A message from Steve...

“There’s a critic in the house!”

That’s all I heard - and all I needed to hear - to move from focused to anxious in a matter of seconds. For some reason, the realization of being under review, being critiqued, getting feedback...especially right before a show, changes everything for everyone. In this case, the feedback would be in the form of a published review, for all to see, in the almighty campus newspaper, The Daily Northwestern!

The show was “Romeo & Juliet”, the location was the main stage theater atNorthwestern University, and the time was the Fall of 1992. The show was a big deal, and with a “critic in the house”, it was an even bigger deal. It was a solid production and opening night went off without a hitch. Everyone felt good and we were all anxiously excited to read the review….

…“Shenbaum’s portrayal of the Friar was earnest at times, but overall flat and underwhelming.”

If you think that last line stands out now, imagine what it was like to read it back then. Who says that about a Friar? This is the nicest, most endearing character in this entire, wild love story. We’ve got an ancient grudge match between two families in Verona, and these star-crossed lovers can’t just hang out and chill without their families making a civil war out of it. It’s madness, I’m trying to keep the peace, and all I get for my sacrifice is feedback in the campus newspaper that my performance was “flat and underwhelming”.

So, yeah, “flat and underwhelming” affected me. With one line, I was crushed. I should’ve been out celebrating with the rest of the cast, who all got glowing reviews, but instead, I spent the day flat and underwhelmed because of how this feedback sat with me. I just couldn’t let it go. What does this critic know about being a Friar? He’s just a college student. And as a college student, writing for the almighty campus paper, he had every right to give that feedback in his article, in his review. And I had every right to be affected by it…or not.

The critics may love you, they may be annoyed by you, they may not get you, they may even think you’re flat and underwhelming. Let’s just all acknowledge there will always be feedback…at home, at work, on social media, on the field, on stage, everywhere. Feedback goes out from us and feedback comes back at us. The important part is not allowing feedback to define us, but instead, learning, growing and improving from it all.

To quote the great, earnest, and at times, underwhelming Friar Lawrence…

            “Many for many virtues excellent, None but for some and yet all different”.

Feedback On. Friar On. Game On.