Because it would look so dang good, that's why!

I'm taking a little time out from Cosi this week to work on some music I've already performed. I've managed to set up an audition for the Tulsa Opera chorus, so it's time I pulled out a couple of things to sing.

Now, why would I put myself through this, you ask? Because it would look so dang good on my resume. And because I'm a glutton for punishment. And because I REALLY want to wear a costume! (Since the only costume I've sung in while in college has been PJs and a mint julep face mask). And because if I'm really honest, it's a step closer to what I dream of doing, so how could I not? See, lots of good reasons.

Mind you, this is no guaranteed spot, even if he likes me. All of the chorus positions are full, I'm told, but I've also been assured that people drop out all the time, and that I'd probably be needed at some point during the season. I'm guessing the fact that I'm a mezzo really helps, since he was very insistent about wanting to hear me sing, even though it's already full. That's all well and good, except I fear if it doesn't get on my calendar in the next few weeks, there won't be any way to make it work. And on top of that, it all hinges on me not sucking it up Wednesday. I feel fairly confident though... I think...

The weather man just said something about not having variety in our weather... What's he smoking!?!

Anyway, as I've been resurrecting music for said audition, I've found that it all fits in my voice a little differently, especially the older stuff. Of the two I've selected, one if from a couple years ago, and it just feels enormous now. I can remember really having to work on the high notes (Gs), and now it just comes out... and about peels the paint off the walls... that's a good feeling. The second piece I just did last year, so it's not so much of a change, but there is still some. Once I got through the first, really "pitchy" (to steal a word from Simon) sing-thru, it worked fairly well.

The only really rough part of them is that lovely transition to my "man-voice," as my voice teacher has so technically named it (I like to call it chest voice, but I'm not sure it's not below chest voice... my breaks are very odd (Well, who are we kidding, I can't FIND my breaks, except for that one)). When that comes around, I still sound like a boy just hitting puberty... and trust me, I'm not a boy, and I'm way past puberty... so it's weird, and annoying. Afore mentioned voice teacher tells me that this is all due to lift, but I can lift that palet til it erupts through my skull and it still cracks... (This is all also relevant to Dorabella, since she occasionally uses man-voice too).

Anyway, I'll get back to Dorabella on Thursday, and technically also Tuesday night, since I'm working on the finale with Loria. I'm taking some girlfriends to Tulsa with me and we're going to make an evening of it. I want to see the Gondoliers, but we'll see if they'll agree.

Praise Jesus...

that this opera isn't in French. Ugh... I need a French diction tutor or something.

My goal this summer was to finish the research part of this project. While that's well under-way, I'm finding that the creative part is coming farther and faster than I intended it to (not that I'm complaining). I think perhaps this is because it's just the place I was at in my development as a performer anyway. I felt last semester than the expression really started coming, especially with the musical theatre things, and now it feels like it's right there. Of course, I've not actually performed anywhere for the last few weeks, so I haven't really tested my theory, but I feel like there is a lot more character in my singing, even as I'm learning the music. (This may not make a lot of sense, but hear me out.)

In the past, when I've really worked on music, I've been totally focused on technique and just sounding good. In this latest set of things I'm working on, I'm finding that my brain is now capable of focusing on technique AND characterization. Now I'm seeing scenes unfold in my head and what I would be doing expressively as I practice the music. Along with this, I feel like I've gotten comfortable enough with myself that I'm going to be fairly unhindered in actually expressing what I'm singing about in performance. I've always felt like expression is very tedious and laborious, but now I think I'm finding that it's going to be natural.

Basically, I'm finding that it gets easier with experience, as most things do. I think that once expression is natural and I stop thinking about it, performing is going to be less frustrating and even more fun. We'll see...

As far as Dorabella goes: I'm working with several other area singers on an ensemble for a concert in August, and we're doing one of the finales from Cosi. We were all challenged at our rehearsal last Thursday to find a single object that represents our character and bring it to this week's rehearsal. I've yet to decide for sure on an object, but I've come up with several characteristics that I think describe Dorabella. Now I need an object that fits them. From what I've gathered about her character so far, I'm finding it difficult to describe Dorabella without including her sister in some way. They are together almost the entire opera, and it is hard to separate them in some ways. Basically though, it seems that together they are quite strong, but when separated, Dorabella quickly becomes gullible (as if she wasn't already, believing everything they're told). But really, the sisters have stood true to their men (other than agreeing that a little flirting can't hurt anything) through suicide attempts and an array of other tactics, but the moment the guy gets her alone, she crumbles and gives away her heart. So, on her own, I think she's gullible and of course overly-dramatic, which is natural considering she's a 15-year-old girl. (I'm going to have fun dredging up those memories :s). Perhaps if Dorabella was a modern teenage girl, they would treat her for bi-polar or panic disorder. She can go from deliriously happy to suicidal in the space of a few bars.

