Make Something Beautiful

Weekly wisdom to level up your creative life in 3 minutes, for free.

A SHORT STORY

With (holy) BLOOD opening tomorrow, I've been reflecting on the importance of theater, and art in general.

As an artist, I think it's crucial to continually question why our work matters.

I recently discussed this with my Italian friend Mario, who has worked as a theater artist for the past 35 years. 

He gave me a simple but profound answer.

"Making art," he said, "is about creating beauty in a chaotic world."

It takes a lot of work to make something beautiful.  But, in aiming for that excellence, we end up making a considerable impact on ourselves and hopefully our communities.

For myself, it never gets easier. But, the pursuit of excellence in building a company, a show, or whatever you pursue, is a life long lesson to constantly grow and the importance to make something that matters to you.

What matters to you? How can you pursue it with excellence? How can you make that pursuit into something beautiful? 

A CREATIVE TOOL

Throughout my life, I have come to discover that community is the most powerful creative tool in one’s practice.

With Theater Mitu, over the past 15 years, we have traveled and created work together in over 12 countries. They have seen me at my highs and lows - held me while I cried in the middle of a rainy street in Tokyo to sharing endless amounts of food and laughter in the tucked away corners of the world. They have also pushed me beyond the boundaries of what I thought I was capable as an artist. The evolution of my artistic practice is largely due to these incredible humans. Simply put, I am made of them.

Who is your community that surrounds your creativity?

If you want to expand your creative practice, stay tuned in the coming weeks where I’ll share some other ways you can join my other communities around creativity, as well!

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A PIECE OF ART

“Good Bones” by Maggie Smith

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I've shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.

Grateful,

Michael