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"All the world's a stage" is an oft-quoted Shakespeare line and it tells about how we are all, always performing and learning. But the world isn't just an outdoor classroom or theatre, as the types of performers are clearly defined.
The Child Performer
The child performer has the courage of a lion. The lion in The Wizard of Oz. It doesn't take bravery to stand up in front of a crowd and sing a ditty when you have no concept of the consequences of getting it wrong. Even if you have a total disaster, the worst that will happen is that the crowd with will coo sympathetically and congratulate you anyway.
The Teenage Performer
Rarely in our lives are we so inhibited or uncertain of ourselves and so to stand up in front of a group and make a spectacle really takes the courage of a lion. Unfortunately that courage is often accompanied by the braying voice of a donkey and so often the worst does happen. However, this can then be followed by the real performance, which is the glorious tantrum that follows. A truly spectacular internal struggle of paranoia and arrogance is played out to an audience that is shocked and amused in equal measures.
The Adult Performer
We all know someone who thinks that they have a special skill that means they are only days away from international stardom - shows such as X-Factor are tribute to this level of delusion. The interesting thing is that even on shows like this even the winners often don't have long careers are on tomorrow's scrap heap pretty quickly.
What can be particularly irritating about the amateur adult performer is that friends all have to pretend that they are incredibly talented and that whatever they are doing is somehow worthwhile and insightful. Is friendship not about telling someone to their face that they are wasting their lives and that getting a job rather than strumming a few chords of a badly written song with clichd lyrics a few times a morning in their bedsit might make them happier.
It's often suggested that such individuals have been overly-indulged to feel special as a child and that they now struggle to let go of this obvious lie.
The Professional Performer
Fair enough, you earn your living from entertaining people in a way that is interesting enough for people to pay for you to perform. It's incredibly likely that you've worked extremely hard to where you get to and you deserve the respect that the adult performer misses out on.
So you see, there are many different types of performer, some of which you can pity, others you can mock. There are even some who are interesting and skilful enough to be entertaining.
