Creative Thoughts from the Great Pandemic of 2020

 

This last year has been one for the history books.

2021 is here. The Great Pandemic of 2020 changed our world. Before last year, nothing like this had ever happened in the history of the world. 2020 changed all that.

Reflecting on this last year, it's been a doozy. 

There's a lot to think about. Do you remember where you were when all of this hit America in March of 2020? I sure do. I was 600 miles north of here, teaching college classes. I came back here for Spring Break at my property here in the Ozarks out in the middle of nowhere, and that's when the craziness began with the coronavirus here in America. That whole week of Spring Break, that's all that was going on around me. My brain couldn't function about anything else. What a Spring break! When I returned back to teach college, that first day back, I saw on the news the insanity that was going on that day, and could see the writing on the wall. I told myself "I'm getting the hell out of here". I packed up my car and drove back home here, 600 miles nonstop. Since that day, I've been in isolation out here in a ghost town out in the middle of nowhere. This is a crazy world we're living in. All I can do is take care of myself and just watch the insanity unravel around me. That's what I've been doing this last year. Protecting myself in isolation, and just having to watch everyone else around me live a crazy life in a crazy world.

I've changed a lot over this last year. The pandemic has made me reflect, see what's important in life and re-evaluate what I want to do for the rest of my life.

For the last 35 years of my adult life, I've been in the entertainment business. First as an actor, then a writer, then a director, then a filmmaker. In stage, television and film. My first 20 years as a stage and film actor were something around this country; starring in over 100 plays around the country, being in television series and major motion pictures...then becoming a stage director during that time, directing plays around the country. That evolved into playwriting and screenwriting. Then I became a filmmaker, and over 15 years, made over 20 films that screened over 500 film festivals worldwide. Now, for the last 1 to 2 years, I've been teaching at the college level. I decided I was at a point in my life where I needed to teach the next generation of artists what I know. 

Then the pandemic hit.

It's made me rethink a lot about the things that are important in life.

Virtual living, virtual teaching and virtual entertainment are the ways of the future. I realize that now. I've been seeing that slowly evolve over the years, but with the Great Pandemic of 2020, this new culture and lifestyle has hit center stage. These are the times we now live in, and is the future to come.

Over the last year, I've been in isolation in this ghost town out here in the middle of nowhere, teaching college remotely and doing artistic work virtually. Last year, for several months, I began to study philosophy and do a lot of reading. It changed how I look at things. Over last summer, I wrote a different play each week out here (13 plays total). I got back into playwriting after not writing a play in almost 20 years. I started thinking about how I can help the animals, with being vegan for over 20 years. Opened my eyes to a new subject I knew nothing about, Dramaturgy. Wrote 3 dramaturgy protocol books about plays. Started thinking about what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Before all this hit, I wanted to teach college into my old age. Now, I'm looking at things in a different way. Another year from now, if I'm teaching college, it will be done remotely. Studying philosophy and dramaturgy and getting back to playwriting has made me want to write, research and analyze things remotely. That may become something in my future. My film festival in California, the Holly Weird Film Festival, is in its third year, and building a solid foundation. 

But now, I'm also looking at how the future is digital. All of my life has contributed to the entertainment world and the arts. I'm wanting to teach in my old age, but I know I'll still be wanting to create art, but just in a different way. I'm looking at art in a different way. Becoming more critical, analyzing and researching things, exercising my brain more. It's making me look at things in a different way. The future in film is digital. Virtual production is the way of the future. Theatre is becoming forced to become virtual. Virtual plays, virtual staged readings are the way of the future. If in person theatre comes back after all of this, masks will become a common thing. In fact, centuries ago, that's how theatre began in ancient Greek times; with masks. Are we coming full circle back to the way things were in theatre thousands of years ago? It's looking that way. 

So much has happened over this last year. This virus isn't going anywhere. When all this began a year ago, I said then at the beginning we haven't seen anything yet. I said then that things will continue to get worse for at least a year, maybe two. Well, everything I've predicted so far with this virus has come true. And still, we haven't seen anything yet. Today's culture will not change and protect themselves by isolating to protect others. We live in a culture where everyone just cares about themselves, and what they want. People aren't willing to change to help others. And we're seeing the results of that with the world we're living in. 

Being in isolation for the last year has helped me discover the things that are important in life. I look at things in a different way. I don't know about this world we live in today. You just have to surround yourself with the positive, block out the negative, protect yourself and let things work themself out. 

My brain is constantly working. I have a room full of thousands of projects I want to get done. Over this last year, my brain has been exercising with even more creative ideas. 

Let's see what we can get done.

I have to remember to be the change I want to see in the world. Sometimes, everything just seems to have gotten too hard. Especially, the older I get. Then I have to remember, it's supposed to be hard. It's the hard that makes it great.