will have no need to rage to compensate for their deficiency.”
“We work in a business with very passionate people,” observes the mezzo, “and it happens that in the heat of the moment some people lose their composure. I think it is important to forgive people for mistakes while at the same time stand up for your right to be treated with respect.”
