Carrie Chalfant

My experiences as a leader and artist fit well into the future I imagine for myself. My long-term goal is becoming the artistic director of a theatre company. I believe that as director of a theater, I could find solutions to problems that I have noticed in other theaters. I could prioritize experimental art, provide fresh opportunities for youth theatre, and implement healthy practices like theatrical ratings and charitably-committed productions. To be an artistic director and to be qualified to handle the business matters behind the ideas, I will need more experience in various theatrical fields. The three paths I see as being most successful for this goal, and for which I have most actively planned, are directing, producing, and playwriting.

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For all three of these paths but especially directing, in order to become more informed about the larger picture of the theatrical process, I have striven to diversify my experiences. I have taken lab courses with costumers and lighting designers, learned how to use set design software, stage-managed three shows, participated on run crew, spent time understanding the basics of sound and graphics in a marketing class, performed in many shows with an improvisational comedy troupe, and acted in two productions. On my show Little Fishmaid, I chose props, helped design lighting, designed sound, and was a co-costumer; I plan to fill the same roles with my next production, Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance, in spring 2017. Most artistic directors of theaters have directed individual shows, and most directors know something about every part of the process that puts a show on stage. Thus, a variety of experiences on both the artistic and technical sides of theatre have made me a more capable artist. I will continue to seek out varied opportunities in the future.

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Little Fishmaid taught me the importance of producers in theatre. Like any entertainment field, it is crucial for a theater to have producers who firmly grasp how to advertise theatrical pieces, how artists are hired or what they are paid, and how money is generally allocated in a theater. As an artist about to enter the realm of professional life, learning more about producing and how to best manage the art could be an important next step in becoming a contributing member of the artistic community. I produced Little Fishmaid using my writing and budgeting skills, and the help of mentors. Producing A Woman of No Importance should prove a greater challenge because I will not be using grant money, but I look forward to figuring it out. With these experiences in my repertoire, perhaps I could apply for a producing internship with a theatre, or go to graduate school for producing. It is producers who make the numbers work, and I was lucky enough to find a way to give over $500 to Curing Kids Cancer through careful budgeting, and that felt amazing. It would be wonderful, considering how difficult it is for many theatres to survive, to find a solution that builds charitable giving into the budget of every produced show. As an artistic director, I would have the ability to promote charitable giving.

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I am also very interested in writing youth-performed shows. It bothers me somewhat that, at least here in Columbia, a small number of blockbuster tales are utilized over and over in many theatres. While these crowd-pleasers are an important source of revenue, there are other theatres making numbers work and still thinking outside the box. The Columbia Children’s Theatre produces new comedies nearly each summer, and they have been an important inspiration for my past work and future aims for Columbia and towns like it. The Seattle Children’s Theatre’s 2016 youth-performed summer season included a Shakespeare mash-up, a parody of The Hunger Games, and a play adaptation of the children’s book Frindle. There are so many stories capable of attracting kids, parents, and teachers. I have written three full shows thus far, and continuing to do so and then finding venues to produce them would constitute bringing new—and hopefully innovative—works to kids. One of the most attractive things about writing plays is that it is flexible, and can be completed alongside other jobs, like directing or producing. Having writing credits would bring me closer to being an artistic director by making me a more versatile artist, and would supplement my English degree by demonstrating an intricate understanding of the written word, and the ability to articulate a cohesive vision.

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No matter the path, the strongest reason I want to be an artistic director is for the honor of an occupation that allows me to constantly invest in the survival of an institution of art. In his Utilitarianism, Mill states that “Things… are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain” (Chapter II). Essentially, this means that things have worth proportional the happiness they provide. He also discusses higher pleasures as including artistic pleasures. The cathartic, educational, and empathy-garnering values of seeing a theatrical production are many, and everyone should have access to its benefits and the happiness it can provide. Here are some words by theatre historian George R. Kernodle that nicely put what theatre can do:

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                           [Art] enlists more of the full being than words or mathematical formulae ever could, since                            it involves our feelings, senses, and emotions; it brings the abstract vision to life in a                                        particular experience. I believe that art is far more than entertainment, relaxation, release,                            or expression. It gives us understanding of both particular kinds of individuals and of the                              purposes and values of all living (Hodge 107).  

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‘Entertainment, relaxation, release,’ a means of ‘expression,’ and ‘understanding’ all promote happiness. While feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are obviously more critical endeavors, after basic needs are met, it is art forms like theatre that can make bearable our mundane moments, and the cruel facts of life. Mill calls art a ‘higher pleasure’ for a reason; it is necessary for our souls as food and clothing are for our bodies. Additionally, art helps put us out of our comfort zones. It shakes up our views and leads us to understand what might need to change in the world. It allows us to safely explore other ways of existing, which lead to an appreciation of the ‘values of all living’. Art is an ethically important practice, and can be hugely beneficial to the moral progression of society. As a director I could bring challenging art to life, as a producer I could encourage audiences to come experience the art, and as a writer I could create scripts, or the backbone of the play. As an artistic director I could do all of these things, plus help other artists support charitable giving and ethical practices by working in my theater. In sum, both the path to and the goal of becoming an artistic director are conducive to my goals as an artist and as a person.