Between 2019-2021, I blogged about the creative process and the business of being an artist. I did my best to cram-jam my posts filled with useful tools, tips and hacks and straight-up honesty from my own point of view.
My focus was figuring out how we can overcome our creative blocks, actually finish our projects and earn money from our art. I also shared the work of Black and Global Majority artists.
Take a look around or see the posts by categories: creative process, self-producing, artist life hacks, artist series. I hope you find something useful here.
I hope you’re doing alright, adjusting to our “new normal”. I’ve been dreaming scenes of wartime efforts – I think it’s my psyche trying to tell my conscious mind why I’ve found it all so destabilising.
Today I wanted to write about a new principle I’m trying to embrace.
Read MoreMonica Gaga is a London-based, British-born black African queer improviser, facilitator, host and scripted actor and performer.
She’s been seen, heard and staged on BBC Three, ITVBe, London Live, BBC History, BBC Radio London, Global Pillage, The Comedy Store, Hoopla Impro, Boulevard Theatre and more.
Read MoreThis is the perfect time to ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT and shoot for the moon.
Why? Lockdown has obliterated much of the work artists had lined up. This is especially true for artists who specialise in live performance. Artists want to be engaged in making art. And many have more bandwidth and availability at the moment.
Let’s get right to it. Talking to your family, and strangers, about your work. Woof.
To help you through those crunchy encounters, I've got some tips and a handy mad-lib for you to download. My goal is to help you say something, feel good and move the conversation forward swiftly.
Read MoreHow can I deal with constant comparison getting in my way?
How can I overcome professional jealousies?
If you've been struggling with those questions, you're not alone. Theodore Roosevelt famously said:
"Comparison is the thief of joy."
Read MoreIt’s December and we are well into the “Festive Season.” Besides all the mayhem that this time of year may or may not entail with your loved ones, it also brings with it various work-related obligations and anxieties.
Read MoreToday I want to share a story about my trajectory as a voiceover artist and the perils of giving authorities too much credence.
Read MoreThis week we return to the financial literacy material I'm so hot on. Today I'm offering 3 straightforward actions that will improve your relationship with money and increase your wealth!
By seizing control of your moula on a daily basis you will gain the confidence to tackle bigger tasks like opening a business account or paying down credit card debt.
Read MoreDating can be expensive, but romance can be enlivening.
What a shame to miss out on heart fluttering, loin burning moments because you're worried about money! On the other hand, how awful to have a dreamy encounter undercut by your terror of spending money you don't have.
This topic is "artistic practice adjacent" but useful nonetheless. So often we're told, you can have love or you can have your art. Not both.
Today, I want to challenge that notion by addressing it in a practical, nuts and bolts, way.
David Ellington is an actor, theatre maker and founder of VS1 productions. He is profoundly deaf and a British Sign language (BSL) user and has been acting since 1997.
Read MoreI'm gonna jump right in and say something bold:
You cannot make good art and have longevity in your career without self-care.
I’m learning this the hard way.
I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in July this year. I’m going to be fine, but it’s made me stop and take stock.
I was running on adrenalin for a decade, pushing myself so hard I couldn’t see that I needed a break. I didn’t even realise I was stressed or that I was addicted to being busy.
Rosie Elnile is an award winning performance designer, currently responsible for some of the most exciting theatre design in London.
Read MoreI often hear theatre artists say that they hate theatre. They don’t feel like going. They’re sick of it. They don’t like anything they see.
Full disclosure: I have 110% been there and said those things. And I still struggle with those feelings.
Sometimes when you’re hard at it, grinding it out, going to the theatre is a royal pain in the ass.
That being said, I believe firmly that regularly getting yourself to the theatre will transform your artistic practice and your business savvy for the better.
Read MoreMatilda Ibini is a bionic playwright, screenwriter and occasional facilitator from London, and she’s a wheelchair user. She writes for stage, TV, film and radio.
Do you have a hobby? I didn’t have any until a couple years ago. It can be difficult to have a hobby when your work is your passion, or obsession.
A hobby can appear frivolous -- a misuse of your precious time and money that should be funnelled back into your CAREER. That’s how I thought anyway.
Emma Dennis-Edwards is a writer and actor, who has trained as part of the Old Vic 12, Soho Writers Lab, and The Royal Court and Lyric Hammersmith’s Writers programmes. She is also a current participant at BBC Writersroom Drama Room and Continuing Drama Writer's Academy 2019/2020.
Read MoreThis week I'm delving into some of the research I've been doing over the last couple years about how to get on top of my money.
I think it’s absolute lunacy that financial literacy isn’t taught at school, starting from a young age.
Read MoreI did a short performance of a brand new piece last November. Camden People’s Theatre commissioned me to make a short piece on the theme of 25th Birthdays, to celebrate their 25th Birthday.
I used the occasion to make a start on an idea I’ve had floating around for a while. I had a title, Age is a Feeling, and a broad idea to explore ageing, time and how to live without fearing death.
Read MoreSince I started teaching artists in my Solo Show Lab about 2 years ago, I've been meditating on what is essential in order for artists to be able to make headway with their work in a way that feels good.
I’ve been working on a theory: The Creative Power Triad. I believe that there are three symbiotic elements necessary for artists to have a healthy and productive creative practice.
Natasha Brown is an actor, writer, theatre maker and facilitator. Initially training at The BRIT School, she went on to study Theatre at the University of Kent and the University of California, Berkely in the US. Part of Soho Writers’ Lab and the Bush Theatre’s Emerging Writers’ Group, her work “interrogates power, identity and community.”
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