Whenever I get tired or frustrated . . . or just need a reason to keep going . . . I close my eyes and imagine something: I see this person. She’s a bit younger then me, maybe 28 or 29. And she’s figuring it out.
She’s determined to find a way to make live performance relevant and viable (both economically and otherwise). She’s trying stuff. She’s failing. She’s modifying her approach and trying again.
Try. Fail. Modify. That’s how the breakthrough is always discovered right?
This person . . . she’s smart. And, more importantly, she isn’t burdened by the same low grade cynicism we see in our field. She knows that theatre, dance, performance isn’t dead. In a world where all of us see the downward trends, she is quietly and diligently trying to find a path that flows upstream.
I imagine that one day, I’ll be reading some online magazine and see her smiling face. She found her path. She found a model that allowed her to create art that enriched the soul, thrilled the audience and caused a dollar or two to flow her way.
I know, I know . . . it’s impossible. Art and commerce never mixes, blah, blah, blah. And most of us will still be thinking that when we see her face in the magazine. But for now, she’s plugging away at that impossibly big task.
It probably isn’t accurate to call this imaginary woman my competition, because our success isn’t mutually exclusive–we can both find our own paths. But I do know that if I’m not working as hard as she is, I’ll never get there.
So I shake off the frustration, lay down the cynical thoughts . . . and I get back to the grind.
Try. Fail. Modify. That is where the breakthrough is.
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Thanks for the inspiring scenario, Adam. I am keeping this post handy as my reminder to not give up the good fight whenever the going gets tough… not that it’s anywhere near easy as it is.