Michael's posts lately about his transition into practitioner from student have got me thinking about what core beliefs I hold about making art.

One of my deeply-held philosophies, about art and life, is: Keep asking questions. I started when I was learning to act, trying to figure out a character—or rather, not trying to figure out a character. As a teenager, acting didn’t mean asking questions about a character. Acting meant immediately assuming who a character was and emoting on cue. Eventually that changed, and I started exploring character. Who is this person? What does he want? What is he doing now? Why is he doing it? And a thousand other questions, big and small. (Coffee or soda? Blue jeans or khakis? Pretzels or chips?)

These questions bled over into my writing, where I had to ask the same questions of a lot more characters: Why is this character telling this story now? What would be the worst thing that could happen right now? What happens when these two characters finally meet?

And then the questions bled over into my working life. I still remember the day midway through my internship at a theatre company when my boss and I looked around and decided I had become proficient in all the normal tasks that were part of the position. She looked and me and asked: “OK, what do you want to learn next?” We started on a new project, and that led to my first full-time job in theatre, an adventure all the way on the other side of the country.

Asking questions continues to guide me—I love editing this magazine because I get to ask questions and learn all the time. One more is: What philosophies guide you? What bedrock facts keep you making art?