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Monday, February 21, 2022
Choreographer Mark Morris on what it means to be an artist today: ’Everything’s terrible right now’
The Washington Post: Theaters are open, tickets are selling, dancers and singers and actors and musicians are back at work … the pandemic’s clampdown on the performing arts is behind us, right? Right?
When reading this article, I appreciated how real the person being interviewed is while explaining what it is like to make art in the aftermath of the height of the pandemic. The artists explained that he “never stopped” choreographing even when everyone was on zoom because he accepted that “this is life now” and we must adapt to do the things we love even if we hate being online. Something I find interesting is that the author highlighted how even though Morris is now back in person, the full company is never there because either someone tests positive or their child was in close contact, etc. This is an interesting fact that affecting all entertainment industries because this pandemic is everywhere and there is no way to avoid it. As a stage manager in the theatre industry, this is a concept I have had to get more comfortable with as at any moment, there is a greater chance someone will have to miss rehearsal. This also brings up how important understudies/standbys/swings are in any production because they are the safety net that will keep the show from being cancelled. However, with those positions comes more people in the rehearsal space and therefore more of a close contact risk, so it’s a tipping scale.
This article is certainly a refreshing take from a sea of inspirational pieces on the recovery of the arts. Trying to be a professional in an industry that has taken a major hit, one no one knows the scale of in the long term, is scary, frustrating, and difficult. It’s good to read this and know there are other people who have trouble reconciling gratitude and anger in this present moment. However, I did find parts of this article hopeful even so. Uncertainty is a fundamental piece of a career in the arts, in and out of a pandemic. No one has asked for or earned the emotional toll that creating art during a global event that destroys the production of art has, but we do it anyway. Morrison is disillusioned and upset, but one thing he doesn’t do is sing of the perfect future yet to come. His edict uplifts as much as it depresses: This is life now.
This unfortunately rings very true. Planning shows post-pandemic always feels very volatile, like maybe the show won't end up happening. I find it interesting that the dancers have such a consistent work schedule regarding COVID, what with them getting tested for COVID every day. It's definitely surprising to hear that dancers who tested positive were sent home, whereas all the other dancers stayed. I think it mostly just surprised me given how differently our close-contact system works here at CMU. In any case, I'm glad to hear professionals admit that we're not exactly at business-as-usual yet. The more we can all admit to each other that something odd is going on, I think the better off the industry will be. After all, we're all going through the same time with the same concerns, so to be able to talk about it openly and honestly can really support the community (especially those who are about to enter the industry at such an uncertain time).
As much as it is important to have conversations about the toll COVID has had in the industry, I found the article incredibly negative. I understand that it really can still feel like the world is caving in and that looking back at the beginning of the pandemic can be downright terrifying, but I also don’t think it is in our collective best interest to only talk about how awful life is and how close to death we all are. Ironically like Mark said himself, this is life, and it doesn’t stop because of the pandemic. On another note, I do think it is important to respect people’s boundaries about the pandemic (though also in general, but specifically relating to the article). It may sound silly how it feels like the logic of measurements or people’s preferences or even your own preferences don’t necessarily line up, but the best we can do right now is listen and respect them.
This article did not go in the direction that I had expected from the headline. First of all, I did not think that it would be about covid, but more about how the industry is changing. Especially with the cover photo being an older man, I thought it would be more about what he has experienced through generations in the industry. Learning about Mark Morris as a dance coach, this article felt very childish and obvious. Well of course in-person art has changed because of Covid!! Am I missing something? The negativity in the article was unnecessary and Morris complaining about how Covid has affected in person art feels over a year too late to the party bus. There was nothing constructive in this article about how to adapt or persevere through this situation. I honestly thought it was gonna discuss art as a whole in our society but being about one man's dance company was not that interesting.
Do you think everyone in feels the same way we feel about the job market right now for theatre people? Like do you think everyone's just as nervous about what they're going to do in 10 years if covid doesn't go away? If it's hard here in school, and it's hard out there in the "real world" then what can we grow into to find any solace in our lives? When is life going to be easier? Everyone who's talking about jobs back home is working over time trying to make more money, picking up all the jobs people quit so they could have a more sustainable life. That's great when I think about being able to have a job but it's sad to think we lost all of the people who would've been in our lives if theatre wasn't so volatile right now. It's hard not to care about what we love.
