Songs For The Struggling Artist

When magazines used to write about Generation X, they were pretty darn concerned about how much time we spent on our own, unsupervised. The Latch Key Generation may not have really stuck to us as a name (I imagine this was partly because, what’s a LATCH key? When does anyone use the word “LATCH KEY”? It’s clearly an old fashioned word. It’s a key, guys.) but, yes, a lot of Gen X kids went home from school by ourselves because our parents were at work. You could see this as a problem. (Oh, those poor lonely unsupervised children!) Or, you could see it as a gift. (What independence! What self-reliance!) Leave us alone for long enough, we tend to solve our problems on our own. To keep reading Generation X Part 3 - Islands in the Stream visit the Songs for the Struggling blog. This is Episode 53 Song: Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show

One of the weird things about sharing my writing on Facebook (which is where I collect the bulk of my views on the blog) is that, when it’s shared by others, I can sometimes see how people respond to my work without responding to me directly. On my own page, my friends are generally respectful and look at my work in the context of the person that wrote it, since they (most of them) know me. On other people’s posts of my work, I have seen some rather startling assumptions pop up. The most vivid example of this was a response to my Single Gender on a Train post. While most of my post was about being a woman in public, there was a bit about the distinction between that experience in NYC and in smaller places. The comment about the blog on my friend’s page seemed to be mostly in response to a single line in the piece, the one my friend pulled as a headline – a line about HRC and the urban/rural divide. A thing, by the way, that there have been endless think pieces about. To keep reading Social Media and Discussio

Generation X has tended to resist being labeled and we also tend to resent being identified with a group. We like to think ourselves as individuals. I have a Gen X friend who finds the concept of a “hive mind” deeply troubling. It strikes him as dangerous conformity to ask the hive mind what it thinks. I get it. I identify as a non-conformist, too. But I also grew up listening to a lot of Steve Martin records. And from an early age, I understood the irony of identifying as a non-conformist along with a group through this part of his routine: STEVE MARTIN: And now let’s repeat the non-conformist oath! I promise to be different! AUDIENCE: I promise to be different! STEVE MARTIN: I promise to be unique! AUDIENCE: I promise to be unique! STEVEN MARTIN: I promise not to repeat things other people say! AUDIENCE: (laughter) To read more of Gen X Part 2 - We Belong visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 52 and part two of an 8 part series. Song: We Belong by Pat Benatar Image via Pixabay To s

Previously, I wrote about a show that inspired me to make a list of stories I never want to see onstage again. I have now seen another show and discovered another story I have had my definitive fill of. Can we please call a moratorium on the fallen woman plot? You get a pass if your name is Jane Austen or Charles Dickens and you were writing social commentary about this shit in the 1800s but if you are a writer in 2017, do us all a favor and leave this tired old horse alone. To read more of Another Kind of Story I Never Want to See Again visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 51 Song: Both Hands by ani difranco Image via Pixabay To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Tw

The actors stood up and I started crying. The house lights went down to start the show and moments later I was moved. It took a moment to shake me out of my familiar world. But it wasn’t just the moment, of course. There was a world of history behind the moment. It was the skill and finesse of a lifetime of theatrical practice that knew how to bring that world into a moment. It took extraordinary expertise and sensitivity to make something so simple so powerful. It took mastery. After giving me such a powerful moment right out of the gate, I thought, “There might be nothing else as good as this in the rest of this show but if this is all it has to offer, it would be enough.” But it was definitely NOT all it had to offer. I saw a play that exquisitely resurrected the past while shining light on our present. It made me weep so often I wished I’d brought a box of tissues with me. And I almost never cry in the theatre. All around me, I heard the quiet sound of other people taken over by their emotions. To keep re

While visiting a small town, I found myself at a local restaurant, where a band was playing their Saturday night gig. The band’s leader sang about being a kid in 1992 which helped me place him as a member of the Millennial generation. The audience was mostly represented by the Baby Boomer Generation, with a handful of the band’s Millennial friends in the mix. When the band played a cover of a hit song from the Baby Boomer’s youth, they filled the room with exuberant dance. And the Millennial men in the audience turned red from containing their laughter. There was an atmosphere of these two generations trying to communicate with one another and find some kind of balance between them. There were pleading songs of a young man to an older one. A white haired man came up onstage while the band played to adjust their levels. These two generations were simultaneously at odds and in cahoots. And, as far as I know, I was the lone representative of my generation, Generation X. In fact, I realized then that I had spent

