[NEohioPAL]Definition of " professional" according to Webster

[Evie Morris]

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    According to my edition  of WEBSTER'S dictionary, a "professional" (adjective) is:
   1a) relating to, or characteristic of a profession;
     b) engaged in one of the learned professions
     c) (1) characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a    
              profession;
         (2) exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in   
             the workplace:
    2a) participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged 
          in by amateurs, i.e. golfer
      b) having a particular profession as a permanent career, i.e. soldier
      c) engaged in by persons having a financial return, i.e. football player
   3) following a line of conduct as though it were a profession.
   
      That being said, in the four years I was a dues-paying member of a "professional" union,Local 4, The Cleveland Federation of Musician's, they called me with one gig. When I questioned this, I was told that Cleveland is a very small market. When road shows come in, the one musician they are most likely to have travelling with them is the keyboard player. 
       The other obvious reality is that is a Director's perogative to hire people they know, have already worked with, or people who have been recommended to them. If you're not on the "A list" you can sit out the dance, or you can decide to do what you love to do and have been blessed with the ability to do, WHEREVER the opportunity may arise.
       Would I have loved it when I was a teenager if someone had said. " Hey Evie, why don't you go to school and become a  Musical Director for theater? Sure, however,back in  the 1960's no one suggested that as a career for a woman. Should I have had the wisdom and foresight to have gotten all the academic credentials a young student could have attained?That would have been a good choice, but at the time, protesting the war in Vietnam, getting married, having children, and being a wife and mother seemed more relevent.
      Because of those circumstances and choices, do I consider myself less than a professional when I accept a job as a free-lancing musician? I do not.I take into each situation years of experience that has come from " working in the trenches." Today, I show up, have a good work ethic, collaborate when I can, and am usually pleased with the results. I got over my own elitism when I realized that MY definition of being an artist..expressing yourself because you have to and making an emotional connection with the audience...was being fulfilled in many of the "non- professsional" productions I was lucky enough to be involved with.
     In a culture and society where your value is pretty much determined by the letters before or after your name and the amount of money you make in a year, it is easy to diminish the contributions of people who may lack those qualifications. But when the day comes when the value of emotional and spiritual wealth is given equal weight in determinig a person's " worth" or their contribution, we may be fortunate to see
   
   
   



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<DIV id=RTEContent>  <DIV id=RTEContent>  <DIV id=RTEContent>According to my edition  of WEBSTER'S dictionary, a "professional" (adjective) is:</DIV>  <DIV> 1a) relating to, or characteristic of a profession;</DIV>  <DIV>   b) engaged in one of the learned professions</DIV>  <DIV>   c) (1) characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a    </DIV>  <DIV>            profession;</DIV>  <DIV>       (2) exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in   </DIV>  <DIV>           the workplace:</DIV>  <DIV>  2a) participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged </DIV>  <DIV>        in by amateurs, i.e. golfer</DIV>  <DIV>    b) having a particular profession
 as a permanent career, i.e. soldier</DIV>  <DIV>    c) engaged in by persons having a financial return, i.e. football player</DIV>  <DIV> 3) following a line of conduct as though it were a profession.</DIV>  <DIV> </DIV>  <DIV>    That being said, in the four years I was a dues-paying member of a "professional" union,Local 4, The Cleveland Federation of Musician's, they called me with one gig. When I questioned this, I was told that Cleveland is a very small market. When road shows come in, the one musician they are most likely to have travelling with them is the keyboard player. </DIV>  <DIV>     The other obvious reality is that is a Director's perogative to hire people they know, have already worked with, or people who have been recommended to them. If you're not on the "A list" you can sit out the dance, or you can decide to do what you love to do and have been blessed with the ability to do,
 WHEREVER the opportunity may arise.</DIV>  <DIV>     Would I have loved it when I was a teenager if someone had said. " Hey Evie, why don't you go to school and become a  Musical Director for theater? Sure, however,back in  the 1960's no one suggested that as a career for a woman. Should I have had the wisdom and foresight to have gotten all the academic credentials a young student could have attained?That would have been a good choice, but at the time, protesting the war in Vietnam, getting married, having children, and being a wife and mother seemed more relevent.</DIV>  <DIV>    Because of those circumstances and choices, do I consider myself less than a professional when I accept a job as a free-lancing musician? I do not.I take into each situation years of experience that has come from " working in the trenches." Today, I show up, have a good work ethic, collaborate when I can, and am usually pleased with the
 results. I got over my own elitism when I realized that MY definition of being an artist..expressing yourself because you have to and making an emotional connection with the audience...was being fulfilled in many of the "non- professsional" productions I was lucky enough to be involved with.</DIV>  <DIV>   In a culture and society where your value is pretty much determined by the letters before or after your name and the amount of money you make in a year, it is easy to diminish the contributions of people who may lack those qualifications. But when the day comes when the value of emotional and spiritual wealth is given equal weight in determinig a person's " worth" or their contribution, we may be fortunate to see</DIV>  <DIV> </DIV>  <DIV> </DIV>  <DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV>
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