Memorizing

March 25, 2010 by  

I have been away from blogging as it is a busy teaching time and I have been memorizing:

First Folio Shakespeare Monologue Class:
Lysander, Midsummer, Act I, Scene 1: “I am my Lord, as well derived as he”
Enobarbus, A&C, Act II, Scene 2: “I will tell you/The Barge she sat in”
Lorenzo, Merchant, Acy V, Scene 1: “How sweet the moon-light sleeps upon the banke”
Auffidius, Coriolanus, Act I, Scene 10: “Condition?/I would I were a Roman”

Small Sword SAFD Skills Proficiency Test:
Edmund, King Lear, Act V, Scene 3

Picasso Understudy, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Two River Theater Company.

Blogging will continue to be inconsistent, but I am always on Twitter.

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I’m Not Delusional, I’m An Entrepreneur

March 14, 2010 by  

I am loving the below image by Hugh MacLeod. So much so, I am thinking of buying a copy, unless you want to make an awesome donation. His random thoughts on being an entrepreneur is something all artists should read. Is it delusional to think as an arts entrepreneur that I can create a work/life/art balance that allows me to pursue all my artistic avenues?

I was thinking about this when @JessHutchinson commented that artists are imploding by over-commitment, self-overwhelming, inbalance between life/work/art. This led to a conversation (a reason why Twitter is important) with fellow theaterosphere/2am Theatre people (#2amt) @nickkeenan, @RZrow, @dloehr, and @MaxEPunk. @RZCrow reminded us that, “We need to realize there’s time & sometimes we need to take everything in moderation.” I responded that artists “might be over committed, but this artist has to work three teaching jobs, because the art doesn’t pay.” I think this issue is at the heart of arts entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur looks for finical backing to support their idea, project or product. It is no secret that the arts don’t pay well and funding is difficult, so many artists take on other freelance/part-time work, like becoming teaching artists, because it is a way to use their art to connect with others and its freelance schedule allows artist to also work on their art. Due to this freelance nature many teaching artists work multiple part-time jobs to pay the bills. This, at times, creates teaching artists who are more teachers and less artists. Even though the idea that working a freelance/part-time job creates time and space for creating art, instead sometimes more time is spent going from part-time to part-time job and less time is spent on creating art.

As a teaching artist that works with three different organizations pretty consistently, I spend a range of 13-17 hours teaching a week and commuting 13 hours a week for a total of 26-30 hours a week on “teaching”. I also freelance in web design and SEO, to help pay the bills. I have other special circumstances that do not allow me to do theater at the moment (baby and wife that works three nights a week). Does your schedule allow you to create art or are you about to implode? How are you creating a work/life/art balance? Are you working part-time/freelance or as a full-time employee? To end with Jess’ question, “How do we begin to find true balance?”

Filed under: Acting, Arts Entrepreneur, Theater/Theatre
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MFA Theater Degree Pyramid Scheme

March 7, 2010 by  

“The discouraging truth is that MFA degrees were created largely to provide-and then satisfy-a prerequisite for obtaining teaching jobs. This in effect rendered the entire system a pyramid scheme.” – Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

Replace the term “pyramid scheme” with “ponzi scheme”.

It sounds like the MFA Theater Ponzi Scheme that Mike Daisey was talking about.

Filed under: Acting, Teaching, Theater/Theatre
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Truth About Theater Education

January 28, 2010 by  

I am catching up on the last week of theatrosphere blog posts, and while Scott Walter’s whole blog post is a must read, his comment about what he tells his theater students, is what stuck out to me.

I say: “You are getting a degree at a liberal arts university. I am not offering you ‘pre-professional training’ because, frankly, there IS no profession. I am educating you, not training you. I am offering you a lens to see the world through that, should you decide to try to make a life of artistry (which is different from a CAREER in the arts), then you will have four years of reflection and experiment from which to work. If you want to be buffed up for the so-called profession, you need to go down I-40 to Winston-Salem and the NC School of the Arts.” Now, what are others saying? I conjecture that they are selling the Cinderella Myth, pointing at a couple alums who are working occasionally, and teaching their students that what separates the successful from the unsuccessful is that the successful want it more (which is a huge lie, but that shifts the blame for their failure to the students’ shoulders and absolves the teacher entirely). It is a con game, plain and simple.

