The Joy of Being a Professional Amateur

By David Kent

The Trap of Knowing it All

We all live in a world surrounded by images of perfection (and I don’t just mean body image on social media!) It’s one of the enduring myths of the creative professions – that works of art (paintings, novels, plays, songs, even musicals!) spring fully formed from someone’s mind. As a musical theatre writer, I would argue that whether you’re Lord Lloyd Webber, Stiles and Drew, or Stephen Sondheim, the key to creativity is vulnerability.

We all want to come across as if we know what we’re doing, and I suffer from this more than most. I have spent most of my professional career being terrified of being called an “amateur”,, which to my mind meant “dabbler”. That is until someone pointed out that “amateur” comes from the Latin “amare” which means “to love”. Do I love what I do? Even more than how much money it might make me? Absolutely! So since then I have decided to reclaim the 18^th century French meaning of the word “amateur” (yes, go back and empower yourself by pronouncing it with a French accent!). The word’s definition was refined to mean “one who has a taste for something” – someone who passionately cultivated an appreciation for the fine arts, literature of music simply for the pure pleasure of it. And this, in my opinion, is the only place to start any new artistic endeavour.

The Power of “I Don’t Know” in the Creative Journey

If I describe myself as a professional who above all else loves what I do, then I’m giving myself permission let go of being an “expert”. I can allow myself to experiment, and (most importantly) to be wrong. Because when you’re an amateur, you’re not afraid of making mistakes. Do I know if this particular scene is going to be effective? No! Do I need to worry about my dialogue not working when I’m in the room with actors? No! Of course not! I’m on a journey to discover something new. If my words don’t’ feel right when they’re spoken I’ll change them. But on the other hand there’s always the chance that taking a risk with something different will pay off and take the work in a whole new and exciting direction! So being comfortable with not knowing is essential. If you thought you had all the answers, how would you create anything new?

Learning in Public

I’m pretty used to the process of testing and exploring my work in the rehearsal room, but the technical aspects of getting my work out there has opened up whole new areas of “not knowing” for me. How do I format a blog? How do I create an website? How do I set up email on a new internet domain name? (Hint – make sure your MX records are correct LOL). And let’s not even start with how and why you might incorporate AI into your creative process! All of these things are new territory for me, and you know what? I’m finally OK with you knowing that!

Stay Curious

So whatever field you work in, and whether you earn money at it or not, I invite you to tap into the power of “amateur”. Love what you do - and know that not having all the answers can be incredibly powerful! What is one thing you’ve always wanted to try, but fear of being a beginner has held you back?