Do Your Art For the Joy of It
Do your art for the joy of it. Don't do it unless it brings you happiness.
It's not about the fame and fortune. Those will come or they will not.
Make up your own definition of what "making it" means and fuck the rest.
Do what makes your heart sing or skip a beat, just don't have a heart attack.
I am out of cliches, but my point is we need you and your art.
It doesn’t matter what kind of art you do as long as we can see it and you are not hiding in your bed. That makes you a "hermartist" — someone who hides and withholds his gifts from the world. Hermartists don't know better; they hide because they are scared. If that is you, know it's ok, totally ok. We can wait for you to come out and play when you are ready.
Creativity needs light, like plants need water and humans need oxygen and readers of this blog need another metaphor.
Actors and improvisers are sensitive creatures, which makes us both good at what we do and often very affected by what is going on in the world around us. And when the world gets crazy, such as with the news about these recent shootings, it can be tempting to want to give up on acting and improv altogether and think that making theater or comedy in times like these is useless.
But that isn’t true. Our art can help us feel more connected to others, and it can help others heal as well.
This past week, after the news about the shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX, I felt very hopeless. But I reached out to my like-minded friends on Facebook who reminded me that we do improv shows for all sort of reasons: community, connection and compassion. They were right.
If ever there was a time that we needed all that stuff, it is right now.
That and healing. We need healing.
People say "Laughter is the language of the Gods," and we speak that language. It doesn’t matter if you are making people laugh at your boring-ass day job or on stage in front of 100 people. The Universe is not judging how many people you make laugh. All that matters is that you shared your gift of comedy with someone else, end of conversation.
Yes, keep doing whatever brings you joy, even in dark times.
Watch Kindergarteners in a dance recital. They are not doing it for fame or fortune. They are simply doing it for the joy of it. Sadly, as they get older, they will outgrow this, and they will start to do art only when they think it is “worthwhile,” but for this brief moment, they know that performing just for fun, even if they aren’t that good at it, is the point.
My hope, for all of us, me included, is that we can bring more of that into our lives and if we do, we can affect others. Sometimes my best work goes unnoticed, like when I’m joking around with the teller at the bank or speaking gibberish with my 5-and-a-half year-old daughter while she gets ready for school.
You are more prepared than you think you are to perform. You always have been. So just trust yourself and get out there. The world needs you.
I love you, Jimmy Carrane. Thank you for being you. You inspire me to be me.
Love This, Thanks Jimmy!