“First Day of School”
If you are a performance artist, or an artist in general, the odds of you hearing ignorant questions are infinitely higher than someone who chose another career path.
If you spent your collegiate years pursuing the arts, or training for a professional the odds are even HIGHER than they were before.
After a while, these questions stop sounding like questions, and more like attacks.
“So, what are you going to DO with that major?”
Gee, I don’t know - what would I do if I had a business major? Maybe business?
“So many artists didn’t even NEED a degree to get where they are today.”
Thank you for the astute observation as to how you think I’m wasting my time, and also, for projecting what your definition of “success” is, onto me and my life.
“This is my friend, she is an ASPIRING artist”
What do you call a law student who passes the bar? An ASPIRING lawyer?
“What’s your BACKUP PLAN?”
My sweet summer child - this IS the entire plan; A through Z.
We have to bear in mind that these people have absolutely no frame of reference for what an artist’s career should look like, or how to define success in the entertainment field.
What we, as artists, need to remember is that these questions are founded in pure ignorance.
Ignorance
ig·no·rance | \ ˈig-n(ə-)rən(t)s
the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness
Let me clarify that I am not implying that non-artists are “stupid”. Far from it. You wouldn’t call someone having an issue with their pipes “stupid” for not knowing the specific skill set of a plumber, would you?
The media and paparazzi storm around current celebrity artists and performers has given the non-artist an extremely glamorized view of what “success” is, in the industry - and it’s been projected HARSHLY onto the emerging artists coming out of training and trying to break into the industry.
My name is Jazlyn Dingfelder, and I achieved my Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in Musical Theatre in 2021.
My mission with this platform is to educate artists and non-artists, and to dismantle the stigma behind cultivating a career in the arts.
