By: Jacob Rogers
When I was first confronted about the idea of being Head Grip for Zenith, I was terrified. The thought of being responsible for an eleven person crew was scary enough, not to mention the additional responsibility of all the props and equipment that had to move on and off stage during the show. I nervously accepted the challenge after some encouragement from Mr. Poole, and my experiences from that show became some of my most memorable and rewarding in TEC.
Zenith taught me more than I ever imagined about the value of leadership, trust and passion. It gave me the opportunity to grow as a person and a leader, and prepared me for my upcoming senior year. Leadership is much more than being in charge and giving out orders. It includes building the knowledge and confidence of your crew and being a positive role model. During our pre-show meetings, leadership is often called the "glue" that holds our organization together. Strong leaders are imperative to the success of any major production, including Zenith, but leadership isn't limited to the crew heads. Any crew member, regardless of age or position, can exhibit leadership qualities at any time. Even during seemingly trivial set changes, I was always watching my crew members, waiting to see who would take charge. Whether it be rolling the piano on-stage, changing shinbuster gel colors, or even just doing homework backstage, I always enjoyed seeing someone rise to the occasion and take ownership of the task at hand.
With a sophisticated show like Zenith, the grip crew was constantly moving props and equipment on and off stage, so delegation was important in order to take care of the scene changes as quickly and efficiently as possible. It didn’t take long for me to realize how important trust and delegation were to the success of the show. With the amount of moving parts on-stage, there was no way for me to oversee everything going on at once, so I had to trust that the grip crew was following along and ready for whatever came next. At first, this was hard for me. I wanted to personally supervise everything that was going on and help wherever I could, but after a couple long and stressful rehearsals, I realized that it wasn’t necessary. Trust started to grow within the crew and they constantly impressed me with their preparedness and hard-work. This trust led to a much smoother, calmer show because everyone could focus on their own responsibilities without worrying about everyone else’s.
While leadership is the glue that holds TEC together, passion is the motivation to keep moving forward and improving. Passion is what kept us going during the long rehearsals and late nights. Passion is the motivation to put on a successful show. Without passion, the show would seem half-hearted and boring. Whether that motivation came from the competitiveness within the grip crew or just a desire to put on the best show yet, I found that passion was, without a doubt, the most important contributor to a great show. It’s what kept us striving for perfection during the long rehearsals and it paid off in the end after three great shows for the Zenith audiences.
In conclusion, Zenith this year gave me the opportunity to grow as a person and a leader. It was challenging at times but more importantly, it taught me more than I ever imagined about the value of leadership, trust and passion and provided me with memories that I will cherish forever.