I wouldn't take it too personally. I don't think she meant that your filk was poor or that it wasn't a subject worth poking fun at. Just that well... part of being a good performer is picking your battles and keeping the audience from being a "bad" audience. Doesn't mean you're a bad performer if you fail -- just means you hadn't figured out how to handle that particular situation.
I once talked through someone's performance accidentally and I felt *terrible* about it. He started out by chatting about his background. I wanted to wrap up a quiet conversation with a friend. The thing was, I was listening for the typical "I'm starting now" tones -- a shift in pitch, dynamics or even standing up to perform. Because I he never gave that kind of cue, he never caught me early on. Once I realized he was performing, I felt *terrible*... and listening to the end of the story, I really wished I'd heard the beginning.
I think that "no sympathy" is a bit tough on people. I see it as an opportunity to try to teach people to avoid some of the pitfalls of engaging the audience, if I feel I have enough authority to talk to the person. "No sympathy" to me says "sink or swim" and a lot of people don't intuitively grasp some of these issues. I'm still learning some of them. I'm good at grabbing a crowd's attention, but, I don't always pick the material that would *best* suit the situation. I can do what I do well enough that I'll get by pretty well even when it's not quite right.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-06-16 07:06 pm (UTC)I wouldn't take it too personally. I don't think she meant that your filk was poor or that it wasn't a subject worth poking fun at. Just that well... part of being a good performer is picking your battles and keeping the audience from being a "bad" audience. Doesn't mean you're a bad performer if you fail -- just means you hadn't figured out how to handle that particular situation.
I once talked through someone's performance accidentally and I felt *terrible* about it. He started out by chatting about his background. I wanted to wrap up a quiet conversation with a friend. The thing was, I was listening for the typical "I'm starting now" tones -- a shift in pitch, dynamics or even standing up to perform. Because I he never gave that kind of cue, he never caught me early on. Once I realized he was performing, I felt *terrible*... and listening to the end of the story, I really wished I'd heard the beginning.
I think that "no sympathy" is a bit tough on people. I see it as an opportunity to try to teach people to avoid some of the pitfalls of engaging the audience, if I feel I have enough authority to talk to the person. "No sympathy" to me says "sink or swim" and a lot of people don't intuitively grasp some of these issues. I'm still learning some of them. I'm good at grabbing a crowd's attention, but, I don't always pick the material that would *best* suit the situation. I can do what I do well enough that I'll get by pretty well even when it's not quite right.