WHO SHOULD APPLY?

We are looking for students and professionals who are excited about musical interpreting, willing to take risks, ready for change, individuals with a positive attitude, and individuals who are teachable. We are not looking for perfect interpreters, we are looking for real people, with real successes, real failures, and a real determination to become the greatest interpreters they can be.

WHO SHOULD NOT APPLY?

Yeah, it's a bold statement... but in a moment of total honesty, this is our request. Who should not apply:
 

• Complainers: This event is incredibly educational, it's incredible fun, and it's incredibly inspiring, however it is also incredibly exhausting. If you are someone who likes to complain, this event will bring out that temptation when you are exhausted. That tendency will make your experience, and the experience of those around you, less positive. 
   

• Critical Individuals: We want to create a positive, loving, and safe environment. We work very hard to protect the event, and the hearts and minds of people in attendance. This combats most interpreter's common fear of vulnerability in front of their interpreter peers. Because safety is our first concern, we look for individuals who are team players, supportive, and positive, as well as individuals who will not be critical about themselves, others, the speakers, the instructors, or aspects of the event. This allows everyone to excel in a place which is full of life and joy, and it makes it a perfect environment for every interpreter to flourish. That's the goal! We want to see every interpreter who attends, leave having seen their skills flourish.
   

• The Blameless: If it's always someone else's fault, if responsibility for errors or mistakes is not your strong suit, this isn't the workshop for you. We want people who can say, "I am sorry" rather than "I didn't do that", people who say, "I forgot to do that" rather than "you never told me to do that". We want applicants who have the maturity to be honest with themselves and with us, people who own up to their mistakes. We want people applying who can say, "I am not perfect, I made a mistake, but I will try harder next time" and people who get excited at the idea of growing and changing. This is a workshop full of imperfect people, and we only want imperfect people applying. If you can do no wrong, if you never make mistakes, if you have no need to grow and change, if everything is everyone else's fault, this is not the workshop for you. The ability to admit our failures is a critical trait for a great Performance Interpreter, so those are the people we seek. 
   

• Feedback Haters: This workshop is all about feedback. You don't pay us to tell you that you are perfect, you pay us to make you better. If you don't want feedback, this is NOT the workshop for you! We feel strongly that none of us, NONE OF US is perfect, and WE ALL need to change, and with that in mind, we will give you an onslaught of ideas to make you better. For some, the thought of that is exciting! For others, it is not comfortable, but a passion for growth overcomes the fear of feedback. We can work with that. However, we do occasionally run across those interpreters who either have egos which project "I don't need to change" or insecurity issues which keep all feedback at arms length, and that wreaks havoc on their interaction with the instructors and other class members. Whether you are a student, or you have been an interpreter for 35 years, we will encourage you to change. If feedback is a problem, this workshop will torture you. There won't be a day where you are not given a slew of new ideas, and a truckload of suggestions. We will wrap feedback in love, hugs and cheers, but in the center of it all, is still an encouragement to change.  Make sure that you want that before you apply.
   

• The Easily Offended:  We have a very gooey group of staff / volunteers. We love people deeply and we will do our absolute best to make sure you know that, however we know in order to be a mature, successful, and professional Performance Interpreter, you need to remain offense free. We don't care what race, gender, religion, orientation, nationality, disability, body type, political party, "privilege" or modification defines you. We just want to love you, encourage you, and teach you. The only identities we will focus on at this workshop is that of becoming a BSLN family, and that of becoming the successful performance interpreters we will strive to be. We have a diverse group of people with diverse belief systems, personal experiences, and personal features. The most conservative will be in the same room with the most liberal. The most "irreligious" will be working alongside the most "religious". The most skilled will be practicing with people far less skilled. We are all coming together as a family for a week and THERE IS NEVER ROOM FOR OFFENSES in a close family. If you cannot find personal heart space to release anger and resentment which was initiated by issues of race, gender, religion, orientation, nationality, disability, body type, political party, "privilege", pronouns, etc, this is not the workshop for you. This workshop is ideal for individuals who are comfortable interacting with all types of individuals, and are accepting of how the staff chooses to support all the attendees with tremendous love and respect.  We aim for a week without drama. The only battles we want to fight are the struggles all interpreters face on their journey to becoming great performance interpreters...  and we will do that as a collective and unified family, differences and all.  
   

• The Ethically Challenged: If your interpreter ethics are lacking, this isn't a great fit for you. If your moral ethics need some polishing, you should likely wait to apply. We want people who take the CPC seriously and respect all tenets of that document.  We also people who have the maturity to avoid morally questionable behavior. BSL NASHVILLE is not the place to have an affair, it's not a place to delve into experimenting with drugs, and it's not a place to practice whether you can dodge paying for a meal. We want people who come here to learn and grow, people who work hard and get excited about the professionalism we promote in every aspect of the field, but also people who do so with a solid personal moral compass.  All of that feeds into our overall professionalism, and professionalism is a critical part of being a great Performance Interpreter, and that's the reason people come here, to learn to be "great".

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If these characteristics don't define you, please apply! As you see, we work hard to make this event a place guided by love. LOVE LOVE LOVE... and FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY... that's what defines this workshop, and we hope one day that will define the field in which we are a part.