"SHE'S GOOD...FOR A GIRL"

I played little league baseball growing up and I'm not sure if it's a common thing around the country, but there was a girl in our league. Was there a girl in anyone else's league? I know there are movies about this kind of stuff. It's mostly football movies now that I think about it, and the girl always seem to be the quarterback. The "Little Giants" movie had a linebacker, but she was kind of like a quarterback because she was the star of the team like Ray Lewis from the Baltimore Ravens. The girl that played little league with me was a solid first baseman? and I'm sure that if there was a girl in your little league that she was either a pitcher or an amazing fielder right? I don't think they'd make a movie about a girl that played football in an all men's league and had her be an amazing right guard. Being a lineman is a respectable position and needed for the teams success, but it's not going to get you in the papers if you know what I mean.

I've been on a few Harold teams now and have seen a great share of other teams as well and it seems like there is some kind of formula for how they are cast because there always seems to be about 2 girls on every team. Sure there are teams with maybe just 1 and some with 3 but it's mostly always 2 right? I've heard people compare teams by how "solid" their girls are and "if we had a girl like that" kind of stuff. I've overheard "She's good...for a girl" and never really been taken back by it before. I may be over thinking this, but to say someone is "good" for being a "girl" is wrong and not in a PC kind of way. Hear me out okay?

I think that for a girl to make it on a Harold team, she needs to really stand out! I think that most girls that are on teams are "Quarterbacks" and if they are as good as a "Right Guard" lets say, then they get passed up and that spot is given to a guy. I think this may be true for all diversity at the theater, so when you hear someone say "He/She's good for a ______" then maybe what you're really hearing is "He/She is the best of their group of people and if they were any less than that, my guy friend that's kind of funny would be carpooling with me to rehearsal" or maybe "He/She makes me feel uncomfortable because I should be way better than they are, but I'm not". I think that any girl doing improv on a team is GREAT! She has to be. I think she also has to be a very smart player and be able to take on many roles. I think a girl needs to be a multi position type of player to make it on a team. Have you ever seen a girl that is just a good straight person on a team? Heck no! The girls that come to mind right off the bat are great at character, play position extremely well and actually do a better job at emotionally grounding a scene than most guys on a team.

I'm not trying to kiss up to the ladies in my community. If you think that then understand that you are the reason for this blog. I know as well as everyone out there that improv is a majority of white guys and then there is everything else. I'm just trying to shed some light on the "everything else" so that it's clearly defined and given a point of view. If our community is going to be the best it can be, we need to really get to know each other. It's by really knowing each other that we can become a group mind. Viola Spolin said  "You may never know what the other person wants.  You’ll be an expert at saying “yes”…but you’ll never know what inspires your partner.  Can you please or inspire your partner?"

I'm trying to do my part at answering that question. While I get to know you, can you take a second and realize that not everyone is like you? There are others that would like to be pleased and inspired too!