Panelists draw on careers in creative arts

The common stereotype of a starving artist is often true, according to the five panelists at a creative-art careers panel yesterday. The panelists -- with careers ranging from opera singer to cartoonist -- spoke to an audience of more than 20 students in Houston Hall about the struggles they face in order to pursue the careers they love. Organized by the Career Planning and Placement Service, the panel was designed to teach students interested in pursuing careers in creative arts about their options in the hope of making such transitions easier. The panelists had different careers, but their backgrounds contained similar elements -- such as a lack of money. "I couldn't do what I do unless I had somebody paying the rent. If I had to pay my mortgage [with my own salary], I couldn't do it," said Esther Flaster, a professional actress and theater director whose husband pay many of their household bills. Each panelist spoke for about 10 minutes, telling students where they are today in terms of their own careers and explaining how they reached their current positions. Although the panelists were enthusiastic about their respective careers, they also told of the challenges they had to overcome, challenges they still face. "I work with young actors. They all have day jobs," Flaster said. "The reality is, you can't do this and support yourself." Each panelist recalled working in other unrelated fields -- such as waiting tables and bartending -- to support their art and themselves. Jodi Kidwell, a mezzo soprano singer and winner of the third Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, told the students she "was making no money singing and [was] spending all my money to improve my voice." A lack of money was not the only problem panelists mentioned. The question of whether or not they were "good enough" at their prospective careers also came up. Tim Stotz, a first-year Fine Arts graduate student, discovered in his second year at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., that "I had been needing to draw my entire life and I had been convincing myself that I didn't." Despite his own determination to be an artist, others questioned his talent. When attempting to get private lessons from a art teacher, the teacher told him "that I was no good, [that I had] no future." Kidwell recounted a similar situation. "I knew I had the ability or at least the potential to do something," she said. Yet despite this ability, she spent time with "no jobs and no prospects." Even though the panelists admitted to struggling with money and questions of talent, none said they regretted their career choice. They advised students to follow their hearts and their dreams. "If it's something you have a passion for, then go for it at all costs," Flaster advised. "If you're good, if you believe in yourself, go for it. Don't let somebody else be the measure of who you are. Just really listen to yourself." Nancy Miller, an art conservator as well as a published cartoonist and artist, agreed with Flaster: "You can always go to law school later."