American Health Care Horror Stories are all so abstract until it happens to you. Every time I heard about another failure of American health care, I was horrified anew – but because I was healthy, it was like reading about an atrocity on another continent – terrible but distant. I spent most of my 20s and 30s so healthy that I went without health insurance for the better part of both of those decades and got away with it. A couple of ankle turns and an X-ray or two and I got away with spending a whole mess of a lot less than I would have if I’d been paying for health insurance. Like, a LOT. When you’re a struggling artist, gambles like this make sense for a while. (If you’re lucky.) To read more of Health Care and the Struggling Artist go to the Songs for the Struggling artist.  This is Episode 48. Song: Push by Matchbox 20 Image via Pixabay To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Fa

What if no one cares about what you make? What if it doesn't sell?  Read it here: https://artiststruggle.wordpress.com/2017/05/21/no-ones-asking-for-your-art/  Song: Cathedral by me, Emily Rainbow Davis Like the blogcast? Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/songs-for-the-struggling-artist/support

On the Politically Reactive podcast, the guest, Michael Skolnik, described being on the train coming home from the Women’s March in DC. He said he’d never been on a train “where there’s such a disproportionate amount of one gender.” And I said, out loud, in response, “I’m sure that’s not true.” That is, I’m sure he’s been on the train with a single gender before, it just wasn’t women and so he didn’t notice. Why do I feel so sure he’s been on a train or in public somewhere with only men?  Read more of Single Gender on a Train on the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 46 Song: Pushing the Needle Too Far by the Indigo Girls Image via Pixabay To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follo

Last year, I received an award that was given to another person as well. We were both selected by the committee to receive the residency in question. I’m a white woman in my 40s from NYC and he’s a black man in his 20s from the mid-west. The residency was for emerging artists (see also my post on Can We Find Another Word for Emerging?) and I was surprised and delighted to receive it, even though I was pretty sure I wasn’t what most people meant when they signed up to support this award. Throughout our time in residence, I could feel comparison happening between us – sometimes in my favor but mostly not. I thought perhaps I was imagining this sort of outside judgment. And then I saw a post on a Facebook page about my fellow award winner and someone in the organization commented on it, saying, he was “the perfect candidate” and “a true {*Name of the award} artist.” To keep reading "A True Artist - the Perfect Candidate" visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.  This is Episode 45 Song: In

I can’t stop thinking about that story about the employees who switched email signatures and how it revealed incredible sexism. (If you haven’t read it, start here to read the woman’s account and click through to the man’s Twitter thread.) I’ve seen a lot of responses to this story that can most easily be summed up as  “No, duh.”  A lot of people (of all genders) have said, “Not surprising.” But I will confess to being surprised. Not that there’s sexism, I suppose, but that it could be so plainly revealed. And in email, too! To read more of Sexism Can Still Surprise Me, visit Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 44 Song: Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House Image via Pixabay To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi:

No one was more surprised than me when I became a fan of Nashville, the TV show about country music stars. It happened after I read an interview with Callie Khouri, the show’s creator, in which she explained how much her feminism was informing the show. In 2012, there weren’t many folks in show business talking about their feminist work, so I sought the show out immediately. And I loved it. You can keep reading I'm Done Watching Nashville and It's Probably Not Why You Think on the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 43. Song: Undermine by Kacey Musgraves from the Nashville soundtrack. Image via WikiCommons To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd  Instagr

In my own life it is f*@%ing ESSENTIAL to have music and theatre and dance and art right now. It was nice before but it is essential now. It occurs to me that a sign of our previous freedom was the freedom to think of art as a frill, to think it might not be necessary. We could think that because we could afford to. We can’t afford to anymore. For now. Art is vital right now. For me. For everyone I know. To read more of this post visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 42. Song: Two Little Hitlers by Elvis Costello  Image via Pixabay To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd  Instagram and Pinterest --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.f

