Years ago, I read a quote by someone which read something to the effect:

“There is no life without risk.”

And I wholeheartedly agree.

If you don’t take the risk to ask for the phone number, you will never go out on that first date.

If you don’t take the risk to start you own business, you will never have the experience of being you own boss, and also, hopefully the experience of making lots of money.

If you don’t take a creative risk with your theatre work, you will never have the experience of creating something truly great!

Inherent in all great art is risk.  It is what makes great art so exciting.  It is almost dangerous.  It steps over the traditional lines of what society thinks art is.  It actually renames ART.  It expands and extends the limits of what is possible, probable and what is EXPECTED.  Great art is risky and dangerous, and that makes it great fun. Crazy wonderful fun.

I have been there a few times in my creative life, and those experiences where I pushed myself to crazy new limits, where I risked disapproval, where I challenged myself and my cast to take the idea and/or concept even further and then even further - those times were the BEST TIMES OF MY LIFE. I felt vibrant, more alive than ever, for my work was vibrant and more alive than ever for I made the choice to RISK.

Great theatre is like a roller coaster. Crazy ups and downs, fast, furious, fun, and often scary, risky, wild.

I challenge you to create some risky art, whatever the format might be for you, but take the risk to do something uniquely you.

Don’t worry about what people will think.

Follow your ART and live a truly impassioned life!

with best regards,

Ken Wolf, Artistic Director

Manhattan Repertory Theatre