CMU School of Drama


Monday, February 25, 2008

The Empty Spaces

The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper: "Seven years ago, I left Seattle for New York—I abandoned the garage theaters and local arts scene and friends and colleagues—because I was a coward. I'd already tried to sell out once, by working at a shitty Wal-Mart of a tech company, but I knew I would not survive in the theater if I stayed. I fled to New York to bite and claw a living out of the American theater as an independent artist because I was young and stupid enough to think that would actually work. Today, my wife and I are one of a handful of working companies who create original work in theaters across the country. We're a very small ensemble: I am the monologuist; she is the director. We survive because we're nimble, we break rules, and when simple dumb luck happens upon us, we're ready for it."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This article provides interesting and much-needed insight on the life of actors and how regional theater companies operate. The corporate, capitalistic nature of theater that the author presents is unfortunately too much of a reality. Maybe (if we're lucky) theater companies will focus more on their actors and putting on a good show (instead of focusing on money), but given current events, this doesn't seem likely.

Anonymous said...

Most people don't realize that creative jobs are mentally exhausting. Theatre work, acting in particular, is seen as fluffy work. As if the real work these people are doing is at their day jobs. Not so.