Life in the Arts

As we all know, the arts is never an easy path to follow in life. Expenses, time, commitment, all these factor into the difficulty artist’s face on a daily basis. It’s not a life for everyone; some people drop out to peruse other things. I almost fell down that path myself.  Thinking if it was worth it to follow my dreams of being an actor or producer or to even work in theatre. I’ve thought about doing other things as well, I wanted to be a social worker or a vet. None of those felt right to me. Studying these things I actually had no interest in doing. I fell out of my own mind set for awhile. I started looking at careers that I could make a solid living on, granted these paths would also lead me to helping others. I find theatre can do just that though, it can help others. Being a part of the Advisory Board for Paprika Festival, you get to meet with professionals and find out about how they got to where they are their struggles and challenges along the way. The opportunity to talk to established producers, writers and all the rest gave me new insight into the world of theatre. We all face struggles, we all find ourselves in hard times, and we all question if this path is the right one for us. With theatre, it’s such a community full of support and friendships you can’t do without. This support we all have and give to one and other, this strength we get from our co-workers and fellow lovers of this art makes the journey easier, but it doesn’t get you all the way there. If this is the path you want to do, something you know somewhere in your body it’s the right thing, you have to get through those times in order to reach your dreams. Learning from these established artists, you realize that if you want it, and you dream it, you can get it. You can see the joy in the faces of these artists who just love where they are right now, and that always gives me hope. As for me, ending my first year of Theatre School, I finally realize this. Though I am switching into a different program, my dream is that it will one day lead me back onto the stage or in the office producing new, or old, great works to be performed for the masses. The arts will never be an easy path to follow in life, but when you take that leap and you feel so right with what you’re doing, it brings a whole new definition to the word Love.