Artistic Statement
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Morgan Kinnally
Artistic Statement
Artistic Statement
My two little girls were both Princess Elsa from the movie Frozen for Halloween this year. I understand why. Who wants to be the other sister, what’s-her- name? Elsa has magical powers; Ice, wind, and snow shoot out of her hands for goodness sake. Elsa is is equipped with better princess gowns, better songs, and her own ice castle. Of course, my little ones want that. The other sister, her clothes are far less grand, she has no powers, and spends most of the movie trying to save the kingdom without superpowers and with quite a bit of uninspiring moping. Elsa is the magic that we cannot have in this world. She creates a world for my children that is fantastical and free from fear. When they listen to that piercing, belty, Elsa song, “Let It Go” (which all little girls can sing on command) they dance around my kitchen transported, lost in a story of sisterly love, good and evil, courage and cowardice, and as always, “Let it Go” is on repeat.
This is how I feel about theatre.I can’t exist solely in the concrete, facts only, live or die, can-we-just-have-leftovers- tonight-world, in bills, and schedules. I want to tell stories that matter, that reflect on and give insight into people, histories, and politics that are all wrapped inside complicated beating hearts. I want to tell stories for those who are overlooked, unwanted, and for whom the world pretends not to see. I cannot help but be inspired by that new play, novel, stand-up set, newspaper article, or piece of history that is revealed to me. That idea which begins to bubble up in the national conversation. That idea that motivates people from couch to protest march. That idea that changes how you live your life and what you want for your children. That idea that brings light to the dark. It is the light that showed us who Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. were. It showed us how so many Americans say they believe in equality but are prejudiced and how abuse and sickness can live inside a seemingly normal family. Theatre can help bring about that reckoning within ourselves and our long held beliefs and notions about the people in our community who we so dismissively call “neighbor.” As a theatre artist, I also hope to write stories that remind people of the good inside all of us, the potential we all have as human beings despite how dark and chaotic the world can seem to be. Theatre to me is often a religious-like experience that makes me feel so small in the universe yet, contrarily, also heard.
I’m a wife-mother- teacher-mortgage- payer- playwright. That’s the official title I use when I file my taxes. I am always acutely juggling these titles, but I want to bring people from darkness into light in each of these positions. They are separate, but never isolated. This is what I want to do as a human being and an artist. Theatre, plays, art…they must enlighten, not merely entertain. I mean, we have all those Fast and Furious movies for that, don’t we?
My two little girls were both Princess Elsa from the movie Frozen for Halloween this year. I understand why. Who wants to be the other sister, what’s-her- name? Elsa has magical powers; Ice, wind, and snow shoot out of her hands for goodness sake. Elsa is is equipped with better princess gowns, better songs, and her own ice castle. Of course, my little ones want that. The other sister, her clothes are far less grand, she has no powers, and spends most of the movie trying to save the kingdom without superpowers and with quite a bit of uninspiring moping. Elsa is the magic that we cannot have in this world. She creates a world for my children that is fantastical and free from fear. When they listen to that piercing, belty, Elsa song, “Let It Go” (which all little girls can sing on command) they dance around my kitchen transported, lost in a story of sisterly love, good and evil, courage and cowardice, and as always, “Let it Go” is on repeat.
This is how I feel about theatre.I can’t exist solely in the concrete, facts only, live or die, can-we-just-have-leftovers- tonight-world, in bills, and schedules. I want to tell stories that matter, that reflect on and give insight into people, histories, and politics that are all wrapped inside complicated beating hearts. I want to tell stories for those who are overlooked, unwanted, and for whom the world pretends not to see. I cannot help but be inspired by that new play, novel, stand-up set, newspaper article, or piece of history that is revealed to me. That idea which begins to bubble up in the national conversation. That idea that motivates people from couch to protest march. That idea that changes how you live your life and what you want for your children. That idea that brings light to the dark. It is the light that showed us who Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. were. It showed us how so many Americans say they believe in equality but are prejudiced and how abuse and sickness can live inside a seemingly normal family. Theatre can help bring about that reckoning within ourselves and our long held beliefs and notions about the people in our community who we so dismissively call “neighbor.” As a theatre artist, I also hope to write stories that remind people of the good inside all of us, the potential we all have as human beings despite how dark and chaotic the world can seem to be. Theatre to me is often a religious-like experience that makes me feel so small in the universe yet, contrarily, also heard.
I’m a wife-mother- teacher-mortgage- payer- playwright. That’s the official title I use when I file my taxes. I am always acutely juggling these titles, but I want to bring people from darkness into light in each of these positions. They are separate, but never isolated. This is what I want to do as a human being and an artist. Theatre, plays, art…they must enlighten, not merely entertain. I mean, we have all those Fast and Furious movies for that, don’t we?