I was in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang once. It was supposed to be a really impressive, technically challenging, supremely acted, thoroughly-rehearsed musical extravaganza that would make Dick Van Dyke proud. In the end, looking back, it certainly was an extravaganza...but maybe not the kind that we would have liked to produce.
(Quick aside to the the NWTG people who may be reading this: I loved CCBB, it was a fantastic cast and wonderful production crew, and we put SO MUCH work into it. It's something that I'm proud of, this is just some healthy criticism. Thanks. Please cast me again. :) )
There are two things I wished I could have changed about the whole experience (so, of course, these are things I could never have affected): the first I will tell you at some other time, but the second was the extreme Public Displays of Diva (PDD).
Some of our most influential leads (not all, just some) WOULD NOT take direction. They blatantly refused to change the way they had originally acted or sang. They arrived whenever they felt like showing up at rehearsals. At one point, one stormed off the stage because of a unfortunately timed comment on how they should improve. IMPROVE. It not only created a sense of disunity in the cast, it made me not even want to speak to them when we were backstage.
My advice if you are of the Diva Persuasion: Stop right where you are. Consider your cast and crew, and try not to be a brat. No one likes working with people when they are full angst and cockiness. In a phrase,
If you are doing it for attention, DON'T DO IT.
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