Studio4Seattle: You are a Wonder

Every Tuesday I attend a play reading group. I've been part of this group since its inaugural meeting around this time last year, and every time I go I come away with the most amazing feeling.  This group is called Studio4Seattle , and honestly it's much much more than a play reading group. It's an open forum and meeting for playwrights, directors, actors, painters, singers, musicians, and artists of all types to meet and inspire each other to be creative. It helps us stretch and grow, and above all, to not become complacent. It's an encouraging atmosphere where every person has the opportunity to have a voice and be involved, but never has to feel the pressure of having to participate.

The group changes weekly. New people come, busy people don't. But everyone seems to come back again and again as time allows, and I believe that's because we've all stumbled upon (or possibly created) something incredibly special. There's a trust to conceive new ideas that I haven't found among other groups in this city, and we're all guided by the amazing David Nail who facilitates this trust with his vision for an artist collective.

This week we read adaptations (or maybe I should say 'arrangements') of a script previously produced in Florida, but originally written in England. It is a script that can be written for any number of actors and we've taken to playing around with how the story is changed by changing the number of characters and which lines they say. This is just one of the many exercises and experiments that I have had the fortune to be a part of.

I don't know how to stress this enough, but being an actor (or any type of artist) is hard. All professions are, in their own way. But one of the struggles of an actor is to consistently find work, to be working, to be seen and heard. And sometimes it's impossible to work based on type and demand. But one thing we can all do to make things easier for ourselves, is to create our own work. But this too, can be extremely challenging. A lot of the time it's difficult to feel inspired, to give yourself permission to take the time to create, or to feel motivated to create when you feel like you don't have time. EVERYONE should find an outlet that helps them feel inspired--because it is truly the most fulfilling and motivational feeling.

I urge all artists to push themselves to create, create, create, and if you can help yourself by including yourself in groups like these--do it. Don't be afraid. Make the time. And give yourself permission.

I'm so grateful for Studio4, and for the way I get to feel every Tuesday night after speaking and working with other artists who help to motivate me. It's such a beautiful experience.

My question to you: How do you motivate yourself? How do you make time for yourself?