Would You Pass The ‘Bus Test’?

Discover the X-factor possessed by great collaborative artists

A young man walked into a live audition. This was the final step in a months-long process of recommendations, audio and video auditions, and too many emails to count. The audition was for a national tour of a Broadway musical, and the casting required very specific skills from each singer/actor. The production team hadn’t yet found ‘the one’ for this particular role and time was running short…

The young man was a bit nervous (aren’t we all when we audition?), but when he stepped over the threshold things just clicked. He read, he sang, he nailed the special skills, he took dramatic and musical notes in the moment and applied them enthusiastically. He even looked like the original Broadway actor! Clearly excited, the team thanked him and said goodbye. As the door shut behind him the team looked at one another, knowing they had found their guy.

But there was still one more very important consideration:

Would he pass the Bus Test?

Any collaborative production is demanding of individuals and requires utmost cooperation. A national tour necessitates months of togetherness, with hour upon hour in a bus. An entire show - actors, pit, instruments, crew, sets, costumes, luggage, etc - travels, sets up, performs, breaks down, wash, rinse, repeat. There simply isn’t room for Ego Divas, Attention Grabbers, or Energy Vampires, not to mention the matter of questionable hygiene!

Back in the audition room, one of the production team recognized a name on the singer/actor’s resume and made a quick phone call (yes, people absolutely talk and one never knows who knows who). After a glowing report, the team agreed to offer the job to the young man.

This is a true story! And similar scenes play out every day in cities the world over. No matter how a-MAZ-ing a performer is, no one has the time or energy to spend on a ‘problem child’. This applies not just of long bus tours, but in any collaborative situation, regardless of length of time.

Passing the Bus Test is a more specific way of saying Be A Team Player.

Team Player

Here’s a handy graphic of several Team Player qualities. Let’s look at them one by one, and in the context of being a collaborative artist.

Self-Awareness

Ah, yes! The numero uno jumping-off point! Self-awareness is the ability to understand and recognize your own thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and how they affect yourself and others. It involves being mindful of your internal world and how it manifests in your external interactions.

Honesty/Ethics

Most of us understand that honesty means we don’t lie, steal, manipulate, or deceive in any way. Being honest with ourselves is a core element of self-awareness.

Ethics aims to provide a framework for understanding and interpreting right and wrong in society. The word ethics comes from the Greek word ethos, meaning character or disposition, which indicates a concern for people and proper conduct. Ethics therefore serves as a tool for moral development of a person in order to create harmonious interactions with others in the present and the future.

Collaborative Spirit

Understand that making music or theatre with others is the ultimate team sport, with the critical distinction that competitiveness is not an artistic value. Each individual is serving a higher creative goal, not themselves. A single thread - no matter how golden and shiny - is but a small part of an exquisite tapestry.

Good Communication

Like musicians, great communicators are great listeners. Constant interrupting, talking over others, or just waiting for one’s turn to talk does not make for effective communication. Additionally, we must all understand our own thoughts and feelings well enough to label them and express them calmly and clearly. However, we needn’t express all our feelings and thoughts! Remember that oversharing is not vulnerability, it’s just tedious and makes others uncomfortable.

Responsibility & Reliability

The first of Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements is, “Be Impeccable With Your Word”. If you agree to something, you must follow through. Signing a contract for any job means you agreed to several things, some written, some spoken, some implied. Preparedness, commitment, punctuality, and the ability to hold oneself accountable are hallmarks of responsibility and reliability.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of another person, to see things from their perspective, and to imagine yourself in their place. It involves both cognitive understanding and emotional resonance, enabling us to connect with others on a deeper level. Crucial for building strong relationships, empathy fosters compassion, and promotes cooperation.

Humility

Often misunderstood as self-deprecation, humility is a state of mind characterized by a lack of arrogance, and a realistic view of oneself - both strengths and challenges. Humility allows us to stay open-minded, and recognize our role in the big picture while valuing others.

No one is fooled by this. Don’t do it.

Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is a mental state that involves seeing the world and situations with a hopeful and constructive lens, rather than dwelling on negativity or pessimism. It is a mindset that helps you see and recognize opportunities, and focuses on the bright side of life. A positive attitude uses the words, “I can”, and “it is possible”.

Bus Test Study Guide:

Maintain respect for yourself, others, your craft, and the art form.

Listen actively with the intent of effective communication.

Learn patience, tolerance, and self-regulation.

Offer help. Be a problem solver.

Celebrate others’ successes.

Keep an open, curious mind. Tend to your Mental Fitness.

Define and live your values.

Feel deeply the joy of, and gratitude for, your chosen path.

Developing as an artist means developing as a person, too. By all means continue to hone your craft with practice, lessons, coachings, workshops, etc. Seek out all the performance opportunities you can find, AND increase your value as a colleague and collaborator by ensuring you will pass the Bus Test.

May you live in ease and kindness, with a free heart.

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