An artistic responsibility?

I live a pretty good life. There are months that I struggle (read: Hope) to pay my bills. . . I don't have all the toys that I might WANT, but I do get to spend my days perusing-and occasionally realizing my dreams. It took me a few years to understand that in choosing to persue acting, I was signing my vow of poverty. Now don't get me wrong, there is money to be made, and occasionally even riches to be earned, but when it comes right down to it, my job as an actor is always FINDING MY NEXT JOB.

And so, Hollywood.

In the few years that I've been out here, I've fallen in and out of love with the business countless times. Truth be told, I'm not west-coast-wise in the business at all. That is, while I make my living acting, I'm often acting like I'm living the life out here. I'm a freshman, or maybe even a sophomore in this school of strange knocks known casually as "the business". I think like a post-grad. I complain occasionally like a post-grad. But when it comes to where I AM, I'm just a baby y'all. There I go again, confusing my metaphors.

Well, I've quickly (but soundly) gotten off point here. The point that I was hoping to get around to dealt with my artistic responsibility. It's easy to get caught up in the knotted string of The Business out here-easy to get pissed that "that guy" gets all the breaks-easy to worry that I'm not doing enoughdontknowtherightpeoplegototherightplaces-easy make myself smaller than my wonderful self. . .

. . . Just like it's easy to remember Who I Am. That I make a majority of choices in my life based on my artistic responsibility. That the power of my laugh can build seesaws and merry-go-rounds in this playground.

Artistic responsibility. Perhaps Milton Glaser said it best:

The purpose of art is to inform and delight.

Sometimes, it's just that simple.