I am an Artist. I am a student studying to be an actor. I use my imagination and creativity to become characters. I'm training my voice and body to transform into a character. When I tell people what I'm studying, most of the general reaction is "Oh really? That must be fun..." followed by an awkward 10 seconds of silence, continuing with them saying "So what's your backup plan?" Honestly, I don't have a "backup" plan. I can't imagine myself doing anything else but performing in front of people, making them laugh and cry, having an entire audience mesmerized. That is a feeling an artist never forgets. It's a simple fact of making a difference in people's lives.
Recently there has been much talk over Twitter and Facebook regarding a tee shirt manufactured by Old Navy that reads "I am an Artist President" or " I am an ArtistAstronaut". Many people in the arts community are outraged because it is discouraging young people from a profession in the arts.
A company spokesperson, Debbie Felix, has released a statement "At Old Navy we take our responsibility to our customers seriously. We would never intentionally offend anyone, and we are sorry if that has been the case. Our toddler tees come in a variety of designs including tees that feature ballerinas, unicorns, trucks and dinosaurs and include phrases like, "Free Spirit." They are meant to appeal to a wide range of aspirations. With this particular tee, as a result of customer feedback, we have decided to discontinue the design and will work to remove the item from our stores."
In fact, the theatre has been making the headlines on social media quite frequently this past year. Mostly because of the use of cell phones in theatres during a show. Actors including Patti Lupone, Hugh Jackman, and Benedict Cumberbatch have stopped shows to reprimand the audience, or spoken out about cell phone etiquette. Broadway made headlines again when an audience member came up on stage to try to charge their phone in a fake outlet on the set of "Hand To God".
Another topic that has been brought center stage (no pun intended), has been bootleg recordings of plays and musicals. In this particular situation, concerts are a harder more broad topic holding a variety of sets of etiquette. Most concerts of popular music artist (Pop, Rock, Country etc.), are held in venues like arenas and stadiums. They hold a different standard of etiquette where filming is more socially acceptable. However, formal concerts held in places such as Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center hold the same standards as the
Finding these posts made me realize how much arts are being discouraged to young students. All of this can be helped with arts education starting in primary schools. Sadly, funding for the arts in many public schools is being cut significantly. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) programs are being supported more because they are the jobs of the future. I'm not disagreeing with the fact that those fields are important, nor am I saying they shouldn't be funded because our world wouldn't function or grow without them, but the arts impact the world too. Sadly due to the growing trend of cutting arts programs, many children won't grow up with the same projects and assignments I did. They won't experience the fun of building models of penguin habitats or building nearly life-size models of owls.
Growing up in a community that loved the arts, I was lucky and had a lot more opportunities to use the arts as an outlet, but when it came down to approving the budget for the schools, the arts programs were always on the top of the cut list. The arts not only give people a creative outlet but also teach them important life skills. It has been shown that arts education not only boosts the self-esteem of children, but it also gives students skills that will help them in every job and field. It teaches them how to speak, it gives them confidence while speaking, it calms anxiety, and boosts memory. All of these skills are vastly important to have in life. Some of my fondest memories of elementary school are of being in arts-related activities.
Arts education not only teaches kids painting, drawing, sculpting, singing, playing an instrument, acting, dancing, speech, and literature, to name a few, but it also teaches etiquette. The proper way to behave while at a concert, musical or play, and even a movie and museum. With the growing use of multimedia in theatre and as an art form itself, the use of cellphones as a prop, and most importantly the growing use or dare I say dependency on technology in general, it is making it harder to stop people from using their phones during a performance. As a person highly dependent on her smartphone, I too sometimes do not want to shut off my phone during a performance. However, as an artist in respect to the performers, I turn it off, not on vibrate, and stick it at the bottom of my bag where I won't be distracted or disrespectful to the artists at work.
Being a performer myself I find it very distracting when I hear a phone go off in the audience. I also feel as though they don't really care about the work my cast mates and I have put into the piece. What most people don't realize is how much work goes into putting on a show, concert, exhibition, and gallery showing. Hours of artists heart and soul, blood, sweat, and tears, go into their work and it should be appreciated and respected.
Here are five tips to follow to be respectful theatre, movie, concert, and museum goers.
1. Shut off your electronic devices.
When you are at a theatre performance, movie, and formal concert just shut them off and put them away. This means no phones ringing, no texting, no screens lit up. It's distracting to the people around you and the performers. If you are at a museum, put your phone on silent or vibrate.
2. Respect the artists.
All art, whether it is fine art or performing art, takes strong dedication, energy, effort, and love. Respect what the artists put into their work whether or not you agree with their statement.
3. Respect the space and the people around you.
Believe it or not, you are not the only person in the world. Shocking I know, but if you are in a public place don't be disruptive. If you have to cough or sneeze cover your mouth and nose, don't make a big deal about it. If you have a cough drop, please don't unwrap it in the middle of show and please eat a meal beforehand. Theatres and museums are not restaurants. This also means don't talk during shows, sing along during musicals (however tempting it may be) unless prompted by an actor to do so, or don't talk at obnoxiously loud volumes in public places. Nobody outside of your group wants to hear everything you're talking about across the room.
4. No Selfie Sticks.
Just don't. They are distracting, and in museums, they are downright dangerous to you, other people and the art. Like I said before, respect the artists, the space and the people around you.
5. Dress appropriately.
Now I'm not saying that a night at the theatre you have to show up in a ballgown or tux, but dress accordingly. Look nice, not like you just came from the beach.
Remember that we are so lucky to have these creative forms of entertainment, they are privileges, not rights. Follow your dreams, whatever they are, and as Walt Disney taught me "All our dream come true if we have the courage to pursue them."
I am an Artist. I am lucky to have a creative way to express myself and a place to do so. I have no backup plan, I will do what I need to do in order to pay my bills and survive, but that does not mean that I have given up on my dream. I have my education in the arts to thank for where I am now, and I will continue to be a strong advocate for arts education. I know that it's a highly competitive field and yes I am receiving proper training of my art. No, I am not getting a degree in the arts to become a waitress or bartender. I love the moment of silence after a show ends, and the moment I realized that I affected another person's life in a positive way. I can't imagine myself doing anything else in the world. I am an Artist.
