And a Purpose Statement

I also am supposed to write a Statement of Purpose for a number of the schools.  This is a very short beginning.  The actual statement is generally supposed to be about twice this length...

I don’t know what I’m doing.

Or, perhaps as Richard Robichaux more elegantly described it to me, I have discovered the emptiness of my cup and am anxious to spend some time filling it.

Fifty years appears to be long enough for me to have acquired some skills, played with finding ways to implement those skills, and finally recognize that I know so very little about what I am doing.  Some of this stems from the fact that I have had a dearth of meaningful learning experiences related to the craft of theater outside of those that were forced on my through the various projects into which I have thrown myself.   Interestingly, my age at just over fifty parallels the fact that I have been a significant participant in just over fifty productions.  Fifty is a great start toward something, but with the very limited training that I have had, formal or otherwise, I am acutely aware that my understanding of what that start is pushing me toward is somewhat limited.

So the simplest expression of what my purpose is in pursuing an MFA in Directing is that I desire to fill my cup, which I am singularly aware is too empty.

But on the other hand, I know exactly what I’m doing.

I am clearing the decks and shifting gears (and mixing metaphors) in a focused and passionate effort to ensure that the life I lead in this next, and probably terminal, expression of my career is completely focused on the one area of my life that has consistently provided me with joy.