BWW Blog: Christopher Panella - Don't Just Be an Artist, Be a Smart Artist

Twenty years ago, artist had a different meaning than it does now. Artists used to be so invested in their work that they often forgot to eat, sleep, or handle the normal routines of daily life. Nowadays, artists are more well-rounded than anything. Almost every high school theatre kid I meet also excels in academic subjects and other extracurriculars. Almost every college theatre major I meet has a dual major in something that older folks would consider more practical, like business or pre-law. This well-roundedness is fantastic, don't get me wrong. I consider myself one of the most well-rounded people, but when it comes to identifying as an artist, there should be more of a commitment to art than anything else.

Now, I'm not advising theatre kids to drop their academic professions and fail their classes to focus on their monologues and dancing. Trust me, I am far from saying that. I, as a top ten percent student who has taken more AP and AICE classes than can be counted on two hands, am definitely not advising that. What I am advising is for teenangers and young people to make art a top priority in their lives and learn to multitask and be smart. I believe the best artist is the artist that is well-rounded enough to influence their art into other aspects of their lives, or vice versa. I find myself doing this all the time; just last week I was watching Youtube videos of the musical The Drowsy Chaperone. Most of Janet's costumes are very 1920's inspired, as the musical inside the actual musical of The Drowsy Chaperone is set in the 1920's. Using my AP United States History, my brain automatically made the connection between Janet's costumes and the flapper outfits of the 1920's. Janet wears more flapper-esque costumes prior to actually marrying Robert. In the 1920's, women would wear flapper outfits until marriage, when they would change their style for something for maternal (see, APUSH can actually be useful in the real world!). Of course, that's a very specific example of a common theme for theatre kids who are academic students. Especially in these last few generations, theatre kids have become more involved in their academic lives and extracurriculars. My directors, Ms. Catsicas and Mr. Katz, constantly say it to our Drama club, and we all agree: for some reason, we are more well-rounded, with our left brain and right brain usage, than generations before us. Could it be the mad amount of higher level classes we take? Could it be social media and the constant access we have to news about politics, international relations, scientific discoveries, and entertainment? Who knows.

All I know is that I am much happier being a smart artist. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the drive to learn, to take harder classes, to push myself to the edge of accomplishments. I don't know what I would do if I wasn't staying after school for clubs, taking piles of tests. I love using both my left and right brain. However, as I have realized in recent years, artists need a certain undivided attention to excel at their art. This undivided attention needs to be generalized across many spectrums and mediums of art, not just in one form. I have been doing theatre for years, and I have a pretty normal routine that allows me to balance theatre and school. I focus on both in the fall, school specifically after the fall musical, theatre specifically in the spring until the spring musical ends, and then I work until June on school. The summer is always focused on theatre. Now that I've grown a little bit older, I find myself spreading myself across more than just theatre; I like to draw and paint. I love writing more than anything. These new art committments I have make balancing school and art more difficult, but totally worth it. Artists can't just focus on one art form. That's not an artist. An artist is someone who finds themselves in many mediums, not specific spectrums. Artists can find themselves in academic work, like when painters enjoy geometry because of the shape and graphing aspect, or when writers enjoy literature because they get to absorb more writing and learn new styles.

Today, the smart artist is the artist who can find the balance between school and all of their art mediums and can connect their academic life, social life, and art life in order to produce better outcomes on all fronts. My suggestion to the theatre kids reading this is that you choose some harder classes next year, just to learn more and push yourself out of your comfort zone and you begin to truly define yourself as an artist by practicing more than just theatre. Pick up a pen, write a poem, paint a picture, draw something. Just create, learn, and invent. That'll make you the smartest artist.