An artist’s process is a personal exploration into how they best create the things they want to bring into the world. I have lots of thoughts on magic theory and why we do the things we do, but it’s important to me that most of those ideas have come out of practical performance and show creation.

As we get into the winter of 2021 and in-person shows remain infrequent, it’s a good time to look forward to the show(s) for next year I’d like to produce.

For me, that creative process almost always begins with goals. As I plan out the show, having clearly defined goals that are (mostly) within my control is my way of making sure I’m moving in the right direction.

Goals can be personal, professional, creative, artistic, financial, or anything else that’s important to you at this point in your life. Usually I try to limit myself to 3 or 4, but it always starts with brainstorming a whole bunch. Then I can weight them against each other and against the type of show I’m making to see what fits. For now, here’s what comes to mind:

GOALS

  • Design a show with minimal physical overhead that still feels like the space is curated, immersive, and unique
  • Create a recurring show that brings in (net) $500 per week
  • Feature a majority of my original material throughout the show
  • Plan a more thoughtful promotion and documentation approach in tandem with the performance itself
  • Develop my regular collaborative team
  • Make a show that communicates who I am and what I believe WITHOUT being an autobiographical show “about me.”

I’m going to let those goals marinate for a little bit to see what continues to be important or if others arise. Generally, the sense I’m getting from a lot of these goals touch on “sustainability” of a performing arts career (regular financial income, establishing systems that can translate across projects, etc.)

DISCLAIMER: As we move through the different steps in my process, the fact that it’s written might make it seem more linear or organized than it is. I’m organizing a bit more than I would normally to make it readable while still maintaining the integrity of the process.

To not dismiss the important fluid nature of the process, I’m going to include some sort of “random ideas” section at the end of each post that mentions some of the thoughts that popped up outside of the main topic. Like this:

RANDOM IDEAS:

  • Working through my process in real time reminded me of shows I developed before this process was more established. I’m curious about how I might approach those shows with my current views, so maybe I’ll revisit the Themes of: Storytelling, Puzzles, Heist, or Games.
    • As I was quickly revisiting past themes, the Heist concept show I did seemed like it had the audience appeal and a lot of the inherent assets that would logistically check off a few of my goals. Perhaps that will be the one to start with!
  • On the financial viability front, I should perhaps include a section (read: Rabbit Hole) on my budgeting template for shows over time to work through the financials of staging a theatrical endeavor.