Confessions of a Teenage Drama Leader

What’s it like to be the leader of a team that’s all the same age as you? How does that change how things have to be handled? How will I use my position as a way to better improve those around me and myself? These are some of the questions that I constantly thought about when I started my position as Props Head. Keeping these concerns in mind, I was able to form solutions for what kind of leader I wanted to be throughout the entire process.

My team doesn’t sit in on production meetings with me, therefore they don’t get the chance to talk about the decisions behind each prop, the connection to the director's concept, and the whole production aspect that underlies everything. While I discuss ideas with just the production heads and directors, and this has allowed for freedom in expression of ideas, my team is sometimes at a loss about what is happening when they arrive early Saturday mornings. Part of my job is to fill in those gaps and give them just enough insight so that they can help me make decisions and carry out the image we want for Almost, Maine. While it can be hard to always take the time to properly explain the thought processes that went into choosing a specific prop, I think it’s important to key every member of the group in.

I can be very much a perfectionist, particularly if I know what I’m doing. It’s easy to know what tasks have to get done, what they need to look like, and when and how it’s all going to be completed. However, while knowing my job to the fullest extent is extremely important, it doesn’t help anybody else out if I keep them in the dark about everything we do as a team. I’m finding it’s a better experience for everyone if I keep them as informed as I can as we’re heading out for a shopping trip, or starting to sew 11 (yikes) bags of love. They should know why we need this and how it will contribute to the overall production.

I’ve been on the props team as just a member for two years, and through observing my leaders at the time, I built up some basic knowledge on how the job should be done and things to avoid. Therefore, my intent is that hopefully the members on my team will have a new found sparked interest in props and they can use that in further projects. Ultimately, learning and building on experience is what I hope to gain, not just for myself, but for each individual member of the team.

One of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced so far is the obstacle of everyone on my team, along with other designers that you have to correspond with, being relatively the same age as me. While this may increase the level of comfort when working together, sometimes that comfort can overlap and blur the line of authority that is supposed to be held at all times to create a productive work space. It’s very easy to shift into an attitude that centers around a main goal of making new friends, or continuing friendships (especially as a teenager).

Sure, it’s important to connect with your team, but it has to be done so in such a way that they still view you as someone who is in charge and to be respected. Acting too much like a friend can result in work not being done on time and workshop days being flooded by the mindset of “we’re here just to hang out.” There has to be trust in every relationship; however, when the line between leader and friend is crossed, things can easily become complicated. It often creates the thinking of “oh they’ll understand, I can turn this assignment in late because they’re my friend.” Once that line is crossed, it can be extremely difficult to backtrack and gain back that level of jurisdiction. While the easy route is to act like a friend during work days, this results in an unmotivated environment.

Overall, being in charge is an experience that wouldn’t be possible without actually having the chance to make decisions and figure out the best ways to deal with all kinds of situations. The knowledge that I’m building up now will better prepare me for the future, especially with the trial and error process that will eventually help me to understand effective leadership.

Allyson Goodman

Props Team Leader