Sound: "Gold" by Macklemore
This post is really about how to influence people. I don't need to adjust my sparkling personality to make friends. But really, this post is The Story of A Program In Dire Need of Edits.
Before we left for Russia, Marissa and I, as dramaturgs for the play our class would be presenting in Moscow, put together and sent off a file containing all the information necessary for a program. We were told it would be translated in Russian, so that our audience would actually know what the heck was going on. We sent it off with plenty of time, and that was that. We never heard or saw anything of it again.
That is, until the day before our show opened.
A slight concern was raised about the translation of the title of the evening, "American Sojourns." We asked to see a copy of the program, and were in for a shock. While the title was translated correctly, the program was riddled with other errors. Namely, there were tons of typos in the English, and in Russian, numerous names were spelled incorrectly, inconsistently, or both. For example, my name had been translated to "Goal-shteye-een." While I'm not going to get picky about how you translate/pronounce "stein," I know that in pretty much every language, the first part of my last name involves a "d" sound. One actress had two different last names, and another was listed without a corresponding role. Obviously, this was unprofessional and unacceptable.
Being a polite American and not wanting to rock the boat, I pointed out the errors and asked if there was any way the program could be changed and reprinted. At first, the errors were denied as being serious, and I was told no. Then, our vocal coach, a self-described "power bottom," took over. He pointed out that the errors not only existed, but that they could be seen as disrespectful. He then (politely) told the people in charge that the program would be changed; that I would go home tonight, make corrections, and arrive at 12:15pm to meet the production manager and implement the edits. New programs would be printed in time for our 7:00pm opening. And that is exactly what happened (actually, the production manager didn't show up until 3:30pm, but, you know, Russian time).
So, in conclusion: if you want to get something done in Russia, don't ask. Just tell.
This post is really about how to influence people. I don't need to adjust my sparkling personality to make friends. But really, this post is The Story of A Program In Dire Need of Edits.
Before we left for Russia, Marissa and I, as dramaturgs for the play our class would be presenting in Moscow, put together and sent off a file containing all the information necessary for a program. We were told it would be translated in Russian, so that our audience would actually know what the heck was going on. We sent it off with plenty of time, and that was that. We never heard or saw anything of it again.
That is, until the day before our show opened.
A slight concern was raised about the translation of the title of the evening, "American Sojourns." We asked to see a copy of the program, and were in for a shock. While the title was translated correctly, the program was riddled with other errors. Namely, there were tons of typos in the English, and in Russian, numerous names were spelled incorrectly, inconsistently, or both. For example, my name had been translated to "Goal-shteye-een." While I'm not going to get picky about how you translate/pronounce "stein," I know that in pretty much every language, the first part of my last name involves a "d" sound. One actress had two different last names, and another was listed without a corresponding role. Obviously, this was unprofessional and unacceptable.
Being a polite American and not wanting to rock the boat, I pointed out the errors and asked if there was any way the program could be changed and reprinted. At first, the errors were denied as being serious, and I was told no. Then, our vocal coach, a self-described "power bottom," took over. He pointed out that the errors not only existed, but that they could be seen as disrespectful. He then (politely) told the people in charge that the program would be changed; that I would go home tonight, make corrections, and arrive at 12:15pm to meet the production manager and implement the edits. New programs would be printed in time for our 7:00pm opening. And that is exactly what happened (actually, the production manager didn't show up until 3:30pm, but, you know, Russian time).
So, in conclusion: if you want to get something done in Russia, don't ask. Just tell.
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