Working with Dickheads

Convener: Laura Mugridge  

Participants: I forgot to pass the sheet round. This may make me a bit of a dickhead.   

 

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

It was suggested that the best way to deal with dickheads is to assume that they are NOT dickheads until they behave otherwise. Going into a relationship assuming that someone is a dickhead is going to inevitably cause problems. The hardest kind of dickhead to cope with is the type that does not reveal themselves immediately. They are, to quote one group participant, a ‘grower not a shower.’

We dealt with the fact that in an audition scenario, everyone is behaving in a very bold, territorial way, hiding their true nature in a ‘survival of the fittest’ manner and metaphorically ‘spraying’ their territory. This can lead to problems in The First Day Of Rehearsal when you start to get the awful feeling that someone is, in actual fact, a dickhead.

It was suggested that we are all in fact dickheads in our own, unique way, and this behaviour comes out at particular times. (in someone’s case, when they are tired. In mine, when I am hungry) Obviously, the term is subjective, and dickhead behaviour often unleashes similar behaviour in other people.

In was added that the difference between true dickhead behaviour and temporary dickhead behaviour was the realisation that it had happened. If you get to the end of an experience and think ‘Oh god, I’ve been a dickhead’ that is far more helpful than someone who has no idea or is choosing to ignore it.

In a creative industry, it seems to be really important to be clear about goals/ working relationships really early on. If the rules are set at the beginning, when everyone is still friends, this goes some way to easing tensions when it all goes a bit weird. 

‘Liberal organizations are the worst as they are full of people who think they are nice.’

Should you find yourself in direct contact with a dickhead, it’s important to safeguard your own space. Act in a way that is true to your nature, and to your core beliefs. It’s important to be true to who you are. We are all responsible for our own freedom.