Filed under: Acting, Educational Theater, Graduate School, Teaching, Theater/Theatre
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NYLACHI Theater At Its Best

January 22, 2010 by  

NYLACHI is an acronym coined in the theatrosphere to describe the theater ecosystem in New York, Loa Angeles, and Chicago. The insanity that is this video is a good visual demonstration for the need for decentralization of theater.

Filed under: Acting, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Theater/Theatre
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Self-Producing Theater Artists

January 7, 2010 by  

The talk of the “town” is the new TDF book Outrageous Fortune, waiting for my copy in the mail. From what I am hearing it is a grim look in the life of a playwright and the state of affairs for new works in American theater. It has gotten director Isaac Butler to declare, “If I want to make a living from theater, going the institutional route is almost certainly the way to do it” and “I no longer wish to pursue making a living as a theatre director in the American Theatre Industry.” J. Holtham quotes it numerous times and states,

Plays are finished in production. Period. I think just about everyone can agree with that. That’s why this discussion matters. It’s part of the Pursuit of the Hit Play, the perfect, unit set, small cast play about large themes and big issues that will run forever and provide subsidies for the original theatre in perpetuity. So much of our industry is oriented in this direction, it’s like a black hole, pulling everything that has worked in the past to create just those kinds of plays and better ones out of whack. This is the insurmountable problem that I was talking about. And the system goes around and around. Unless, you hop off the merry-go-round, write your plays and produce them. Spots, problems, mistakes and all. And learn. That’s the way I’m going this year.

While all this I agree with, what I can’t get out of my head, is the idea of self-producing in large markets. Does Los Angeles, Chicago and New York really need another theater, no matter what kind of theater it produces? I know this has been beaten over the head by the likes of The Prof, and Doug Hall has been doing it for eighteen years in Chicago, but I think it is going to be the next issue that is addressed once all the new self-producing theater artists get going, and there’s the rub.

Butler’s thoughts are similar to my own. The one difference becomes that I am married with an infant. For the last eight months, I have not been able to do any theater except for one understudy gig because I was allowed to not be at rehearsals when I needed to be home with the baby, as my wife works three nights a week as a nurse. The downtime has caused more reflection and conversation in the theatrosphere. We will be moving back to Los Angeles this summer, as we are from there and her parents live there. While that gives us support, and potential time for me to work in theater, for me to be a freelance professional actor, I have to ask myself the question The Prof asked Butler, “does my dream of directing acting full-time include the non-stop travel that such a career seems to demand, at least if you are participating in the regional theater circuit. How often do you want to be away from your family for 4 – 6 weeks at a time?” The answer seems to become self-produce or move on. Butler continues,

The Mission Paradox blog had a fantastic post awhile ago that I can’t find for some reason where he discussed that the fundamental problem of many theatre companies is that their hidden mission is simply to propagate their members’ work and help their careers and thus they begin to fall apart when they move towards actually fulfilling whatever it is their stated mission is because it turns out none of their founders were actually interested in that in the first place. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to start a company devoted to Me. I mean, I guess I could like the do in the dance world and just start The Isaac Butler Company or whatever, but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.

Personally, that is why the idea of the smaller markets of Portland, Austin, and Philly are intriguing, and ever more still are the rural markets of less than 100k, where one could raise a family, be part of a community, and possibly create theater. But then again, leaving Los Angeles puts us in the same position we are now in, no support. This may change over time as kids get older, but for now I am on a quest, to explore and examine how self-producing, entrepreneurial artists are making theater, where, and what kind of theater they are creating. The research list includes: Community Supported Theatre at Stolen Chair Theater, New Leaf Theatre, New Works/New Communities at California Shakespeare Festival, Cornerstone Theater Company, and Cambiare Productions, just to name a view. Always love to hear more.

In the end, the artist’s passion will lead the way. Holtham sums it up well, “find the solution that fits for you. You have to figure out what you value, what the priorities are and follow them where they take you.”

