What Makes Art so Important? (or why I became an actor.)

Right after 9/11 happened the whole world seemed to stop.  The only thing on television and radio was the news.  I hated leaving my living room because I was afraid to miss a minute of the coverage and even refused to turn my TV off when I was going to sleep.  For days we became a nation of news junkies.  No one seemed to know when was okay to start airing something other than the images of the Towers and the Pentagon that are now ingrained in everyone’s collective memory.   

In the days following 9/11, entertainment seemed so trite and unnecessary.  But, eventually all the stations went back to airing their regular programs.   

And as much as I can't forget the footage of that terrible day, I also remember Jon Stewart on the Daily Show a week later asking “Are you okay?” and Dave Letterman getting choked up explaining why he decided to put The Late Show back on air. 

Today, it seemed silly to write a blog about how to be a better actor because after yesterday’s news how trivial does that sound?  But, then I remembered that it was the entertainers, the actors, the comedians, the writers, and the musicians who helped mend a very wounded country 10 years ago.
 

I believe the entertainers helped to bring us back from the brink.  They became the ones we looked to on how to go back to our lives after the tragedy.  They showed us that what we were feeling was the same as everyone else in this country.  They helped us grieve and even begin to heal. 

The world needs artists as much as it needs scientists and doctors.  Art, whether it’s a painting in the Louvre, a musical on Broadway, or a crime drama on CBS, provides people with a way to relate, reflect, and give meaning to the world around us.

So, today's blog is for all you artists, writers, actors, musicians, comedians, and entertainers out there to remind you that what you do is important!  Don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s not.   

**Dedicated to all the brave men and women fighting for our country and protecting our freedoms.  I promise we will do our best to keep entertaining you.**