Hey everyone, hope you had a lovely weekend. Today I thought I'd share some big dreams I have. This is a post I've been meaning to do for weeks, but even though I am a firm believer in being embarrassingly honest, especially with yourself, actually doing so... well, it's not always so easy.
I guess we can be reluctant to admit what we want in case we don't get it. I know, for me, I can handle other people being cynical about my dreams, but only when I am sure I will prove them wrong (or when I've had a drink). But admitting to yorself and others the things you want, when you have no real idea about how you'll make them happen, feels a lot riskier. Like you might jinx it in some way, when actually the opposite is probably true. Admitting that you want something out loud, is a bit like casting a patronus to push away a dementour, honesty pushes away doubts, and suddenly your path will become much clearer.
Or at least that's what I am hoping will happen after hitting publish on this post! So without further ado and before I chicken out again, here are some big dreams I have...
1. Write, Perform and Tour A Show Professionally
This is probably the grandest dream I have! I've actually previously wrote and toured two shows, but I mainly stuck to independent/fringe festival bookings. I'm personally quite proud of the work I've already made but having now been the person in charge of booking shows into a venue, I know mine aren't quite ready to be labeled professional. But I know that I've got a good base to start from, and what I need to do is put in the time.
2. Write A Funding Bid and Run My Own Project
This goal may well form part of my first one, as realistically touring a show professionally takes some funding in some way shape or form. But what I'd really like to do is put together a project that works with elderly people/ dementia sufferers and their families, either to create some form of show, or to put artists/shows/installations into care homes. So that not only residents have access to these things, but it cane be something that the whole family can enjoy together.
3. Earn The Majority Of My Income Through Writing/My Own Work
Realistically, I'm not sure I could ever cope with ALL my income coming from freelance work - I like to know that each month I'll be receiving a pay check, but for at least some of my life I would like the majority of my income to be coming from freelance work - preferably writing. I'm not OVERLY fussy about what that writing looks like, whether it's commissions to work with young people to produce a show, or something more article/blog based. I see writing as my main creative outlet, so if that could also pay the bills, then I'd be a very happy woman.
4. To Feel Like My Work Made A Difference
A lot of terrible things happen in the world, and while I believe that working in the arts changes peoples lives for the better, sometimes I feel guilty for not doing more. One of the most rewarding feelings I've ever had is when some one told me that a play I wrote about Child Sexual Exploitation led to several young people coming forward because they were worried it was happening to them or somebody I knew. Going forward this is the route I want my work to take, to not only be good, and entertaining for an evening but to also have a cause and a heart.
5. To Run My Own Arts Venue
This is probably the biggest dream I have, as the others I know could happen if I put in the work, relatively quickly. But ths one is the dream I have of myself when I'm much older. When I'have a whole heap more experience under my belt, and I'm hopefully some one that is well respected. I have this vision of myself being fabulous, and arty, and having had an interesting life, and who now runs a venue, where other people can come and do the same. This is the big dream, that everything else leads into, because it not only combines the type of career I want to have but is also about the type of person I want to become.
And that is it! Well at least that is it for now! I have other interests, like working for Edinburgh Fringe Festival, that at the moment are more ideas I'm dabbling with rather than big dreams, but as I grow up, I'm sure these things will shift around.
What big dreams do you have? Do you already know what steps you have to take to get there? And what are your timescales? I'd love to hear more, either in the comments below or in your own blog post! x
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