M.T. Dictionary: Complagging

Hey there fellow divas,

I’m writing today about something that we all do on a regular basis. It’s a little thing called COMPLAGGING. Urban Dictionary defines it as follows:

Complag. (verb) To brag while pretending to complain.

Complagging is a coping device; it’s how we try to relate to people who have normal jobs and annoying side effects from those jobs. But let’s be real- our jobs are awesome. And yes, there are sometimes horrible things that go with it, but as attention-needy-people why would we complain without also trying to make people jealous of how awesome our jobs are? Here are some complags I’ve been guilty of:

“I’m so tired because I had to be hair and makeup ready at 4:30am for my appearance on the local news this morning.”

“How in the world am I supposed to find time to record a 10 minute audition video that [insert big casting director’s name] requested when I start tech week tonight?!”

“I’ve been waiting for forever to grow my hair out but I keep booking roles that require it to be short.”

A few days ago I heard a castmate on the phone with a friend; she said “why do I keep getting offers for national tours? I just want to focus on being back in NYC for a while”.

Complagging isn’t bad in itself, but I think the act of complagging is rarely appropriate. When shared with people who look up to us it can be a turn off,  putting distance between yourself and that other person. And complagging to people who give you these great opportunities is also not good. Why give them reason to think you aren’t grateful for every chance you get to perform, audition, and shine? So find a friend you trust or find a way to tastefully word it in 140 characters and then tweet about it! Cheers!