What’s the first impression you want to give people?
By answering this prompt, I feel like I’m taking notes for an online personal ad. Speaking of which, I’m often amazed at how much truth is revealed in the subtext of such ads. I used to present some in my Playwrighting class, and ask, “What is this person really like?” and “What is this person truly searching for?” Often, the question, “How has this person been abused in past relationships?” came up organically from our discussions.
I think I can suggest some answers to this question for me, without you having to comment or private message me and ask if I’m okay. A friend did this a couple of years ago when I posted a dark poem about a suicide; I had to explain that it wasn’t autobiographical, as most people will assume someone’s writing is, but it was a creative thought exercise.
So, pulling back onto the road that is today’s prompt:
I recently introduced myself and my new theatre and performance company at a Mimosa Morning Mingle sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. I passed on the Mimosas, as I had passed on mid-morning Guinness in Dublin, and performed a brief “elevator pitch” in concert with John Paul Ritchey, StoryZ business manager.
The first thing I want people to think is, “Witty!” A turn of phrase, a parenthetical explanatory aside, an intriguing observation, possibly with a self-aware and perhaps a self-deprecating comment, all feed into this perception.
With any luck, my listeners and observers will then translate “Witty” into “Intelligent,” as only a sharp mind would make such insightful remarks. I recall an exchange from Rowan Atkinson’s Blackadder II when a man compliments him on his rehearsed banter, and he replies acidly, “It’s called wit.”
Finally, I hope these two items, followed by discussions of upcoming projects, make them think “Creative!” While I agree with Oscar Wilde that (slightly paraphrased) someone who can dominate a dinner-table conversation can dominate the world, the proof is in the pudding, and what happens after the dessert.
Judging from the reception we received in post-Mimosa Mingling conversations, we succeeded with our elevator pitch and, since someone handed me their business card and said, “I want to know more about what you are doing!” I did something right.
MUSOFYR 