A certain cavegirl reminded me of a long article in The Atlantic by William Deresiewicz charting the evolution of “the artist.” I first read it a couple years ago, but it remains quite relevant in 2017 — perhaps more so. It delves into what it means to be “a creative” in the world today and even touches on the commodification of “being creative.” Commodification isn’t the only concept in the article that triggered memories of my…
I meant to post this earlier, but life keeps on getting in the way. Or maybe it’s bills to pay, and I’m not as clever as Max Bialystock at how to pay them. As has been reported in the Washington Post, AP, Variety, and elsewhere, Jerome Silberman aka Gene Wilder passed away last month, on Sunday, August 29th. He was 83. 2016 has proven to be lethal to the cultural icons many of my generation…
Why am I an actor? Because being paid to play ain’t a bad way to go. I actually started acting somewhat by accident. In high school, I had been recruited by the school’s drama department to help out with productions backstage — based on my obvious qualification of hanging out downstairs between classes where the theater was located. During a production of The Man who Came to Dinner, the actor playing Mr. Baker was a no-show. Since…