I keep coming back to my 14-year-old niece. She's the epitome of an overly-dramatic teenage girl (although thankfully far more sensible than Dorabella). I've found myself watching her lately for her reactions and expressions, and it's really priceless. She's the most hilarious person, and I think she shares many characteristics with Dorabella. Though she wouldn't fall for all the scheming (as no real person would), I can definitely see her having similar reactions to similar circumstances.

Oh, another point I meant to make: digging into the history of the opera can also give you important insights into a character. In looking into the performance history, I was very interested to find out that the original Fiordiligi and Dorabella were actually sisters in real life. Knowing that Mozart would have known who he was composing for, this adds a new dynamic to the interaction of the two characters. The roles were created for them, as sisters, which means that the dynamic between them is crucial. They could have just been friends, but I firmly believe that Mozart didn't do anything without a reason.

All this being said, I still don't know what object I'm going to take to rehearsal, but I think it needs to be something that really just says "TEENAGE GIRL," since almost all of her characteristics, from her flightiness to her dramatics, can be attributed in some degree to her age.

A work in progress

I think I've reached the point on this project where I begin to procrastinate. It's the point where I have all the information I need (for the first part), and all that remains is to extract and collate. Unfortunately, this is where I usually being to drag, and so far, my MO hasn't changed with this project, despite my enthusiasm for it. That's not to say I'm doing nothing. I'm working on the music itself most days... even when the janitors are standing outside my practice room sloshing water around in the mop bucket-- I'm not dense, I just choose not to take hints.

Anyway, I've found performance history, opera history, Mozart history, etc. The only hang-up at the moment is finding info. on stylistic subtleties of the Classical period. So far none of my books/websites have gone into any detail about it. But, I can't say I've looked THAT hard yet. So, as soon as I find info. on things like those pesky little Mozartian fermatas, or what ornamentation is okay for say, the twentieth time I sing the same passage, I'll be all set.

My biggest question at the moment is why on earth a guy who's only written two other books, The Freudian Left, and The Modernization of Sex, has also written a book called Opera & Ideas: From Mozart to Strauss. It would seem to me he's a little out of his element, but maybe there's a side to this opera that I've yet to unearth...:S

Whoa...

I just made the first outline for my paper. Note, this is only for the research portion of it... Let's just say it's looking a little daunting at the moment, and I'm not sure how I'm going to do it without writing a whole book. Heck, maybe I'll just write a whole book...;) It'll be off to the library for me next week. And probably every week after that. But the good news is that opportunities keep popping up for me to perform different parts of the opera, which I believe will be very beneficial.

Listening

As my "about me" says, I plan to do the journaling mentioned in the previous post on this blog. Though I've been slacking and haven't actually started the research part of my thesis yet, I have been working a bit on the music. Though I already know a substantial part of the music for this project, I've been doing lots of listening to recordings of the opera to help me pick up the rest. In listening to these recordings, I've had to reevaluate some of the pieces I've already learned. For example, I found that I've been doing Dorabella's first aria all wrong-- though the notes and rhythms are correct, my characterization is off. I've been interpreting it as far too seriously angry (yes, I know that doesn't make sense). Perhaps this stems from a general misunderstanding of the opera. I'd heard the opera before in Italian, but one of the recordings I have is in English. It's easy to call an opera comic, but until one completely understands the language, it is difficult to pick up on the funny parts. Though I realize the English is in no way a direct translation from the Italian, it is close enough to make me realize that the opera is much more outrageously funny than I knew. Part of the beauty of opera is its departure from reality, and until I heard it in English, I wasn't able to understand just how far this particular opera deviates from reality.

So, I've learned that while Dorabella may be sobbing hysterically and pleading for poison, were she presented with said poison, she wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. She's simply an overly-dramatic teenage girl (redundant? yes). As this applies to her first aria: Rather than being sincerely distraught and wishing for death, the emotions should be ten times greater than they would be in reality.

