Don’t Be A Gus

Happy Holidays and Happy New Years everyone! I hope you all enjoyed some well deserved time off with your family and loved ones before school and work starts up again. I sure as hell know that I'm excited for my little get away in the next few days, far away from anything haunt related. I can finally give my brain the small breather it needs, so when I come back I can kill it with this season's preparations. (I'm already dying just thinking about all the working out I'll be doing to mold myself into some crazy, acrobatic, high energy...thing. Damn, I really need to figure out this character soon.)

With the new year, there are always new opportunities on the horizon. With every season that comes and goes new job positions open up, new roles are created, cast members cycle in and out, and the chances of doing more are endless. I'm a big believer that if you work hard and show you are dedicated, you can achieve anything. It doesn't hurt to want more responsibility and to be a part of something special, but there's always a time and place for everything. Like I've preached before, there's so much time to do everything you want to do. Hard work doesn't go unnoticed. If anything, hard work is saved and bookmarked for later by The Powers That Be. You don't have to prance around with a megaphone proclaiming to the world that you did a really cool thing and, "hey look at me!" What I'm trying to say is, there's a difference between humbly working your way up in the haunt world and shoving yourself into places you aren't quite ready for yet.

Sometimes in the entertainment business, people forget that second little word. BUSINESS. Sure, your job may be more fun than the next person's, but it's still a job.There's still a level of professionalism that must be upheld. In any business, there is a certain demand for certain positions and that's it. That's how life goes. An employer can't just magically create a job because you want it. We can not promote this millennial way of thinking. (Oh yes, this millennial went there.)

Also, kindness and friendship with your employers outside of work should not be abused. I know that if my manager from my day job and I went to the bar to hang out and he talked down to me like my boss rather than my friend, I would quickly check him (and possibly pour a drink on his lap). This mutual understanding should apply both ways. Employees should NOT corner and beg their employers for raises, favors, or any other work related things when they are not at work.

I recently witnessed a situation just like this with my friends in the haunt world. Now, I was having a lovely night, relaxing with some friends of mine who are The  Powers That Be and Marked Ones (the training team) of their haunt. Of course, a few of their actors were at the same bar as us and gravitated over to chat. For the most part, the conversation was fine. No one brought up haunt (since we are on break and I respected the Powers That Be's time off) and it was really fun.

Then, one of the actors, we can call him Gus, awkwardly tried to pull one of The Powers That Be to the side. When that failed to work, Gus simply decided to sit next to him and drunkenly rattle off everything on his mind. He told The Powers That Be about his dark and horrible past, how he was at the end of his rope, and had no hope or will to live. He mentioned how haunt had changed his life and how The Powers That Be inspire him to do more with his life. He kept going with the emotional, guilt trip routine and ended it by saying he just wanted a chance to prove he could do more and become a Marked One.

Now, normally, I would hear things like this out since I'm such a Mama Bear and just want everyone to be happy, but the look on The Powers That Be's face just showed how bummed and uncomfortable he was that this was happening (on his damn night off, I might add). Unlike Cain, who would've shut that shit down quickly, this guy just continued to listen as Gus began to bring up past (private) conversations and attempted to guilt him into offering him a position as a Marked One. My eyes couldn't roll fast enough. It was the most awkward encounter I'd ever seen, and all The Powers That Be could do was say, "We'll have to wait and see," and hope Gus accepted that response. Luckily, he did and the Marked Ones managed to guide him away from the group, but it still rubs me the wrong way.

As an example, I got where I am now not because I constantly bothered and begged Cain and Blake to give me a job. If anything, I did the opposite. I did the job I was given, made it known that I was willing to help with anything else, and left it at that. I let my work ethic speak for itself, and I was given an opportunity to take on more responsibilities when I was deemed ready. Even now, there's a certain position I'm DYING to work, but I can't force Cain to give me the job. I can let him know I'm interested and keep doing what I've been doing...what's best for the haunt. You can't force things to happen. Things will come in their own time. Also, situations like what Gus did should NEVER happen. Nobody should beg and guilt their way to the top. Nobody should be put in an awkward situation like that. I really hope that's not how the workforce is becoming.

I understand, when it comes to haunt, we feel like family. We feel comfortable with each other because a majority of what we do requires us to let down our walls, trust each other, and act like idiots in a decorated building. Sometimes the line of friend and coworker becomes blurred. It's understandable, but as adults, we should know better. Just because we work in a haunted house does not mean that the basic rules of any workplace don't apply.

What I really want everyone to understand is that in the haunt industry, no matter how fun and relaxed everything seems, please keep in mind that your bosses are still your bosses. Please respect them as such. It is still a business and has to run as one. This also mean that employers should do the same in return when and if you decide to hang out away from the haunt. Don't talk down to your friends and boss them around when you aren't their boss in that moment. (Take off the boss hat and leave it in the car or something!) Now, this doesn't mean avoid being friends outside of the haunt all together. This is just a warning that things can get muddled and messy if you don't respect that fine line of friend and coworker.

Please, don't be a Gus. If you are interested in moving up in the industry, please talk to your employers DURING the season and in a professional manner. Don't corner them at the bar when you still have a drink you're sipping on and smoker's breath. That will never reflect well on you, and as I mentioned before but in reverse, the Powers That Be will definitely save and bookmark an encounter like that.

-Jaz