Don’t Give Up Now. The Theater Needs You
Anthony J. Piccione
If you’ve ever spent any time trying to achieve your biggest goals and dreams in theatre, I’m sure that somewhere along the way – if you’re anything like the majority of us – there was a point where you privately questioned whether you were cut out for this, and where you thought about just giving up. Any of us who’ve ever had a dream – and have tried hard at making it come true – have felt that way at one point or another.
Given how many ambitious and passionate artists are out there who may be reading this, I’m aware there could be at least a few of you out there who may have thought about giving up on those dreams recently, or perhaps who are still thinking about it now. To those people, my simple message to you is this:
Don’t.
You might think now that you don’t have what it takes to succeed. Perhaps you’re just worried about the possibility of failure. However, the only real way that failure is ever guaranteed is if you stop trying. If you want something badly, and you love doing what you do, then there’s no reason now for you to give up on it.
I don’t presume to know each and every one of you reading this, nor do I know each of your individual talents or what you’ve been through in life.
I do know this, however: If you’re in theatre, there’s probably a very good reason you are here. I’ve been involved in theatre now since I was a teenager, and I’d like to think that at this point, I’ve seen enough to know that much.
Nobody comes into this community of artists by mistake. It’s no coincidence that you ended up being a “theatre person”. If there was some sort of talent or passion that brought you here, then chances are, that right there is a good reason for you to keep going, keep working hard, keep getting better at it, and keep proving anyone who may have doubted you wrong. You should never, ever doubt that.
There might be people who tell you otherwise. There might be a voice somewhere in the back of your head that’s telling you otherwise. No matter who or what it is, don’t listen to it. The great part about theatre is that there’s something for all artists – regardless as of what sort of talent they have – and so if there’s something in theatre you want to do and something you want to achieve, then you ought to keep pursuing it…and then, just wait and see where it takes you.
Yeah, maybe you had a bad day. Or maybe a bad week. Or maybe you’ve had a bad year or two, even. Yeah, it sucks, but as cliché, as it might sound: Life DOES get better, and when it does, it will have been worth going through all you’ve been through. I can guarantee you that you have a great reason to be here - whether it’s to be an actor, a playwright, a director, a stage manager, a technician, a designer, a dramaturge, the list goes on and on – and that we need you, your talent and your passion for the arts, now more than ever.
Keep going. Don’t give up now. We need you.
Photo: Tex-Arts