Perhaps I should take a lesson from my 14-year-old niece in this teenage drama thing. We could trade lessons-- She does seem to want to be a singer, though she would never admit it. Afterall, her eighth-grade drama class wrote one-act plays, and she wrote herself in as an opera star (I'm giving myself credit for this, and for forcing her to listen to Carmen in the car).

Anyway, listening to the opera a few times this last week hasn't helped me so much in learning the music yet, but has really helped me with the characterization aspect of this role (which I wasn't even planning on getting to until the fall).

Thesis Proposal

A. Title

The Performer’s Creative Process: A Personal Analysis of Role Preparation

B. Abstract

My thesis will consist of the preparation of the role of Dorabella from Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte and will explore the extensive creative process necessary to prepare such a role for public performance. It will require private study of voice and acting/stagecraft with professionals in each area. My personal process will be documented with regard to the study of voice and acting techniques. In addition, the study will require intense research of the history of the opera and role, and of the stylistic conventions of the classical period. In preparing this role and defining this process, I will be taking a significant step toward my career as a professional performer.

C. Description of the Project

The thesis will include intense research of all historical aspects of Mozart’s opera, Così fan tutte, including composition and performance history, with emphasis on the character Dorabella. Alongside this research, I will prepare the entire role of Dorabella. The role consists of two solo arias, three duets, one trio, two quintets, one sextet, two group finales, and the recitative that accompanies all of these pieces. In preparing the role, I will participate in a singing practicum and an acting practicum, both centered on the particular role. The final paper will consist of the history of the opera and role, including study of the musical style and conventions of the time period. It will also include a plot synopsis and character analysis, and describe all aspects of role preparation. A substantial portion of the paper will be dedicated to a detailed description of the creative process of role preparation as I personally experience it. I also plan to include as appendices the full libretto with English translation and all pertinent parts of the journal I keep during the private sessions. After the study and paper are complete, I will present my findings in a public presentation, including performances of some of the arias and/or ensembles I will learn.

D. Previous Work

Each professional who prepares a role for stage experiences this process in a very personal way. Many books and articles have been written on the process of preparing roles, though none that I have found have focused on a specific role in detail, especially an operatic one. There is much general information to be found about vocal and acting techniques, and my project will seek to synthesize this information and present it in a role-specific manner.

E. Significance

My study of the creative process necessary to prepare the role will be significant to others in the field of performance, as they will be able to read my documentation of the process and apply it to their own work. I hope that my contribution will be made available to the public through publication in a scholarly journal or monthly publication. My findings will supplement already-available information on the process of role-preparation, as it will be a very detailed personal account of everything I experience and learn.

F. Proposed Methodology

Information presented in my thesis paper and presentation will be drawn from a mixture of previous work by historians, and original work conducted by myself over the next several months. The research cited with regard to the history of the opera and role will be found in reliable written sources, and possibly taken from interviews with experts in this area of music history.
The work I personally conduct will be in the form of one-on-one practicum with vocal and acting coaches. The singing practicum will be led by voice professor Mr. Marvin Murphree, with additional voice coaching given by Dr. Susan Smith. I also hope to work with other voice teachers in a master-class-type setting. I will meet with Mr. Murphree for weekly hour-long sessions and with Dr. Smith at various times during my study. The many different aspects of vocal technique will be confronted during these sessions. We will also work on other components of music preparation, such as applying appropriate techniques and ornamentations as called for by musical conventions of the classical period, as well as polishing Italian diction. I will keep a record of what happens during these sessions, as well as during the acting sessions, and will use this record as I attempt to define my creative process.
The acting practicum will include periodic private sessions with Dr. James Lile. During these sessions, we will study basic acting techniques. We will work on physical and spatial awareness, especially as these apply to the non-verbal communication of the stage. We will also work on emotional expression. During the fall semester, I will also be enrolled in Acting I, a writing intensive course focused on character analysis and beginning acting techniques. While I will study general acting techniques, we will also spend time on role-specific expression, movement, and characterization. To complete the acting practicum, I will also meet two to three times with Dr. Stephen Bomgardner, opera director at Drury University, to work on role- and opera-specific techniques.
I will also study the role by observing other performances, whether live or recorded. As I become more aware of the techniques applied in performing this role, I will be able to analyze these performances and apply what I learn to my own performance. I also plan to interview professional performers about the creative process they experience when getting ready to perform.
My thesis paper will consist of all of this information and what I find during my study. It will begin with the history of the opera and role. Once this groundwork is laid, the remainder of my paper will report on what I experienced as the creative process. This information will be accumulated in a journal as the voice and acting sessions are conducted. I will then review it and attempt to collate my findings to define the creative process as I experienced it. This process of preparing the role will be reported on in a substantial portion of the final thesis paper. I will attach as appendices to the final paper a full English translation of the libretto, as well as all or parts of the journal I keep during the course of the private singing and acting sessions.
My thesis presentation will outline my findings. I will cover what history is needed for attendees to understand, describe how I conducted my project, and then proceed to explain the creative process and all that is involved. To illustrate, I will explain and perform a few of the arias/ensembles that I will learn during the process, and then point out various aspects of preparation that were demonstrated. English translations of the arias/ensembles performed will be provided to aid the audience in understanding.