From the first time I heard “Tightrope,” I was a fan of Janelle Monaé. I was head over heels for her music and her aesthetic, as well. She was musically exciting and theatrical in her style. Seeing her in concert was an incredible ride. She took the audience on a journey, the likes of which I have rarely experienced at a concert. She is a consummate show-woman and a brilliant connector. I’ve heard her described her as a contemporary female James Brown. This is Episode 41. Image via WikiCommons To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd  Instagram and Pinterest --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/songs-for-the-struggling-artist/support

I was at a conference. We were wrapping it up with a reflection session – talking about what had been successful and possibilities for the future. Towards the end, a man stood up to say he’d been to the Women’s March and that he’d been inspired and now wanted to recognize all the women in the room. He asked us all to stand and receive applause and appreciation from the men. We stood, as requested and received the applause. And don’t get me wrong, I love applause. But this felt so so bad. To read more of Sticky Benevolent Sexism visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Song: The Other Shoe by Old 97s This is Episode 40. Image via Pixabay To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Twitter @era

Since the digital age really kicked in, I have watched a lot of things that were important to me fade away. In a world that values social media currency and digital art and so many things on screen, my analog skills of theatre-making, performance and presence have felt less and less valued in the world. While I have adapted as well as I can, I have at times felt like an analog girl in a digital world – a handwoven basket in a factory town. To keep reading The Resistance Will Be Handcrafted visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 39. The song is "Howie" by Kristen Hall To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd  Instagram and Pinterest --- Support t

The bulk of my writing practice is dedicated to getting myself primed to write with the most focus I can manage. The practice is dedicated to finding a kind of flow. In an ideal session of writing, I will not stop the pen. I just go. And go. I’m sure that I look busy when I’m writing. I’m 100% sure I don’t look like I want to talk with anyone. And yet. And YET. To keep reading If My Pen Is Rockin', Don't Come A-Knockin' go to the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.  #writing #CreativeProcess #WritingProcess #Interrupting #privilege #sexism #WritingInCafes This is Episode 38 Song: Mash-Up of Passionate Kisses by Lucinda Williams and Real World by Matchbox 20 Image via Pixabay To support the podcast: Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!  Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emil

My company’s auditions for our project were meticulously planned. I did a group audition because I care about how people work together. I started with drawing, because it’s a script-flipping task that tends to calm jumpy actors down and it tends to signal that we’re doing things differently. I did a bunch of low exposure group acting explorations to get a comfort level going in a room full of strangers and then I had them play with materials to take everyone out of the context of performance and into creating. Then I took a break. A long one. Because I wanted the group to have some time to chat and get to know one another without someone controlling their experience. It’s useful for me to see people with their masks off for a minute while they talk about their cat, or whatever. As in rehearsals, a lot of the art actually happens in these cross-pollinating moments. But. In my recent auditions, this whole plan went completely off the rails at this point - If you'd like to keep reading Devices in Auditions and R

For years, I have been dreaming about emigrating to Europe, where so many of my favorite theatre companies are based. I fell in love with Cheek by Jowel when I saw their (all male) As You Like It. I idolized Improbable and their three man Artistic Directorship. I drooled over Complicite – and the one man genius at the center of it. Oh, how I wanted to move to England so I could make work like my heroes! To read more of Where in the World? visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.  #WorldTheatre #InternationalTheatre #InternationalSexism #Sexism #feminism #theatre #search Song: Hard Life by Nanci Griffith Photo via Pixabay To support the podcast: Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/songs-for-the

At a recent festival, the audience favorite was a show that re-told a fairy tale – one that featured a king reckoning with his power. It won an award, people loved it so much. But it made me furious. To keep reading The Kind of Story I Never Want to See Again visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. #king #storytelling #theatre #patriarchy #democracy #resistance #CollectivePower This is episode 35. Song: "The Day Between the Kings" by Bright Red Boots (You'll hear me tell you that it won't be at the end and that you should just look it up but ignore that - I've found a way to put it up on this re-uploading!)  To support the podcast: Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/  Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/ Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis  Or buy me a coffee on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/songs-for-the-struggling-