Sunday, November 6, 2011

Risk Taking

from Christa Kimlicko Jones, Associate Artistic Director, Director of Programming: 


“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more  painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

This week, I have been so inspired by that quote (enough to post it on Facebook, share it with my students, and now to write about it here).
I think what hits me specifically in this one is the idea of what’s at stake. It’s more painful to NOT take a risk. To never know. To live a life without diving in. To just settle. More painful because if you don’t take risks, you’re not reaching the potential of who you could be, or what could become. It’s that idea of reaching for the stars. Setting goals. Having dreams. In addition to not living to one’s potential being painful, I really think it is our duty as human beings. In order to keep the world flowing. Moving. Growing. Emerging. I mean, what if no one ever dreamed of going to the moon? Or maybe they dreamed it, but never said anything? Can you imagine? Put it like that, it seems that there is almost a responsibility to put one’s self out there. What if a group of people in Chicago never got together and said, “let’s create a company”? We’d have no Steppenwolf. What if Rosa Parks had gone to the back of the bus?
Time and time again, I’m telling myself and my students to try to stay curious. To take risks. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it keeps the world going for sure! (And the cat has nine lives, right? :) If people weren’t curious, they wouldn’t strive to reach past their comfort zone. Creativity (in art, science, expression) requires curiosity. It requires risk taking. Staying curious, with an open heart & mind to experience the world around us and try to be the best human one can possibly be, is worth striving for. The alternative is just too painful. It’s risky to fall in love; to go to school and study what you love; to do what you love; to take a journey across the country; to say “I can do that” and really work on it; to tell a friend the hard truth; to admit when one is wrong; to write one’s thoughts down for the public to see; to trust; to fall down and get back up again; to go against the grain; to question; to Occupy Wall Street; to run for office; to have a baby; to write a poem; to paint the Sistine Chapel; to write a play; to compose a song; to admit that you DON’T want to do what you thought you wanted to do and change direction; to stick with something.
And, let’s not forget the risk of starting a theatre company—and a not-for-profit theatre company at that? Thank goodness we have amazing minds before us who can inspire us. Those that started from just an idea and have, through the years, made a tremendous mark on the world: the Alley, Steppenwolf, the Public, and many, many more. What a gift. And now, with Theatre East, who knows? It’s risky to even put the names in the same thought. But why not? We gotta dream! We gotta keep going because—the alternative is too painful. I’m so thankful to be surrounded by people who push me to be the very best I can be, and who have great dreams and goals—the people in the Theatre East community (the staff, the company, the audiences, the future audiences). Together we can do it. Together we continue to take risks, to push each other and you—so that we can all grow a little bit more. Aim to be better humans. Do our part to help make the world a better place.
The NYC marathon was this weekend—what an amazing physical act of curiosity, strength, desire, goal setting, reaching for the stars, endurance, and determination. What a great example. I am completely inspired by these people. Thank you to those that are running for taking risk and diving in. I imagine you will never be the same. In fact, I imagine you are finding out more deeply who you really are.
So let’s take ‘em. Risks. Why? The alternative is too painful.
One final note, I must thank YOU for taking a risk and supporting theatre in general. And, of course, thank you for supporting Theatre East, specifically. Together—we will blossom.

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