~Service Learning Entry #8~

My final volunteering experience happened over spring break. I spent that Thursday night at the library, pretty much doing the usual. In children's I did the normal paper-folding and book-shelving. Once I moved to Circulation, I was given a key and a handful of posters and told to "find a place for them" on the bulletin board outside the door. Easier said than done. I thought it was going to be a simple task until I actually saw the board. It was full, from corner to corner, of posters about just about anything you can imagine, from Joplin Little Theatre plays to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. I worked for quite a while trying to get them all to fit. In the end, I only covered up part of an AARP poster and folded under a lot of wasted space. I suppose this is where my years of newspaper layout come in handy. Had I actually tried to lay it out as well as I would a newspaper page, I would still be there now, 2 weeks later. The cool part of working on it though, was that I was right at the entrance to the building, so I got to see a lot more people than I normally would. I have to admit that the majority of the time that was more scary than cool though. It was good at times though. One older man stopped to chat with me on his way in the door, and he couldn't sing his praises loud enough. He thought the library was a great place, and that what really made it was the great people that worked there. I couldn't do much more than smile and nod at that one. Is it bad that I didn't clarify? :) Nah. Anyway, I was really surprised by how many people spoke to me on their way in or out, even if some of them were kinda creepy. I feel bad saying that about people, but sometimes...

After I'd finished my attempt at the bulletin board, I headed back inside, which disappointed Susan. I think she thought I'd be out there in the cold all night trying to figure that out and she wouldn't have to think of anything for me to do. She sent me off to the back with the paperbacks again, which only takes about five minutes. After that I went back to Children's for a while and shelved the display books so the shelves could be cleaned. By the end of the night I'd shelved all kinds of books, and I finished up with the large print section at about 9:05.
As for a cultural analysis of the library staff, I'm really not sure where to begin. Maybe it's more that I'm not sure what terminology to use. Either way, I think I've already said a lot of what I observed. I've discussed how age separates the staff into subcultures and how it determines leadership. I might have mentioned that it seems personality also separates those cultures, but I might have just thought it. Either way, I think personality differences determine what roles each member plays in the organization. For example, the younger, more outgoing girls work in the Children's section. Their personalities fit their work because working with children simply requires more energy and excitement than Circulation, for example. Now, while there are some younger people who work in Circulation, all of them are quieter and less outgoing, at least at work, than those in Children's.

I'd like to discuss a few more of Schein's terms regarding organizational culture, but I'm not at all sure I understand them clearly. I might as well give it a try. The library doesn't seem to have too many strict "rules" for it's employees. While I believe they are instructed to dress nicely, it seems that dress is more of a group norm than a rule. A few of the employees have to wear polo shirts and khakis, but for the most part they just avoid wearing jeans. They do have a few strictly inforced rules for the public. For instance, there are no cell phones allowed inside the building, and smoking is prohibited everywhere on the property except for one entrance. As for the overall climate of the library, which I believe refers to the morale among the staff, there seems to be a very positive work environment. I didn't notice any rivalries between workers, and didn't sense any power struggles. In general, they all seem to get along well, and a few are even close friends.

That's really all I know for now. Hopefully I will gain a little better understanding of the cultural analysis once class begins meeting again and I will be able to develop this a little more fully.

~Service Learning Entry #7~

Wow, I can't believe I only have one more volunteering session left. It's gone really fast the last couple of weeks, but maybe that's because I've been so insanely busy. Unfortunately, now that spring break is here, I only wish I was still insanely busy. I don't do well with too much free time. Oh well.

