Where are we now?
Dear Multi-Hyphenate,
Theatre makers - where are we now?
Let’s take a breath together. We’re most likely behind our phones or computer, wearing an old college sweatshirt that still *fits* while Drag Race is playing in the background for the ninth time, and we’re shifting anxiously in our seats because we can’t find that one specific word to make the sentence we wrote feel more… impactful.
Okay maybe that’s where I’m at.
But now that I was a fearless volunteer, check in with yourself. How are you feeling? What are you doing? What’s your new normal?
I’m speaking solely from the point of view of creating art and feel free to tell me if I’m wearing rose colored glasses, but I think we’re in a good place. A terrible, challenging, difficult place - but still good. As we are all learning to be the best multi-hyphenates we can be, we’re operating at light speed to figure out how to function in an almost completely virtual world. Pat yourself on the back - you’re probably picking up skills that you never thought you would have tried before the Quarantine. And why not, right?
Think about when your grandkids ask you when you picked up the kazoo, or Google Sheets, or started your award winning blog. You get to say, “Well, it all started in the Great Quarantine of 2020. Trump had just lost the election - and I? Well, I was just a young thing…”
Okay, I definitely pictured myself saying this in a bonnet, churning butter. But you get the picture. I was speaking with Tony Winner Alice Ripley who made these thoughts a little more concrete. “Pick one thing you’re really bad at,” she said, “And just… practice.”
Honestly, it’s really that simple. There are thousands of guides on YouTube alone that can answer your specific questions on how to work Photoshop, or access YouTube, or control Zoom better. Ask and you shall receive - or in this case, research and you shall receive.
As of right now, the industry has been shut down for eight months. Even if you’ve moved out of the city, you can still create. Life has shifted and so have our stories. Tell them. Write them. Get on Zoom with your best friends and share them. Act them out to your little cousins cousins. It’s like going to the gym, right? Getting ready to go is tough, but when you’re there it ain’t so bad. And if you work out at Planet Fitness like I do - sometimes there’s pizza, but there’s always Tootsie Rolls.
I can almost guarantee you that by doing one thing for your career everyday (that’s 365 things in a year!) will get you 365 Tootsie Rolls. Figurative Tootsie Rolls, but - again - you get the picture. I’m all about super relatable imagery.
So, where are we now? Well, by reading this *hopefully* inspiring blog post, congratulations! You’ve done one thing for your career today. And sometimes it’s as small as that - and sometimes it’s as big as getting your headshots done, or revamping your website, or producing a Zoom play.
Be kind to yourself and breathe. You’re going to make it just fine.
xo
Michael, the Multi-Hyphenate