About twenty years ago I discovered the artist Fred Babb's gallery in Cambria, California. I bought a poster book with the title, "Go To Your Studio and Make Stuff." http://www.fredbabbart.com
His artwork combined with pithy artistic nudges served as an inspiration for me then and continues to this day. While he has since passed on, the fact that his work continues to loom in my imagination is a testimony to why it's so important to go to your studio and make stuff!
As Agnes DeMille famously said to Martha Graham, "There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. "
Making stuff - creating content - is what an artist does. An artist should not judge its worth - rather, she must trust the deep instinct, the impulse, the inner voice and as Martha Graham said, "Keep the channel open."
As artists, we all suffer with self- doubt and wrestle with the question of whether our work is good enough. We all struggle with discipline and stamina particularly when we feel blocked. At certain points in our journey, we may even feel like giving up. Pushing through and persevering during those times is what often allows us to chisel out of stone, a great sculpture. That's why it's so important to go to your studio and make stuff! An artist's self-worth comes from the creative process. Blocking that channel is like an artistic heart attack. The blood ceases to flow through our veins and we feel creatively dead.
As a theatre educator, I strive to make my classroom a "studio" in which my students experiment and create. I believe it is the most important thing I can do to ensure the next generation of theatre makers. Let them make their stuff. As a teacher it can feel like a high wire act without a net. No concrete lesson plan or road map for this type of classroom. Rather the experience is exciting, daunting, messy, and real. The role of the teacher in this sort of environment is not to direct or fix but rather to question.
Questions force students to clearly articulate their vision and intended impact. Questions help them to shape their storytelling. A teacher needs to stay engaged through the process in order to formulate the right questions while controlling the impulse to tell them what should happen. The role of the teacher in this type of classroom is as a facilitator, mentor, or guide.
The degree to which a teacher should intervene depends of course on the group. Navigating the messy process of collaboration with teenagers can sometimes require gentle forms of conflict resolution. However, if the class has been adequately equipped and prepared by establishing rules of collaboration, conflicts can be kept to a minimum and communication can lead to problem solving.
In my opinion, this is what it means to be a theatre educator: To give your students the opportunity to go to their "studio" and make stuff, to push on and to keep the channel open. This, to me is the fulfilling work of Theatre on Purpose.
