-Carola Mittag
This past weekend I attended my first ever Cirque du Soleil performance, KURIOS – The Cabinet of Curiosities under the Big Top at Ontario Place. To say it was magnificent is an understatement. As my eight-year-old grandson, who was my escort, said “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world”.
As any grandmother would, I bought the requisite souvenirs for him including a beautiful program which outlines the storyline, illustrates some of the most memorable scenes, and gives bios and descriptions for all the people responsible for putting on the show. In addition, there are so many questions asked and ideas born from phrases and sentences found in the program.
“Seeing with the mind’s eye”; “What if by engaging our imagination and opening our minds we could unlock the door to a world of wonders?”; “This show is about our amazing capacity for wonder, our insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge, the transformative power of our imagination, the might and magic of our faithful ally – optimism – is no accident”.
I was intrigued by the characters, the costumes, the sets and most of all the talent of everyone seen on the stage and unseen behind the scenes. Obvious to the eye was the prowess, ability, skill and courage of the performers.
Because I am a person who is always early to the party, we were in our seats about twenty minutes before the show started. I was able to watch some of the stage crew preparations for the performances. One of the lighting specialists had to climb up a very narrow, uncaged ladder to the lighting platform. She had on a harness and lifeline as she ascended the ladder.
The aerial performers, likewise, wore lifelines as they performed their death-defying acts high up in the tent. Flying through the air, balancing on seemingly imbalanceable apparatus and teetering on unseen platforms required impeccable timing and precision. What was most evident to me was the need for synchronicity and teamwork, the dependence of one performer upon another and their collective dependence on each other and on those not on the stage but without whom the show could not go on.
The first main character in KURIOS is The Seeker who “is convinced that there exists a hidden, invisible world – a place where the craziest ideas and the grandest dreams lie waiting”. He is “as ingenious as he is ingenious” (clever, imaginative, inventive, creative, inspired). There is Mr. Microcosmos, “the leader, the authority figure” and “the embodiment of technological progress”. Then there is Nico, “a little bashful and extremely sensitive; this level-headed feller always rises to the occasion”. Can we relate these characters to the hierarchy in the workplace? The engineer, the manager, the worker.
In the end, as taken as I was by this incredible production, I realized and appreciated that the stage too is, in its simplest form, a workplace. It takes knowledge and specialists to conceptualize the end product. They are the seekers. It takes many supporting and behind-the-scenes workers to direct the concept into existence. They are the managers. And it takes many others to finesse the final product. They are the workers.
I believe that “…the might of our faithful ally – optimism…” synchronicity and teamwork will result in safer workplaces where workers feel appreciated, safe and happy to spend their working hours.
Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of July.
Sincerely,
Carola Mittag
Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.