There are certain reasons why acting school is not for everybody. Although I am in an intensive acting program and about to graduate (FINALLY!) in May, I must admit a certain envy for people who took a more so-called "traditional route" to college education. Despite my teachers reminding my classmates and I, quite often, how lucky we are to be in these exciting acting classes while other students at the university suffer through "boring lectures" and solve infinitely long math equations at gunpoint, I am still haunted by the possibility that the grass really is greener on the other side.
My teachers probably do have a point. I mean I wouldn't doubt that there are lots of college students sitting in classes that they hate, or studying for tedious midterms, who would love to get a degree by playing pretend instead. But look at it from my perspective. In class I have more than once thought to myself, 'I could be learning about the affects globalization on the world economy, or comparing Kant and Aristotle, or acquiring vocational skills that have the potential to earn me money some day. But I'm here instead, rolling around on the floor pretending to be an amoeba.'
Seriously though, there are a lot of great things about going to school for the arts. The best of them being that it really forces you to use your imaginative powers. And imagination is, to use an understatement, awesome. It's really what separates humans from other animals. And the more I learn about different strands of knowledge, the more I realize how similar they are, fundamentally. On the surface, one might think that scientists and artists are on completely opposite ends of the proverbial spectrum. But great scientists and artists and philosophers and doctors all rely heavily on the imagination. The ability to think beyond what is already understood, proven or accepted is essential if any new progress is to be made.
So please, whatever your career path seems to be at the moment, don't let it confine you in the rat infested hallway of narrow self definition. The deeper our knowledge in one subject the greater our understanding of reality and, therefore, of all other subjects. I really do want to know everything, and I actually think that might be possible, or at least more possible than it generally appears to be.
"Knowledge is a single point which the ignorant have multiplied." -Baha'u'llah
Posted by Nathonius at January 16, 2005 01:02 AMThe poet . . . prefers the probable impossibilities to the improbable possibilities ? Is that what you're saying to me El Nate?
Posted by: nathonius at January 23, 2005 08:04 PMEl poeta debe preferir las imposibilidades probables a las posibilidades improbables.
-Aristóteles
Yes, this subject is exactly what I've been thinking about for the past few months: that science, engineering, philosophy, and artistic expression are all the same thing.
Bravo. Bra.vo. [applause with fade out]
Posted by: nathanbe at January 18, 2005 04:03 PMI would worry too, Nathan. It's hard to really learn about Kant and Aristotle (or Library Science, for that matter) outside of the classroom -- whereas one can read about how to act like an amoeba by reading any book. In fact, I've done it many times.
Just kidding. Ha ha. Ha. That's a great post. Good to think about. I've been wondering what I should be spending my time on too, lately, especially professional (at-work) time.
Posted by: Billy at January 17, 2005 01:25 PMI think that is a good story. One thing I've noticed is that it makes some people happy to solve math problems. Myself, I enjoy long division and geometric proofs, and basically math I already know how to do...
However, I'm in school to be a tuba player, which I'll probably never make a living at. It's because people don't know how much art is necessary. I recently decided that the way the public goes ga-ga over actors and musicians can be considered a proof that they are essential to the species: traits necessary for survival and continuance are attractive, right? That's what they told me in science class, anyway.
Therefore I think people should hire artists. This way the artists are happy (unless they're the depressed kind, I suppose), and other people can have the jobs the artists are taking up now. Plus the species gets the benefit of surviving without being driven mad by the lack of arts.
There are lots of missed opportunities for hiring performing artists. Clothing stores, for instance, could have soloists playing music, instead of those recordings. Profesional sports leagues could sponsor profesional marching bands and/or improv comedy groups for half-time. The government could enlist a fleet of performers that the citizenry would be able to sign out, free of charge, for their birthday party, charitable fundraiser, romantic picnic, etc.
These are just a few of my ideas.
That is my story about your story about being in acting school is a good story. And a good idea.
Have a good day. :)
Posted by: A.M.J.P. at January 17, 2005 09:27 AMYour post reminded me of an article I read a couple years ago in this magazine called Fast Company about innovative companies. It's a consulting company that helps organizations think differently, think through problems, stuff like that. But what they do is instead of getting them together and talking, they play! I think the company may actually be called Play consulting. But they get people to think differently by acting like parts of a plane, or like electrons, or like the parts of a car. Their thinking is that when we do those things we think differently and that allows new ideas to come through. That came to me when you mentioned acting like an ameoba.
Or you could also be a freelance ameoba impersonator.