Dear Artists:
When was the last time you showed up to take your place in the audience?
In the Spring of 2020, we were in crisis. And by "we," I could mean everyone cause everyone was. But in this context the "we" I'm referring to specifically are playwrights and solo performers. As the pandemic descended on us all, I created Hear Me Out Monologues with my eye squarely on two goals:
- To provide a means by which the people who write plays might not lose touch with their audience during pandemic lockdown.
- To provide theater lovers and theater makers with an online community where we could be reminded of our core values.
And today, we're continuing the mission online because we found unexpected riches to be mined from this unique thing we call the Zoom Black Box Theater. For example, connections across time zones from as far as New Zealand to Alaska to London to Tel Aviv and back again have been made between writers, performers and audiences. And we've all gained a more nuanced appreciation of what it means to see and hear stories unfold in the presence of a live audience, an audience unmuted that we can see and hear.
I've personally grown as an artist, at least in part, as I've learned to value my own role as an audience member. The most powerful work I've produced as a writer or performer can be directly linked to lessons I've learned watching, listening and responding to the work of others in our Hear Me Out Black Box.
And I know this is true for so many of you.
Still, it saddens me how for some out there, old habits die hard.
There are some who only show up on nights that they themselves have work of their own to present.
The artist who shows up only to hear his own voice performed is like the human being in conversation who is silent only while waiting for his next opportunity to speak.
To be in dialogue with a community, an artist needs to want to listen -- to the audience, to other artists, to the world at large.
