Last night, The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga received the following San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards:
I'm am so pleasantly stunned and honored by this recognition! Thank you to all of the many collaborators and supporters who have been a part of the journey of The Four Immigrants!
Nominations for the 42nd Annual Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards were announced, and THE FOUR IMMIGRANTS is in the running for 11 categories:
Winners will be announced at the ceremony on March 26, 2018!
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of speaking at a class at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. During one portion of this talk, I gave some words of advice about making a living as an independent artist. Here they are in case they are helpful to anyone else:
1. You don't need to know everything
Artists can tend to be perfectionists, and as such, we can be very hard on ourselves when we come face-to-face with our own ignorance. We can feel this pressure that we should arrive "pre-arrived," as if there is no incubating period for coming into one's own. But this kind of thinking is counter-intuitive to the artistic process, which is often rife with not knowing. We should be curious, free, and ever in a spirit of learning. There is also much value in learning to depend on others for help. If you don't know how to make a website or manage a budget or create a production schedule, find friends or hire people who do! It's not all on you to do everything.
2. Get to know yourself
While you may not need to know everything, one thing that will help the very core of your artistry is knowing yourself. This is a lifelong journey, so I've modified the traditional "Know yourself" into "Get to know yourself." No one finishes college knowing completely who they are. And we are always evolving throughout our lifetime, so getting to know ourselves is never over. The power that comes with getting to know yourself is manyfold. You will learn what your values are. You will define success on your own terms. You will know what to say "No" to. Your voice will automatically emerge from your artistry, because your identity will be expressed without your working to make it so.
3. Think of yourself as an artist
Some people don't need this advice. They know they are artists, and always have known. But for everyone else, we often wonder if we qualify for the title "artist" (or "writer," or "dancer," or "filmmaker," etc). But at what point do you get to earn that title? When you get your degree? When you get your first commission? First production? First review? The fact is, there may always be some reason to think you aren't worthy of the title. But I think this is a classic case of "Fake it till you make it" being true. Unless you allow yourself to own the title of artist, you'll always be wondering if you're good enough, if you've made it. Think of yourself as an artist, put in the work, and one day you'll find that the title suits you just fine.
4. Think of yourself as a business
This might sound slimy, but if you want to make money with your art, you are a business. If it's any help, instead of thinking of it as selling a product, try thinking of it as meeting a need. Broadly speaking, the world needs art, music, stories. If we didn't believe that, we wouldn't be pursuing careers in the arts. So, we are here to help meet that need! I believe thinking of yourself as a business is really about protecting yourself from those who will take advantage of you. There will be people who want to take and take and take from you for free or far less than what your dignity is worth. Shoring yourself up with good business practices isn't slimy; it's self-care. Learn a bit about the legal, financial, and marketing sides of business - or find people who are good at those things and hire them to help you run your business. When those things are in order, you will be freed up to pursue your artistic whim without worry.
Over the holidays, I was honored to find out that The Four Immigrants made it onto a few "Best of 2017" Theatre Lists:
A very nice start to my 2018! And this weekend, we're heading into the recording studio to work on the cast album! More on that later!
A shorter version of this year-in-review was e-mailed to my Newsletter recipients earlier this week. I can often be hard on myself, focusing only on what else I need to achieve, and staring at task lists and check boxes in order to feel like I'm getting somewhere. I can feel like I'm falling behind or failing or not doing enough. So these kinds of reviews help me see the things that I have accomplished, and remind me to take a moment and be proud of my work.
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I want to start by acknowledging that for many of my friends and colleagues, 2017 has been a very difficult year. I know too many people who have felt the ripple effects of political policies that seem to strengthen messages of hate and bigotry, rather than freedom and diversity. Additionally, there seems to have been an onslaught of natural disasters this year that continues to this day with the Southern California Fires.
Still, in the face of these trials and traumas, I have also seen amazing creative work flourish around me. I am honored to be part of a theatre community that is committed to being bold and unrelenting in its story- and truth-telling. 2017 has also yielded much fruit for me in my writing endeavors. Here's just a snapshot of highlights by month:
JANUARY
Bad Kitty On Stage! opens at TYKEs in Rochester, NY
Conducted in-class workshops for Story Explorers
FEBRUARY
World premiere of Story Explorers at Bay Area Children's Theatre
MARCH
Invited as a Guest Speaker at UC Berkeley to discuss Story Explorers
Helped out as a "Resume Doctor" at the Theatre Bay Area Conference
APRIL
Workshop of The Four Immigrants at Playwrights Foundation
MAY
World premiere of Step Up Crew begins touring Bay Area schools
Bad Kitty On Stage! opens at the Gifford Family Theatre in Syracuse, NY
Table Reading of Song of the Nightingale at Town Hall Theatre
JUNE
Rehearsals for The Four Immigrants begins at TheatreWorks
JULY
World premiere of The Four Immigrants at TheatreWorks - my first LORT Production
AUGUST
First Table Read of Inside Out & Back Again at Bay Area Children's Theatre
SEPTEMBER
The Song of the Nightingale opens at Town Hall Theatre
OCTOBER
Taught a "Song-aturgy" class at Musical Cafe
NOVEMBER
The Four Immigrants receives the Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding World Premiere Musical
DECEMBER
Workshop for Inside Out & Back Again at Bay Area Children's Theatre
Now onward to 2018!
