I have never been one to make resolutions at the turn of a new year. The words “resolve” and “resolution” for me immediately call to mind music theory analyses of great compositions–specifically works by Wagner, Berg and Schönberg, among others. I’ve always felt trite commitments such as “lose weight”, “quit drinking” and “get organized” carry with them negative connotations that attract unwanted energy and undesired outcomes. They also bear heightened expectations that go frequently unmet and can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction.
So this year I am making a pledge to myself to work daily at being the best person I can be. There is an expression I like and is paraphrased, “Imagine life as you wish it to be and trust in the knowledge the Universe will provide it for you.” While I like it very much, I acknowledge I haven’t always believed it. However, I can cite examples in which actions undertaken with belief in … Read more »
 One of my favorite motivational quotations is known by many and comes from American transcendentalist author and poet Henry David Thoreau. It reads:
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost;
that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
What I find inspiring about these words is the inherent notion that dreams and goals need not remain ethereal things, but that their existences can be affirmed by making concerted efforts and taking practical steps towards realizing them. These past few months, I’ve been taking time to evaluate where I am currently in my career, where I would like to be, what I would like to be doing and, more broadly, who I am as an individual and who I would like to become. I’ve been engaging in a few activities as I move through this liminal phase to help define and achieve the required foundations:
After today’s audition, I considered writing about my efforts to memorize 40 pages, the large blister that developed on my toe from walking too far in heels, my realization en route that my stockings had lost their elasticity and kept collecting about my ankles, or the fact that I made two elegant fumbles (if I do say so, myself) mid-performance but kept going. (The show must go on!) Instead, I feel a need to remark upon the function of auditions in the lives of artistic individuals because I’ve noticed a trend towards lethargic inactivity among some of my counterparts.
As I noted earlier this year, auditioning is a talent’s foremost responsibility. Essentially, every audition is a job interview. Just as people seeking a job, upward mobility in a company, or a transition in the direction of a career make application to job openings and, when contacted, interview for the position, it is my responsibility (and, by transitive property, the responsibilities of my peers) … Read more »
Time has just published a list of the “20 Best- and Worst-Paid College Majors“. View the complete list here. Not surprisingly, several categories of arts are present in the “worst-paid” list, specifically: visual arts; performing arts; and drama and theatre arts. What really grabbed my attention was the editorial commentary included in the photoessay. On the page dedicated to Visual and Performing Arts, the content reads, “With three common arts majors appearing on this list, the old ’starving artist’ adage appears to remain true. But hey, artists don’t do it for the money anyway, right?” My jaw dropped. Seriously, editors? This personal aside was permitted to be published under your brand? Clearly, no one at Time has spoken recently with any performing artists.
So, Time, let me tell you a bit about performing artists: We do it for the money. We also do it with the knowledge that our highly specialized skills are seen as quantifiably marketable … Read more »
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