Sunday, April 2, 2017

Fighting For A Dream

Come to think of it, it's a popular theme for movies.

Basically every Disney movie ever.

And just like in those movies, it's not easy. It really is a fight. If life is a war zone, which side will you choose?

The one you believe in? Or the one you think will win?

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Living in the arts is hard. Whether you are a dancer, a painter, a singer, a musician, an actor... if you are creating art. Likely you are struggling.
I can't speak for you, so I won't try to. But here's my part of the story.

I'm kinda new to this. To the art scene. Though, growing up I drew pictures all the time, and coloring pages were a part of everyday, and dancing in my room was a frequent thing, I wrote stories, and I constantly played games which required nothing more than my imagination - and some variation on elevation. I was creative. But I didn't realize the importance of it all. And I didn't know that it could be a passion. A career.
Now I'm a theatre kid, a costumer, a dancer, an artist. Because now it's a work of passion, that I'm fighting for.
I want to do this, to do art, for the rest of my life. I want nothing else.
I don't have a back-up plan. I know I'll have hard times. I know that it won't pay well. I know what so many people think when they hear that I'm a theatre major.
I'm not naive. I'm not an idiot. I just don't want to be stuck doing something that will drain the life out of me. I want to fight for what I love. And that's art.

I don't know if I'll "succeed" or make it big. I might never be known. But I suppose that I never try then I'm destroying the possibility.
I don't know what I'll create, or even what medium I'll use. I could film something, choreograph something, write something, paint, draw, photograph. I could use wood, metal, water, words, colors, movement, sounds, or light. Or all of the above. Because why limit yourself? If you have something to share then use WHATEVER you want and/or need to use. Don't stop yourself because you think it might not be liked, or it might not turn out well, or you've never done it before. Fear is the prison of art.
Also. Just have fun. Take time to play. Your subconscious mind can be WAY smarter and more talented than your conscious mind. So let it take over. Don't stress. No time spent in art will have been wasted.
And let yourself be YOU. Don't force yourself into some mold that someone else made. Break the rules. Be you. Do you.

My way of smashing the fences, is that I'm going to audition for roles that I actually want and connect to. Instead of what I think I'll be cast as. I want to play the crazy people, the evil people, the hurting people. I want to play parts that were originally written for guys.

I need to follow where my heart is leading. Which may sound like a bad idea. It's definitely a scary one. But I don't know how to live without passion. If i were to do something else... something safer... I really wouldn't be living.

Art is my life. And I wouldn't ask for it any other way.