Artistic Statement
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Tony Blake
Artistic Statement
The life of an artist who has to shoulder the responsibility of being the sole support of a family of four, provides a person with a serious dose of reality. Working multiple jobs to keep a roof over your head and food on the table while still pursuing your craft takes drive, desire and determination. And yet, I believe this journey has provided me with invaluable life experiences that have enriched me as an artist and playwright.
I began my career as an actor in New York City, but when a class in Playwriting for the Actor was offered at New Dramatists, a long dormant, deep seated inner desire had me seize the opportunity. It was in this class, taught by the late playwright Phil Bosakowski, that I discovered my true artistic passion. And when I had the opportunity to watch, at New Dramatists, a staged reading of the first play I had ever written, I realized that the ability to affect an audience, to be able to make them think and feel, laugh and reflect, and be entertained at the same time, was a gift too powerful to ignore. Unfortunately, as John Lennon said, “life is what happens while you’re making plans.” My playwriting career had to be put on hold as I soon became the sole support of a young family, and found success in writing for one-hour series TV. Now that my children are grown and my obligations scaled back, I have returned to my passion, having written five full length plays in the past five years.
Having the benefit of a life with more than its share of challenges, successes and failures my goal is to have my work reflect the unpredictability of life so we can gain perspective and take a hard look at our values and our behavior and how it affects not only our own lives but also those we rub up against. Like real life, which is messy and has no easy answers, to me the best theater has no neat resolution but instead leaves an audience in the question, giving them much to think about and discuss afterward.
I hope that my work will present audiences with the reality that it is truly human to try and fail; that no one is immune from self-deception; but also to allow an audience to embrace its capacity for empathy by allowing them, hopefully, to see a part of themselves in the characters of my plays.
I began my career as an actor in New York City, but when a class in Playwriting for the Actor was offered at New Dramatists, a long dormant, deep seated inner desire had me seize the opportunity. It was in this class, taught by the late playwright Phil Bosakowski, that I discovered my true artistic passion. And when I had the opportunity to watch, at New Dramatists, a staged reading of the first play I had ever written, I realized that the ability to affect an audience, to be able to make them think and feel, laugh and reflect, and be entertained at the same time, was a gift too powerful to ignore. Unfortunately, as John Lennon said, “life is what happens while you’re making plans.” My playwriting career had to be put on hold as I soon became the sole support of a young family, and found success in writing for one-hour series TV. Now that my children are grown and my obligations scaled back, I have returned to my passion, having written five full length plays in the past five years.
Having the benefit of a life with more than its share of challenges, successes and failures my goal is to have my work reflect the unpredictability of life so we can gain perspective and take a hard look at our values and our behavior and how it affects not only our own lives but also those we rub up against. Like real life, which is messy and has no easy answers, to me the best theater has no neat resolution but instead leaves an audience in the question, giving them much to think about and discuss afterward.
I hope that my work will present audiences with the reality that it is truly human to try and fail; that no one is immune from self-deception; but also to allow an audience to embrace its capacity for empathy by allowing them, hopefully, to see a part of themselves in the characters of my plays.