We should take a moment to acknowledge the land on which we are gathered on. For thousands of years, this land has been the home of the Munsee Lenape people. The Lenape ancestors were those who inhabited New Jersey, Delaware, southern New York and eastern Pennsylvania at the time the Europeans came. They called themselves “Lenni-Lenape,” which literally means “Men of Men”, but is translated to mean “Original People.” The peace loving Lenni-Lenape are called the “grandfathers” or “ancient ones” by many other tribes and are considered to be among the most ancient of the Northeastern Nations, spawning many of the tribes along the northeastern seaboard. They were known as warriors and diplomats, often keeping the peace and mediating disputes between the neighboring Native Nations. Three main dialect clans, each made up of smaller independent but interrelated communities, extended from the northern part of the ancient homeland at the headwaters of the Delaware River down to the Delaware Bay. The Munsee (People of the Stony Country) lived in the north. The Unami (People Down River) and the Unalachtigo (People Who Live Near the Ocean) inhabited the central and southern areas of the homeland of the Lenni-Lenape. Today, there are three Federally recognized tribes in the United States and three recognized First Nations in Canada: Delaware Nation in Anadarko, Oklahoma, Delaware Tribe of Indians in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Bowler, Wisconsin, Munsee-Delaware Nation in the Canadian reserve near St. Thomas, Ontario, Moravian of the Thames First Nation in the Canadian reserve near Chatham-Kent, and the Delaware of Six Nations (at Six Nations of the Grand River) which are two Canadian reserves near Brantford, Ontario. The Lenape people have been stewards of this land for thousands of years and we pledge to protect and cherish the land was cultivated for centuries before us, and treat the land with respect as it is not ours. (Source: https://nanticoke-lenape.info/history.htm)
I’ve been thinking a lot about art today under these circumstances, and the cancellation of many events, performances, etc. during these times.
A professor of mine reminded me to not force any response to this pandemic and these circumstances, but rather to let the response come when it’s ready to come out. A lot of us as artists feel the need to create during these times, to CREATE some kind of art to help cope with the circumstances and to respond to the world through our artistic practice. However, in some cases (including my own), I didn’t feel particularly motivated or inspired to create, but rather to sit with what’s happening and do nothing. I had to assure myself that my choice to not force art out of me was a valid decision. Later on, I was given an assignment to create a movement piece derived from one of the four sonnets my professor gave us. Through my exploration of the sonnet through movement, I realized what I was inherently creating was in fact my response to the world around me! I didn’t force any art out of me that had to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, but rather I let the art I wanted to create incubate inside of me until it was ready to come out naturally, in this case in the form of a movement piece assignment. I want to encourage my fellow artists to not feel pressed to make something due to a certain circumstance, but rather make something because the need for it is bubbling inside of you ready to come out.
Source: tenor.com
A thing I have noticed these past couple of weeks is the outcry of grief associated with the cancelling of award shows, like the Tony’s and other ceremonies of the sort. I have seen people grieve over the fact that they are so lucky they got to perform their show for an audience, but are mourning the cancellation of their local-to-them award shows due to the lack of recognition they feel they deserve over their hard earned work. Yes, these award ceremonies are an excellent way to spread awareness of the arts while celebrating the work each and every one of the nominees and participants put into themselves and their particular production. It is quite a loss their work can’t be shared and celebrated over a public medium such as a television broadcast, even more so when in this particular season we celebrate a retirement or a conclusion of someone’s career.
However, this need for affirmation over some reward is not a healthy mindset to be in. I’ll never forget one of the first things my high school theater teacher, Mrs. Smith, taught us my freshman year of high school: “You must love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art.” What she meant by that was to be a true artist, you must not succumb to the egocentric nature art that performing can illicit, but rather let the art you create act as any form of self validation that your art is worth it and that you and your art are enough. Of course, making it to Broadway or walking on the red carpet of the Academy Awards would be an absolute dream, but if that was the only affirming goal in my career, I would be absolutely miserable doing something I love so much. I love this art so much that it even gives me the kind of anxiety you get when you care about something so much.As I get closer and closer to my own graduation, I worry about how I can sustain myself in a field that isn’t as forgiving as others. I know I’m a hard worker and I know that the art in myself is there and it’s available, but anxieties surrounding finding a job and being able to support myself as an artist has been looming over me as of late. The artists that sparked something in me as a kid made it seem so easy, that if they’re advertising artistry then of course I can be a successful artist! I found myself in a slump this year. After coming off a great year of casting in school and in summer stock, I found myself not as lucky this past year. It wasn’t until this spring semester that I got a great role in a show at school that unfortunately got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It really hasn’t hit me until now that I won’t get to share my art in that forum, especially after I discovered so much about my character that I was so excited to share with an audience. Now with the upcoming summer stock season in limbo, it has my anxiety of finding a job in this field on fire. Being a working actor is all I can ask for, but under these circumstances how can I sustain that now and later on in my career, when sometimes my field isn’t even considered “essential.” Even when disease isn’t running rampant, it takes a lot of patience, endurance, and resilience in order to find a job in any field, but especially this field. Rejections are frustrating and anxiety-infusing. Sometimes it seems that only A-List celebrities are able to sustain themselves as artists and I want more than anything to break that stereotype and stigma around being an actor. But why do we keep doing what we’re doing, even if it can seem mentally draining? It’s because we love the art in ourselves. If fame and awards (aka “ourselves in the art”) defined us, then Meryl Streep would have stopped acting years ago because she already fulfilled her goals! This is all about loving the art in YOURSELF.
Source: tenor.com
Regardless if your show or exhibit got to open this season or not, the only sort of validation you need is IN YOURSELF. You don’t need an award or even an audience to know you sure as hell put your heart and soul and every molecule in your body towards your work, and no one needs to affirm your commitment to the art, your work towards the art, but YOURSELF. We must be proud of the work we did above anything else.
