09 Sep 2011, 5:53 pm
I just got an internship at a theatre company, working in the costume shop. I want to be a theatrical costume designer in the long run, so I figured this would be perfect.
Upfront my supervisor told me that in the beginning, I would be on the wardrobe crew for one of their musicals, helping the actors with costume changes. I was apprehensive, but didn't tell her this. Little did I know that being a dresser was very much like HR work - you had to be organized, be able to keep track of multiple things at once, think fast and be clear-cut, all while maintaining a friendly face. I knew I would be a mess, but I was at least willing to try.
So work begins. Things are great in the costume shop - I am able to complete every task given to me with flying colors. I am here for one week. I do have to put on a friendly face, but I am working with the same 15 people every day, and I am able to socialize in a stable setting just fine, despite having to wind down at the end of the day. This lasts for one week.
At the beginning of this week, I began to prepare for the wardrobe crew. I was given a list of actors' costumes. I realize I am in WAY over my head. Each actor has about 15 different costume changes, most of them need to be done within a 30 second time frame. I am responsible for keeping track of where individual costume items are located when they get split up from the rest of the costume, in a backstage setting with noisy singers and a full orchestra blaring. Don't get me wrong - I love musicals, but I don't like hearing the music and being distracted by OTHER things. It's too overwhelming.
So once the rehearsals started running in full costume, I am close to tears. It's too much. We go through three run-throughs, and one of the actors pulls me aside and tells me I need to get my act together. I start crying, retreat to the bathroom, and miss a wardrobe crew meeting.
My supervisor from the costume shop tells me to meet in her office once I'm feeling better. I go up to talk to her, and she said she apologizes for putting me on wardrobe for such an overwhelming show, and that she's hired another girl to replace me on the wardrobe crew. She thinks I should go back to the costume shop. She repeatedly reminds me that nobody is judging me, and that it was her mistake for thinking I could handle being a dresser for such a difficult show. I thank her and say something about how I was initially apprehensive because I KNOW work better in quiet places that are not overwhelming. I start back in the costume shop next week and I think I'll stay there for the duration of my internship.
I don't tell her about my Asperger's, but I figure it's basically implied. My parents think it would be a good idea to tell her. Isn't explaining the situations in which I work best enough? Asperger's is just a name, after all. Furthermore, I know this situation ended positively - I wasn't fired, after all. If this is such a good thing, why am I still so upset?
It just feels like a lot has happened in the past few days. I'm not even overwhelmed by the show, I'm overwhelmed by everything else. Can someone help me make sense of it all? 
09 Sep 2011, 8:26 pm
Well heck, I would tell her, BUT depending on roughly how old she is - I don't mean to invoke a demographic stereotype, but I've found that when somebody is over 50, they tend not to know about Aspergers or they make assumptions and generalizations. I'll give an example: at a former job (in an office), I told a co-worker of about 55 years old that I had Aspergers after he noticed some odd behaviours, i.e. tendency to take things literally, to over-analyze things and use big words - he gave a flippant reply that "oh, well, I don't think you really have anything wrong with you, these days people are quick to diagnose everything, all the kids who don't do well in school are given an ADHD label, it's nonsense, I think you just have certain challenges but no big deal."
For someone from Generation X, or Y, that response is less likely (at least, in my experience). Awareness of AS has gone up tremendously in the past decade, it's one of the fastest-growing segments of Western society, so if anything, you are likely to get a warm reply from her AND she may likely mention that someone in her family has AS or a neighbour or friend connection has AS.
So, go for it, TELL HER!! 
