A Call to Performing Artists Everywhere....

By Tanya Taylor Rubenstein

Photo by Carla Frank

I just read the article in The Nation about the pandemic closing the curtains on artists. While the article makes salient points, I feel a strong need to offer a different vision for the future of artists at this difficult moment:
It's up to us to adapt and we will.

First of all, live performance will return although the paradigm will likely be completely different, at least for a while.

Hopefully, we're moving away from elite bubbles in this great turning of humanity. A wonderful outcome would be in supporting more artistic process to and for people in local communities everywhere.

Humans have been singing, dancing, making art and telling stories for as long as history exists. The impulse to create remains a human need and in some ways, this may be an opportunity to integrate that need more deeply into our lives rather than "other" it as something only for the "special."

None of that means that I don't appreciate a great Broadway show or symphony. It simply means there's always a way to navigate our energy into new paradigms.

Also, theater has existed for 2500 years in a formal sense and has made it's way through pandemics, wars and other catastrophes and always returned itself to us with new work, insight and awareness on whatever transpired.
I come from a life long background in theater and am married to a self employed musician.

My husband has had all of his upcoming gigs, film festivals and long term performance opportunities come to a screeching halt, as have all of our musician and actor friends, with the exception of one who has just booked a run of a live solo show in the fall, which she acknowledged may go away again in a flash. There's nothing easy about any of this, but there is an invitation.
When I was 35, I shifted from being a full time actor/solo performer to becoming a director, facilitator and writing coach.
At 51, I shifted again, this time from doing all of my coaching and teaching work in person (shows/live classes and events in New Mexico and in other states) to offering at least half of my work online.

Now, I'm moving all of my work online, adding a few live story circles/events per year as an option when the time feels right.
I'll direct live again, when the opportunity presents itself.

In each case, changing how I worked wasn't a personal, artistic preference. It was to adapt to how I could best make a living.

I had a daughter to raise on my own and twenty years ago I didn't have the luxury of not working or working only as a performing artist which netted me a few thousand dollars a year total.

Being creative and resilient is our super power if we allow it to be. Embracing our entrepreneurship as artists of all kinds is a long over due skill that is liberating on many levels.

Artists are more relevant to the culture than ever as we have been called to re-story this entire world. One of the upsides of being online is getting out of our artistic bubbles and expanding ourselves globally.

We've got an enormous calling to help others grieve and mourn, transform and alchemize, all of what makes us human to save the planet itself.
Our gifts are critical, not optional to the whole.

We're also wired as survivors and most of us have had to be creative to put together any kind of long term career/make a living. These skills will come into play as we all shift radically away from the old way of "business as usual."
Personally I believe that innovation will be key and the willingness to show up and create intimacy in a less than ideal format: Online.

Yes, we need better streaming and ticketing services than we have currently have with much better sound quality, access for lighting etc. The demand will make them happen.

I want to start directing solo performances for online sooner than later if this goes on longer than 2020 (which it looks like it will at this point, at least here in the States) Figuring out how to market and monetize it will simply be part of our creative work.

Also, I'm wondering about acting companies and bands quarantining together during rehearsals for live events to be filmed for online ticket buyers to purchase.

Survival of the fittest will go to the ones of us who are willing to keep showing up imperfectly and consistently. We can't be precious and I've found it's best not to judge each other as we go out on a limb and try some things that may work and others that don't.

As artists, it's key to remember, it's not about us. We can serve, inspire and heal just be being visible to others right now. The forms may or may not be our preference but there's a great opportunity to come together as a global community.

I watched the Indigo Girls live the other night and they had well over 100,000 people show up to watch them do a FB Live. I've noticed others like Melissa Ferrick and Eliza Gilkyson's Facebook Lives growing their audiences by showing up for them during this time. Amanda Palmer has led the way to monetizing her performances for a small cost (as low as 1$ a month) on Patreon for years and I noticed today that Ani DiFranco has now joined her there.

My book clients are still writing. One got an agent and another a book deal during the last two months. I'm still getting new book and business clients, as are many creative coaches I know including ones who previously did all of their teaching in person. Last week, I offered my first solo show intensive online and it worked. We didn't get to have tea together or share a hug, but she still got some work done on her script with more to come.

So, while this article is deeply saddening and sobering, don't forget, that we're only at the beginning of this story.
​
Innovation and embracing what is, as well as what tools we DO have at our disposal will be an interesting part of the unfolding.
I believe in us.

---