Actor and the Easter Parade

First and foremost, I hope you're all having a good Easter Weekend. I'll be spending some good quality time with the family tomorrow. We have homemade cinnamon-raisin sticky-buns awaiting us. Ohhh-hohhhh boy.
 ;
Whilst I salivate, this is my most recent post. Hope it is worth the wait:

You find your path; you forge your path. You move like the Juggernaut. Your momentum swings into that laser-precision mission you call your will and out after that target you go. You bulldoze obligations, time with friends, time with family, time for yourself--you must'n't let distractions get in your way. Not even money. At almost all cost.

And then one day you come up to a high incline. Your speed slows. You try to dig as deep as you can, but you used all of that effort just getting over the last mountain. Suddenly your aim comes to a halt. The show that must go on, stops, and your competitors fly over that hill like birds over ants.

Now what?

That's exactly what I want to talk about today.

There's an interesting article that in very succinctly explains why the Intiman Theatre is cancelling the rest of their season. They were very short on their budget for this year and so started a huge fundraising campaign, of which the results were very promising and it was declared they would press on. However, after a deeper look at projected income, the fear was that only a bigger hole was being dug.

Do you feel like all that fancy digging of yours isn't getting you any closer to the surface? That's what I've been feeling lately. My return home has been successful. My pursuits have been rewarding and only the potential for more interesting adventures. However, the resources for acting are somewhat bare these days. And, many of the theaters looking for actors have already been cast. The actual cost to audition and stay informed can be very pricey. You can say I'm like the fly on the flypaper. How to break free...

Sometimes it just means you have to stop. You have to withdraw to really understand your options. It takes just as much courage to retreat as to engage. It's not easy to do; some will not understand or appreciate your reasons. In military battles, the best generals were the ones who knew when they were picking the wrong fight and moved out of harms way to better fight the enemy tomorrow.

"Why so cryptic Ben?"

Well, the past year has made me rethink much of what acting is and how I want to practice as a artist in the profession. Diversity and independence have come up repeatedly in my search. I want to have a connection both outside and within the arts domain.

This past year or so have been a gamble to jump-start a career. When it's your living on the line, the need can arise to force creative production. It can be very painful and sometimes, in my opinion, damaging to your creative psyche. Therefore, it is a new mission of mine to reduce the stress that comes with finding and producing artistic work. Apparently, sprinting has its place (you can read this if you've got some time, and an extensive physiology and biology vocabulary, or that if you'd like the digest), but remember this is a long distance affair. At some point, we all need to just stop. An artist's journey is as much about the stop-and-go, the diversions from the inspired path, as a play itself. There has been great success, but it has hindered other adult obligations that need to be addressed. Slow and steady will now win the race. That doesn't mean there won't be bold choices or lack of a determination to find other exciting options, but there will be an emphasis on providing more support to make sure I am in good stead.

I want to be in New York. The BosWash Corridor has a real appeal to me. The people I know here and the resources available are tremendous--if you are wise of the system by which they are dispersed. I want to (finally) explore the world of voice-over and commercials. The inner-writer is going to get out more often as well. A lot of actors have also encouraged me to look up opportunities as an extra. Why not. Let's spread the roots a bit.

Of course, there are many steps needed in order to put all of these in place. First, is to move closer to a major arts city. Philly and D.C. were high on my list, but New York's gravity is pulling me the hardest right now. Rest assured, those other areas (Boston included) will be getting further investigation. But home base will be New York/New Jersey for the foreseeable future.

The second is providing myself with a solid foundation to support my business as actor and writer. As I've written before, inquiries have already been made. I'm really close to making both these two points happen. So close...

So that's the next big turn. We'll get into vision and mission statements later--something that every artistic and entrepreneurial spirit should embrace. Until then, may you have many colored eggs and chocolate bunnies.

-Ben