A few weeks ago, a singer wanted to talk about something that had been worrying her. She had been offered a contract to perform—the first in well over a year—but it paid poorly (a few hundred dollars) and required a significant time commitment and extensive travel. Despite her excitement at the thought of a professional
Topic: Ethics
Vulnerability and the wholehearted artist
We talk a great deal about vulnerability in the performing arts. Conduct an online search for the word ‘vulnerability’ within your artistic field, and countless articles, essays, blog posts, interviews, and critical reviews appear that mention the importance of this open quality to the artist and to artistic excellence, conveying a common principle: that a
The Things That Influence Us, part 2: The stories we tell–Suffer for your Art!
This is part 2 in a three-part series about some of the things that influence how we think about ourselves and what we do in the arts. If you are interested in reading part 1, it can be found on the Ethics tab, titled “The Things that Influence Us: Our Market Society” Stories are powerful.
The Technical Virtue
Vocal technique isn’t moral.[1] When you first think about it, this statement probably sounds ridiculous. Of course technique isn’t moral! How you sing a high note may be aesthetically pleasing or off-putting, or it might be harder for you to do than the soprano next to you, but how you make that high C come out
“If you think you might want to do anything else in your life, don’t pursue a career in the arts.”
“If you think you might want to do anything else in your life, don’t pursue a career in the arts.” Chances are that you have heard this phrase or some version of it at some point in your life if you are a performing artist or a student in the arts, and you may have
The Things That Influence Us, part 1: Our Market Society
This post is the first in a three-part series that addresses some of the big factors that influence the arts yet are mostly ignored in public discourse. I’d love to hear what you think as we hopefully consider changing how we do what we do, so please comment with your thoughts! In this first essay