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Artistic Irresponsibility

I believe the following:

I believe it's a shame that Rhode Island hemorrhages creativity and talent because artists here feel there is limited opportunity for them to make a living--not necessarily to perform, create, etc, but to make money doing so. Now, it's difficult anywhere to make a living being an artist, but I feel like in some ways there has been a command to bring up the castle door. What I mean by that is that it seems like theaters are leaning more towards using the same people they've always used, which in an environment like this, just seems irresponsible to me. I'm not talking strictly about Rhode Island theaters, but in general. Sometimes for fun I'll go online and check out theaters in different areas to see what productions they're doing and what seems to be popular in certain areas. What I see time and again are the same actors used over and over. Now, I'm not saying that all these people don't deserve to be working consistently, but I find it hard to believe that in some of these places--and I'm talking major cities--there are only fifteen or twenty really talented people. Right now I'm working with a large group of people, and amongst them are some people that I had never met before this show or "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" which I did a few months ago. I think that's a real shame. I think we need to be conscious, especially now, of spreading the wealth in terms of creative opportunities. I know there are people who do actively seek the opportunity to work with new people and put on new work, and I applaud them. I also think, however, that sometimes there's an inclination to find a shininess in people that are non-local that puzzles me. I heard a director once talk about an actor from New York and say how happy he was that he got this particular actor--just because they were from New York. Being from anywhere doesn't necessarily make you talented. I could move to New York and move back and it wouldn't necessarily make me a better actor. So many other cities seem to be closing the doors and only using local people, and yet--here I'm distinctly talking about Rhode Island--here we tend to like to find people from outside the state. Guess what position that puts a lot of local artists in? Not a terrific one.

I find myself using the word irresponsible a lot, and maybe I shouldn't. Nobody says working in the arts is easy. Everyone agrees that, in general, it's a cruel and unfair world. That being said, I don't see why we wouldn't try to help each other through the hard time we're in and use it as an opportunity to challenge ourselves and become an actual community rather than cliques.

That's what I believe.

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