ERPA Clip 5 Jon Stancato/Stolen Chair Theatre Company from The Field on Vimeo.

Filed under: Acting, Arts Entrepreneur, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Theater/Theatre
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Arts Entrepreneurship

January 5, 2010 by  

I’m also concerned, personally, that there are simply too many young people going into debt over this profession that has very little room or need for them when they graduate. – David Dower, New Play Blog

I have found the term that might be the theme of much of my writing for 2010: arts entrepreneurship. Dower’s comment above, as well as the writings of many theatrosphere bloggers, has caused me to come to the conclusion that for young artists, the current theater profession/system is one that is unsustainable and I question if it’s worth pursuing. This is nothing new, and probably for many people that read blogs associated with the theatrosphere, but it is something that seems to be ignored.

Discovering that I have written on similar themes (starving artist myth, celebrity, social media) of entrepreneurial blogs like Entrepreneur the Arts, this theme could be considered a continuation of 2009. This post becomes a commitment to deeper exploration of entrepreneurship, in light of self-producing, that looks to “share a sense of creativity to our society…sense of connection between people, [and] helping people find meaning in their lives and relationships.” (Walters, Theatre Ideas) While my personal life is not at a place to self-produce, I am curious to explore what others are doing, and aid is exploring tools that will empower theater artists to break out of the current hoops that one has to go through to work in theater.

While I agree with Travis Bedard’s post that, “the idea that theatre companies are just like any mini-mart (small businesses with small but measurable economic effects) is patently ridiculous”, artists can still learn from current entrepreneurial business leaders. Bedard encourages more focus on the day-to-day, hands on practice, than the theoretical discussions currently going on in the theatrosphere. But as Josh Hart points out:

The bulk of American theatre training programs train students in a technique of arts education that leads to rampant unemployment. The techniques popularly taught in the bulk of our training institutions are all art technique and no real business technique. Entrepreneurial training in the arts needs to become the new standard in American Theatre training.

While the discussion continues and change seems to be growing, the study of entrepreneurship by young artists is something that needs more exploration, dialogue and examination. In the age of the internet and social media, it is evident that the gatekeepers of various business fields are becoming obsolete, how is this seen in current theater system? Yes, there are indie theaters, but how is indie theater structuring itself away from becoming “smaller” versions of the bigger commercial theaters? As 99seat states, “If new organizations are built on the same standard model foundation, that won’t do any good.” So is 2010 the year where new models are tried and blogged about for discussion? Is that The Prof’s Theatre Tribe model? What other theater models are people working on or thinking they want to try? How is it different than the current theater system?

Filed under: Acting, Arts Entrepreneur, Theater/Theatre
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Does Our Theater Not Want To Evolve?

January 1, 2010 by  

Happy New Year! I can’t think of a better post to start 2010. I am just catching up on a great multi-blog conversation between The Next Stage and Praxis Theatre, the Canadian branch of the theatrosphere: Round 1, Round 2, Round 2.5, Round 3. There is a lot of good stuff in each post. While I already have made some comments in the above blog posts, I want to address in detail some of the topics discussed.

Where it starts getting interesting is in the comment section of Round 2. There Manda Kennedy, shares a little bit of her role working as Tarragon’s social media strategist. She talks about the theater’s desire to engage and not just use social media to broadcast, kudos as I don’t think enough theaters have made that connection, but Kris Joseph‘s following comments hits on the crux of the state of theaters use of social media.

I think the engagement of theatre arts with the ‘net has to come from the ground: the designers, crew, actors, directors, and playwrights working directly on material. If I have PERMISSION from the relevant guilds and unions (and there’s ANOTHER bear of an issue) all I have to do is carry an iPhone in my pocket and I can shoot footage of my wig fitting and snap pics of my set being built and record clips of rehearsal and BINGO — the content creates itself.

