Art & Life

EXACTLY a year ago--I looked this up and couldn't believe what I found--I saw a play called "Dog Sees God," a spin-off of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts. I was so moved by the story and inspired by the great performances of these young and incredibly talented actors. I went home thinking about how much I wanted to do that. I went and saw the play again two weeks later. It wasn't long afterward that I went to Ashland and finally decided that I really needed to find my way back into performing art somehow. It was then that I found an ad on Craigslist advertising the Brody.

Tonight I got to do a short improv jam session with two of the show's actors, Joel and Lissie. I had learned a few months ago that the director of the show, Brian, was a performer at the Brody, whom I saw on regular basis--I was ignorant enough to not have read his name in the program. Brian had brought them to the Brody to jam with us. I had a great time, and felt like my theater life had come in full-circle.

Art is important. I don't think we believe that enough. We may admit it, but in the end it seems that most of us still value other things above art. As I stood before those two performers after the jam, describing to them how their show had brought me to where I am, I realized how powerful artists are. Indeed those people had changed my life. And every time you get on stage you have a chance to do exactly that. It may be one performance out of three, twelve, or a hundred that you do of one particular show, but you have no idea who's out there in the audience, and how much you can do for them simply by doing what you love and doing it well.

I have to work with people who couldn't give less shit about the opportunity given to them, people who abuse the stage and the art form because they don't care. I'm glad I'm not one of them. I'm pissed that I have to work with them. But I'm sure that if I work hard enough I won't have to run the same race with them forever.