There's nothing like seeing some good art to reignite the fire. It's been pretty gloomy rainy weather here in NYC the past few days which always affects me more than I wish it would. Anyway this evening I had the pleasure of attending a talk at the CUNY Graduate Center by playwright, Lucy Thurber, and members of the playwriting collective, 13P. Lucy talked about her upcoming play, Monstrosity, and about the process and structure of 13P, which I think is truly an inspirational model for future theater making. In talking about its genesis, she said something like- We make things to do them so let's just do them instead of waiting for someone to tell us we can- My sentiments exactly! Granted, they started as a company of mid-career playwrights, many of whom already had considerable success, but I think their message rings true even for artists just starting out. There is strength in numbers and in using your peer group as your foundation. I recently had a great discussion with a friend who is also making her forays into solo performance and is hoping to bring together a diverse group of solo artists to share their work on a regular basis and I am very eager to use this collective model to our benefit.
My next stop was Rockwood Music Hall to hear Ann Courtney and the Late Bloomers. I know, two events on a Wednesday- am I rocking out the weekdays or what? I don't go see music enough and when I see something this good-- the kind of music that just transports you and makes you feel happy and free-- I am reminded why I am an artist. So check out all this awesomeness!