If the use of social media is left in the hands of the marketing department, then that is all it will be used as, a marketing tool. Social media platforms need to be conduits for conversations, stories, narratives and interactions. This sounds like something that artists would be really good at. Kennedy poses a problem:

I’m not going to argue for a second against engaged artists taking the lead on this. That would be fantastic and a really interesting departure from the the what does seem to be the common approach. The largest hurdle for me is that the vast majority of our artists are one with the organization for a limited period of very tightly scheduled time. Individuals, or theaters with resident companies, might have any easier time making their artists direct engagement with the ‘net a consistent and expected thing…There is nothing magical or silo-esque about any of that. It’s hard damn work and requires constant dialogue.

I would agree, but why can’t a theater hire someone to fill a staff position and an acting role? Hire an artist in one or two roles for the season and the rest of the time that person works with the other artists, director and technicians in helping create online content. This ties into Round 2.5, in which Joseph questions why theater institutions, unions and more artists have not evolved to using social media to engage with audience members and ask artists to join the online cocktail party.

ARTISTS, I firmly believe, need to start looking at this stuff with the same level of priority they give to things like keeping their resume up-to-date and keeping on top of audition postings and agent relationships. It’s a critical part of the business and, Manda, your job will get EASIER once you have artists around you who come to YOU and say “how can I help?”. Right now, the average theatre artists’ response to technology like this is like the marketing director asking for cast headshots and hearing “oh, I don’t HAVE one of those. Is that important?” in response.

As an actor/social media specialist, I love Joseph’s thinking. I also realize the many artists stake their flag firmly in the land of the “left” brain and this “right” brain technology will not aid them in their craft and is too time consuming (Read Round 3 on this topic). I think this is why theaters that have an actor also as their social media strategist have the best of both worlds. This artist lives in both the “left” and the “right” sides of the brain. This actor can dialogue with the marketing team while at the same time understand the thought process and time commitments of the other artists. This person can help the artists create quality content using devices like flip video and iPhones to post on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. This person speaks the language of the theatrosphere and can leave meaningful comments and expound in thoughtful blog posts. They will be the ones that are equally excited at attending the Search Marketing Expo as in attending the TCG Conference. With the weekly AEA job rate at 85.2% and 55.1% of AEA members not working at all last season (I wonder what the Canada stats are), I think the opportunity for an actor to have consistent work both on and off stage would be highly welcomed.

Image by contactmcr via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license. From Manchester, England’s Contact Young Actors Company & YOU production of #follow_me.

Filed under: Acting, Social Media, Theater/Theatre, Web 2.0
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American Actor Myth Propagated

December 31, 2009 by  

Filed under: Acting, New York, Theater/Theatre
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What Can I Do To Be An Actor?

December 31, 2009 by  

Hello how are you doing?… can you tell me what I can do to be an actor??? it would be really nice! – Sandro Potenza, @Italohesse

Hi Sandro,

Thanks for sending me your question via Twitter. This is the most common question I get from aspiring actors. Each actor’s path is different, but I will try to give you some basic tips.

Your twitter profile says you are fourteen and live in Germany. The best advice would be to stay in school. While in school work hard and if you have a theater or drama club, get involved and see if acting is something you love enough to pursue in university. Once you attend university, if theater studies is something you want to major in, I would encourage you to double major with a practical degree, one that gives you job skills that can aid you in becoming a freelance artist and avoid the starving artist myth. Ideally you will want to find a freelance job that allows you to generate enough income to cover living expenses, save for retirement, and give you control over your schedule to go on auditions.

The Goethe-Institut seems like a good online resource that could help you in discovering what is going on in the Germany theater scene. You will want to begin building relationships with local theaters. I am sure some basic tenants hold true in Germany, as in the U.S., when working with a theater company. It’s always good to see some productions, to figure out if the theater’s style is something that interests you. Opening nights are always a good night to go, as there is a chance you can introduce yourself to the director and/or artistic director. If this happens, it is not a time to pitch yourself and sell them on why you think you should be in their next show. It’s simply a time to say hello and that you enjoyed their work. Be positive, polite and brief. The next step you can volunteer, or intern in the office, where you might run into the artistic director on a more causal basis. You might also get first hand knowledge about auditions. Best of luck to you.

Have any questions regarding acting or being a freelance artist?
Send me an email or a tweet, and I will answer it on the blog.

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