A little manifesto on putting it out there

In my time in a saturated, overstimulated market, I've made some valuable discoveries:

1. There is no excuse for mediocre work. The resources exist to always achieve excellence-- It can be an excellent failure, but an attempt to grasp for brilliance should be present.

2. Making work because there is a vision of its necessity or adventure or truthfulness of the times will create the opportunity for excellence. "Exposure" is no reason to put art in the world. It's self-indulgent and creates the glut of horrible theatre that erodes audience faith and attendance. Continuing to achieve excellence is what creates opportunity for exposure.

3. The work should provide something that doesn't already exist-- a greater purpose than "it's mine and that's what's been missing from the scene" must be attempted. Loving the material isn't enough-- knowing what it's doing in the world at this moment in time is necessary.

4. In a saturated market, there are so many wonderful companies doing wonderful work-- it's necessary to know who and what have come before. If there's a company already doing what an indivdual desires to do, create a connection. Let them be the conduit. Bring your excellence to theirs and see what energy flies.

5. The potential for change always exists. Asking how can I do this differently? (be it style, content, audience development, artist recruitment, financing) is crucial in an overstimulated environment. It's the only way to cause change and also requires the knowledge of #4.

6. Risk is scary. That's why it's called risk. BUT, risk is the only way to learn and expand limitations, stretch boundaries and engage in ways that you've only imagined. Risk is also hard. It takes a lot more hours of work than comfort, and you may find yourself doing a lot more than you bargained for.

7. Vision doesn't always get achieved the way you expect or the way that's been proven before. Allowing the knowledge of what's come before, the awareness of what is and the quest for change to inform process will open up pathways that didn't previously exist. Traditional routes will probably no longer apply or be helpful in the achievement of vision. But that's why it's vision.