Anyway, my latest night at the library was fairly interesting. I started off in the Children's section, as I generally do, where I folded more flyers and shelved the display books so the shelves could be dusted. While I was there, my little friend Brittany from last week came in. To my surprise, she remembered me, and I even got a hug out of it. That made me feel pretty special. I think that's what's great about kids, or at least most of them... they don't judge you in the way adults do. If you have a friendly conversation with them, it's no more or less than that. It's just a conversation, and after that you're friends. Maybe that's part of the reason I feel more at home in the Children's section than in Circulation. I'm beginning to think that the more time you spend with kids, the more you become like them, at least in that you don't judge so quickly or harshly.

After my time in Children's, I was off to Circulation. Again, Susan had forgotten I was coming and really didn't have anything for me to do. She sent me off to the very back corner with a cart of paperback books to shelve and told me to make that last a while. Now, I can be either very good or very bad at wasting time, and this was one of those instances when I was very bad at it. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't make it take a long time to put a few books in alphabetical order. I did my best though, and I think I made it take 20 minutes or so. I finally gave up and went back to the front, where she tried unsuccessfully to think of something for me to do. In the end, she sent me off with a cart of children's movies to shelve. The sad part is, that's what her employees are paid to do, which meant they ran out of things to do faster too. This cart was mostly full though, so it took me about 45 minutes to finish it off. After that I wandered up to the Children's desk to chat and kill some more time since I figured I hadn't taken long enough for Susan. While I was up there, though, Krista, one of the Children's librarians, decided that I could do some more "work" for her. I went to the front to return the cart and share the good news with Susan, which meant she no longer had to keep me busy.

When I got back to Children's, Krista went to scrub her hands some more, since she had been painting a people-sized cardboard birdcage with silver paint. For some reason it was really sticky paint and didn't want to come off. While she was gone, she told me to call one of the other librarians and give her a message. I called both numbers but didn't get an answer at either one. Shortly after Krista came back, however, the phone rang. It was some strange guy who was calling the number of the missed call on his phone. Yep, I'd turned the numbers around. I can't even begin to count all the times I've done that... I have a number problem. Anyway, Krista called her at the right number after that and delivered the message, no thanks to me. After all of that was said and done, which took about 5 minutes, I was back to having nothing to do, and Krista was back to working on her hands, which had left silver paint all over the nice black phone. Later, though, she remembered her real project for me, which was designing a canoe made of aluminum foil. We both worked on it for a few minutes before deciding that there was no great way to do it. Mine were better than hers though, even if I do say so myself. That was pretty much the end of my night though. The rest was spent discussing spring break plans, or lack thereof, and inconsiderate boyfriends (okay, I only listened to that part... nothing to discuss). The remaining time pretty much dragged on, but we were out the door at exactly 9:00.

Now, I think I'm saving the "big picture" discussion for next time, but maybe I should get a start on it. Overall, I've decided that the library is actually made up of a few small cultures, or subcultures. I guess one could argue that together these make up one larger one, but between sections they hardly even know each others' names. My initial hypothesis that the subcultures are very tight-knit, but friendly groups only partially stands now though. While there are individuals within the groups that are close, not everyone is included. In Children's for example, two of the girls are very close and spend time together at and away from work. The third, however, is not so involved. She works less hours, and I believe she is younger than the other two. I said before that age seemed to be a huge factor, and I still agree with that. The same is true in Circulation. The older employees seem to be close and the younger ones are fairly excluded. Much like myself, they seem to be there to take orders and spend most of their time shelving books.

Okay, that's a start, and this is now really long. In the next entry I will fill you in on my last time at the library and expand some more on what I have observed in the culture of the organization.

~Service Learning Entry #6~

My latest stint at the library was Monday evening. I think that of all the times I've gone so far, this is my favorite. I was in the Children's section the whole time, and believe it or not, there were actually several people there. While there wasn't a lot for me to do, I kept fairly busy. First I folded flyers, and then I kind of entertained myself talking to a little girl about the baby shark that sits on the counter. We discussed its eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fins, where it would have lived if nobody had killed if for the sake of science(no, I didn't involve her in my mental tangent), and many other things. She was really curious about it. I did discover that I know more about sharks than I thought I did... or else I made it all up. Soon it was Storytime, though, and I was off to pass out coloring sheets and crayons. The Monday night Storytime isn't quite as well-attended as the Saturday morning one, but there were still several smaller children there with their parents. I stamped all of their hands on the way out the door, which to me is very exciting, though I'm not sure how charged up they were about it.

