Working Artists

Dear Readers,

I have been in a tenuous position over the past few months; my day job and employer was unable to make payroll in December and I was subsequently out of work. All the stories of unemployment and hardship that have filled the news hit very close to me. I was, however, one of the lucky ones and started a new job at the end of February and, as you may have noticed, been lax in my blogging since then. For as much as I try to look at myself as a theatre artist first and take little identity from my day job, the income it provides is what funds and sustains my quest to be that artist.

As was mentioned in a entry in February, it is exhausting trying to support yourself and pursue theatre as a passion and hobby. But when you ability to sustain yourself is threatened, you have to make a choice. Which is more important.

Sometimes it is just getting by day to day that comes to the forefront. But sometimes it is the theatre and the arts, the ability to transcend, that gets us through the hard times. It provides meaning to the chaos. The ability to look at yourself as part of a bigger picture; as a single role in a play about a multitude of characters. I am very thankful for that spirit to have carried me through my unemployment.

However, there was that transitory period back into the working world. Unfortunately for me that coincided with one of the most grueling audition processes I've been a part of. When I got home late, late at night there just wasn't any energy left to sit down and write more about theatre. Perhaps stories from those auditions will one day make it into this blog as a humorous anecdote, but it was just too much at that time and I fell into bed exhausted.

But we're back now and ready to discuss the necessity of theatre once again. As it helped me through my joblessness, I hope that the theatre will be an outlet for others in these hard times. Join in the discussion here and really show how theatre helps us transcend our everyday lives and reach out and connect to one another.

Next week we celebrate the one year anniversary of this blog. Let's think back to all of the things that have happened and changed over the past year. What role does theatre play in that part of our lives and how has it helped us, changed us, and affected us?

Cheers,
Ghostlight Chicago