6 comments:
When reading this article, I appreciated how real the person being interviewed is while explaining what it is like to make art in the aftermath of the height of the pandemic. The artists explained that he “never stopped” choreographing even when everyone was on zoom because he accepted that “this is life now” and we must adapt to do the things we love even if we hate being online. Something I find interesting is that the author highlighted how even though Morris is now back in person, the full company is never there because either someone tests positive or their child was in close contact, etc. This is an interesting fact that affecting all entertainment industries because this pandemic is everywhere and there is no way to avoid it. As a stage manager in the theatre industry, this is a concept I have had to get more comfortable with as at any moment, there is a greater chance someone will have to miss rehearsal. This also brings up how important understudies/standbys/swings are in any production because they are the safety net that will keep the show from being cancelled. However, with those positions comes more people in the rehearsal space and therefore more of a close contact risk, so it’s a tipping scale.
This article is certainly a refreshing take from a sea of inspirational pieces on the recovery of the arts. Trying to be a professional in an industry that has taken a major hit, one no one knows the scale of in the long term, is scary, frustrating, and difficult. It’s good to read this and know there are other people who have trouble reconciling gratitude and anger in this present moment. However, I did find parts of this article hopeful even so. Uncertainty is a fundamental piece of a career in the arts, in and out of a pandemic. No one has asked for or earned the emotional toll that creating art during a global event that destroys the production of art has, but we do it anyway. Morrison is disillusioned and upset, but one thing he doesn’t do is sing of the perfect future yet to come. His edict uplifts as much as it depresses: This is life now.
This unfortunately rings very true. Planning shows post-pandemic always feels very volatile, like maybe the show won't end up happening. I find it interesting that the dancers have such a consistent work schedule regarding COVID, what with them getting tested for COVID every day. It's definitely surprising to hear that dancers who tested positive were sent home, whereas all the other dancers stayed. I think it mostly just surprised me given how differently our close-contact system works here at CMU. In any case, I'm glad to hear professionals admit that we're not exactly at business-as-usual yet. The more we can all admit to each other that something odd is going on, I think the better off the industry will be. After all, we're all going through the same time with the same concerns, so to be able to talk about it openly and honestly can really support the community (especially those who are about to enter the industry at such an uncertain time).
As much as it is important to have conversations about the toll COVID has had in the industry, I found the article incredibly negative. I understand that it really can still feel like the world is caving in and that looking back at the beginning of the pandemic can be downright terrifying, but I also don’t think it is in our collective best interest to only talk about how awful life is and how close to death we all are. Ironically like Mark said himself, this is life, and it doesn’t stop because of the pandemic. On another note, I do think it is important to respect people’s boundaries about the pandemic (though also in general, but specifically relating to the article). It may sound silly how it feels like the logic of measurements or people’s preferences or even your own preferences don’t necessarily line up, but the best we can do right now is listen and respect them.
This article did not go in the direction that I had expected from the headline. First of all, I did not think that it would be about covid, but more about how the industry is changing. Especially with the cover photo being an older man, I thought it would be more about what he has experienced through generations in the industry. Learning about Mark Morris as a dance coach, this article felt very childish and obvious. Well of course in-person art has changed because of Covid!! Am I missing something? The negativity in the article was unnecessary and Morris complaining about how Covid has affected in person art feels over a year too late to the party bus. There was nothing constructive in this article about how to adapt or persevere through this situation. I honestly thought it was gonna discuss art as a whole in our society but being about one man's dance company was not that interesting.
Do you think everyone in feels the same way we feel about the job market right now for theatre people? Like do you think everyone's just as nervous about what they're going to do in 10 years if covid doesn't go away? If it's hard here in school, and it's hard out there in the "real world" then what can we grow into to find any solace in our lives? When is life going to be easier? Everyone who's talking about jobs back home is working over time trying to make more money, picking up all the jobs people quit so they could have a more sustainable life. That's great when I think about being able to have a job but it's sad to think we lost all of the people who would've been in our lives if theatre wasn't so volatile right now. It's hard not to care about what we love.
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