Once Storytime was over though, it was back to having absolutely nothing to do. I didn't feel bad about it though, like I do in Circulation, because the regular employees didn't have anything to do either. For the last 40 minutes I was there, we just sat around and talked about the library and about school, and even started a JPL Facebook group. The girls that work in the Children's section are all college students, though most of them are about to start grad school. One just received her acceptance letter to our Dental Hygiene program and is very excited about it. Krista, the one I have spent the most time with, is finishing up her student teaching in Carl Junction and is applying to MU's Library Sciences graduate program.

I feel like I've been really accepted into their "culture," if you want to call it that. At first I was kind of afraid of it, as I'm generally better with older people than with my contemporaries. As it has turned out though, they're really all a very friendly and accepting bunch.

I believe the funniest thing that has come out of all of this though, is the proof that I'm not always aware of what's (or who's) right in front of me. On one of my first visits to the library, I saw a guy working in Circulation who looked vaguely familiar to me. I decided that it was because I had seen him there before and just not registered it. Monday night, though, he came over to the Children's section to drop off something, and he started talking to the other girls. They introduced us, and he looked at me like I was totally missing something... I didn't have a clue until Wednesday in band he came over and stood right in front of me holding his baritone until I figured out who he was and where I'd seen him, and then of course proceeded to make fun of me. It was really quite hilarious, but it has (hopefully) taught me to be a little more observant or people will think I'm crazy... not that they'd be all that wrong.

~Service Learning Entry #5~

I've had a couple more exciting experiences at the JPL since I last posted. I'm going to try and remember what happened each time, but I make no promises. The first of these was last Saturday morning. I was in Circulation for most of the morning, which just begins to tell you how busy I was. As usual, there was nothing "prepared" for me to do, but she found a way to get me out of the way. (If I sound frustrated with the people, I'm really not. They're all incredibly nice to me. I just don't like being bored and useless.) Anyway, they kept me busy that morning searching for missing books, only this time they were ones that might have been shelved before they were checked in. In the two and a half hours I was looking, I found three of them, which sounds bad, but really isn't. Again, I'm pretty sure she didn't expect me to find any of them.

Now, the last 45 minutes I was there were actually fairly enjoyable. It was a Super Saturday in the Children's section. That meant that, instead of just having Storytime, they also got to put together crafts and have snacks. I got to go help with crafts and snacks after they had finished Storytime. The kids made kaleidoscopes, which are actually pretty neat. I mostly helped a little girl named Ebony put hers together. Once the crafts were assembled, we passed out snacks, which were incredibly gooey Rice Krispies Treats. Overall, it was a lot of fun.

On Sunday morning I discovered why Susan, the Circulation director, has been so busy and stressed. She had mentioned something about getting ready for a retirement party last week, but I hadn't really thought much about it. In the Sunday paper, though, was a large article about one of the library directors retiring. My dad pointed it out to me, thinking that I might have met her, but I hadn't. From the picture in the paper, I think I might have seen her once, but never met her. Now that the party planning is over though, I'm wondering if things in Circulation might go a little differently.

I think I have been prepared for this experience for several reasons. For example, library work is something I've been doing for several years. My mom is our church librarian, and I've been helping her with that for as long as I can remember. Also, I spent a lot of time in the library during high school, I think because I was bored everywhere else. Because of all of this, I was pretty thoroughly prepared for the actual "library" job. I also think I was prepared to deal with the differences in the organizational culture, though. I really stepped out of my comfort zone earlier this year when I took a job at Wilson's Leather. I had worked at Wilson's before, but this year I was the only returning employee. There I dealt with new (and definetly not positive) management. I learned there that the best way to get through a situation with new people is to stick it out and not get discouraged. I honestly almost quit several times at the beginning of the season, but I stayed, hoping that things would get better. As it turned out, that was for the best. By the end of the season, I had been promoted to Assistant Manager and was one of just two employees remaining from the beginning. As a result of all this, I learned how to deal with different types of people, and how to get along with them all at the same time. This has been very helpful to me at the library, as I've met a lot of new and very different people, and so far I don't think I've managed to offend anyone.