John's first blog Friday May 11th, 2012 New York

This is my first blog, so I want to make my intentions for the blog clear. While the blog may deal with theater and film, which is what my work is, it will be a place for me to talk to you about anything that strikes my fancy. I was brought up to believe that life and art were separate from one another. But, I don't believe that. I can't find any example of art that isn't inspired by the artist's life experience, whether it is the artist's rendering of a place or person, like Van Gogh's paintings of places and nature, or Picasso's Guernica, Of course, in theater arts, in which I include film and television, we don't always think about this reality. That's because, most of the time, theater and film are forms of entertainment. They hold our attention for a moment, amuse us. We don't think about anything in particular. We are amused for awhile. But, once in a while, theater, and let me remind you that I include film and television in the term, rises to another level. We are not simply entertained, we are moved. The writer, producer, actor, director, portrays something that reveals something about life to us. It may be only something about how a human being behaves, thinks, and feels. And/or, he or she may also reveal something that we think of as being social or political. Because of who, or where, the character is. Because, of what the character is doing, thinking, feeling. Sometimes, this happens in a moment of silence, when we see the human being revealed to us. As we are revealed to ourselves, when we are alone. Or, cannot sleep at three am, lying in bed, eyes wide open. Certainly, while I want to entertain people, I also want to move them, be it comedy or tragedy.