In our broken economy, sometimes the necessities become the hardest things to obtain. A week ago, musician from the bands MEN and La Tigre wrote a column for the Huffington Post titled, I love my job, but it made me poorer.
Click the link to read the article. It’s a great read, but as an Artist I found it to be eye opening, unsettling, and disheartening.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, I was sent an event request that was asking for Art donations to present a benefit. The benefit is to raise money for an Artist’s funeral. The Artist, David Lastra, was one of the first people to help build the cool Empire Seven Studios on 7th Street in San Jose. The benefit will be held at the Studios on Saturday, October 15. Stop by and pick up some great Art for a great cause.
With these things in my consciousness, I am grateful for the job that I do have currently, even if it is well outside my comfort zone. I appreciate the flexibility that it offers and the support that the company has for the Arts. But my heart is completely in the Arts.
I have this grand wish to be able to support myself somehow by working in the field that I adore, but I worry so much that following a dream is more of a luxury rather than an option. It seems that as the classes divide, only those with the money will be afforded the option of dreaming.
As sad as it may seem though, I have always felt that money was an important part of it. I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve sent out to dance studios and acting companies to find out if they have any sort of scholarship opportunities for people in the same boat as me. The only company that responded with any sort of information was Zohar Dance Studio, for which I will FOREVER be thankful.
But, seriously, how does one pursue their passion if they don’t have the means? I had even sent an email to a columnist at Backstage magazine and got absolutely no response. Not many places want to talk about money. I understand that show business is exactly that, a business, but what do we do when talented people are to broke to carry on and all we have left are the rich pretty people that are more like puppets than Artists?
I appreciate what the “Occupy” protests are doing, because it’s an attempt to level the playing field. I would love to join them, but I have to work to be able to keep a roof over my head.
How are you handling this insane time in the economy? Are you finding it difficult to chase your dreams? Leave me a comment at the bottom of the screen. Tell me how you feel, dialogue is a good thing.
The Actorvist 