Celebrating others' successes

When I went with Mum to see the production of South Pacific at the Opera House last week I was extra-excited because I knew one of the cast members. John Xintavelonis (known as 'X' to his friends, and just about everyone who lives in Hobart) is a bit of a 'local boy made good'. When I was living in Hobart, there was rarely a theatrical production, Uni Revue or anything that didn't involve X in some way. A good actor, who at some stage discovered he could also sing; his face and voice are well known around the traps in Tassie, and have been for a long time. He's also in demand as a 'personality/MC' for various events.

In recent years his career has 'taken off' a bit, with a number of roles in big musicals that have toured mainland Australia and also overseas, and according to the Hobart Mercury, X's star is on the rise.

Now, I have never exactly been best mates with X, but we know each other well enough to say hello if we meet on the street, and we are Facebook friends, and interact there a bit. So when he got the gig as Stewpot (one of the named sailors who has his own lines) in South Pacific, I got a bit excited to see that X had scored a role in another high profile musical (and it was great to have a coffee with him after the show Mum and I attended).

I had a similar feeling of excitement when I heard that Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher novels were to be made into a TV series. Again, I'm not exactly best buddies with Kerry, but I am reasonably good mates with her partner, David, whom I've known through uni choral circles for many years. So once again, there was this sense of excitement and pride that someone who was known to me was having some success, and recognition for the great work they do.

In thinking about these little 'excitements', I was wondering, is it just so that I can namedrop?  ("Oh yes, I know the author," or "I know one of the cast"). But then my mind went back to my experience as a contestant on Millionaire Hotseat a few years ago. 

On the day of shooting, a gaggle of us contestants, from a week's worth of shows (so that's around 30 people) spent the most part of the day together. We were given instructions in the morning as to what we needed to do, then had a bit of a rehearsal, where we were split into our episode groups for a while, then came back together as a large group to have some lunch before we got to taping each show.

I was allocated to the second-last episode to be taped, so my group and I got to watch all of the preceding shows (from our room out the back), and there was a palpable sense of excitement in the room, encouragement, and much cheering if someone actually won the big money in the last round.

Even in my own episode, after I had been eliminated for incorrectly answering a question (damn you, Clint Eastwood!), there was the sense of hope that the guy who ended up in the hotseat for the last question would get it right, and win the big money (which he did... and there was much hugging and congratulatory back-slapping from all of the contestants as he came off the set).

So this got me thinking that in my excitement about being able to 'name-drop', there is also a genuine sense of joy that someone I know (even if only a little bit) is doing well and making a name for themselves in their chosen field of endeavour.

So, to Kerry, and X (and other friends who are  having 'wins' in their life and career)- congratulations for having success in something that you love doing. Celebrate your achievements, continue to enjoy what you do, and share that joy with your family and friends (and cats, in Kerry's case :-)