Learning by Doing

Mark wrote, towards the close of his Homeric first parcel of blog, that a theater is more than just a building.

I'd like to echo the sentiment and declare that, for me, it's so much more... it's a website!

1st Stage will be an educational center for the artist. Already, it is one for me. Two weeks ago, I had a healthy fear of the internet. After all, if you look past all the rich color pictures, the high definition streaming video, the flood of news entertainment and networked data, not to mention the mountains of adult material, if you actually check what's behind it, you see things like this:


This happens to be part of the code for the little moving foot on the homepage(!?).

Two weeks ago, telling me, "Peter, embed a flash movie" would have been like telling me, "Peter, go into the room sized eniac computer, dodge the bolts of raw electricity, and change vacuum tube #1,456b, while avoiding breaker cables: B prime and C prime, which (of course!) lead straight to North American Missile Control."

Illustration:

But, thanks to the generous help and counsel of uncountable kind and anonymous souls on the internet, I still feel like I'm in a giant man-eating spiritual machine but... I CAN CHANGE THE TUBE! And... we have a little moving foot on the home page.

Sure, it's a small step (my apologies), but I feel energized. I feel mildly euphoric! Why?

Because I'm doing things for my art! After years of training for, preparing for, wishing for, I'm doing.

So, rather than fall into line with so many conservatory programs (which, by their very nature, conserve, seclude, and narrow the focus of the artist) it is my sincere hope that 1st stage will challenge all it's members to be extroverts with their talents and to develop them in the harsh but exhilarating light of the public eye!

Whether it's your first step onto the worldwide web, the blogosphere, or (soon!) the professional stage, it will surely be a worth-while and wild ride!