> some kind of (un)usual hobby, family life, personal
> struggles, causes... For
> example, Beverly Sills' challenges in having a
> career while raising a daughter
> who was born deaf,
Yes, you're inspired when you read that about her in
interviews and biographies (both appropriate places to
disclose personal information), but how would you feel
about opening your Metropolitan Opera program and
having Sills' be the one bio that says, "Ms Sills
would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the
great rewards she has experienced raising a daughter
with a birth defect, and thanks her family for their
support over the years"? Don't you find that a little
jarring and inappropriate for the venue? Especially
when everyone else's bios are closing with, "Mr.
Ford's latest CD, American War Songs, is due out from
Decca this summer," and "Ms. Graham has also performed
extensively on the concert stage with Riccardo Muti,
James Levine, Michael Tilson-Thomas, and others."
Doesn't it just seem a little out of place when one
person ends these sorts of professional bios with a
"and says hi to her furry Muppet" type of comment?
In my opinion, the most professional resumes are those
without "personal trivia," and the most professional
program bios are those that a) don't say things like,
"is one of the most highly-sought-after sopranos of
her day, dubbed by critics 'charming' and
'delightful,'" etc., and b) don't have any trivia or
personal information in them at all. Your
professional accomplishments should be able to stand
alone.
Maybe it's old-fashioned to keep one's intimate
personal details seperate from the art form and
professional presentation. If you went to a
high-profile conference on, say, race problems at the
UN, would you expect Dick Cheney's biography to end
with a greeting to his kids and dog at home? Or a
presentation by the medical doctors who developed that
artificial heart to include their personal hobbies in
the professional bio? I just think it doesn't belong.
I agree with whoever said that it brands an amateur as
such when they don't behave in a professional way in
the appropriate arena.
Jennifer's question, though, was a good one (what do
you put on a resume if you have no production
experience -- nothing?). Intersting to hear what the
resume gurus have to say about that.
Isabelle B.
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