The house edge for a casino, at a blackjack table, is around 3% or so.
What that means is that if you sit down at blackjack table with $100, it is expected that you will lose about $3.
A skilled blackjack player, meaning someone who understands proper game strategy (and trust me, such a thing exists) can reduce that house edge to about .5%. Which means that a skilled player will sit down with $100 and lose about 50 cents.
With that as a background, let me give you a way to consider your life in the arts
----------------------
When a gambler walks into a casino she is perfectly clear about one thing:
The house expects her to lose.
Everything about the environment, from the structure of the games to the free drinks being handed out, is designed to help her lose money.
So we have an odd situation.
The casino is the gambler's turf. It's where she is comfortable. It is where she wants to be.
But her chosen turf is hostile.
So how can she survive? How can she thrive?
Part of the way she does is by developing the skills that will reduce the house edge.
She has to understand the fundamentals of the game. She has to listen to people who will teach her the subtle tips that she can't learn in a book.
Then she has a chance. Then she can stay in the game long enough for things to work out in a positive fashion.
--------------------------
Any person chosing to build a career in the arts is entering an environment as hostile as the biggest casino in the world.
There isn't an art form around that isn't faced with a ton of challenges.
Not just the traditionally nonprofit arts, i.e. theatre, dance and certain forms of music.
The for-profit art forms, movies, TV, the music biz . . . are all going nuts trying to figure out which way is up.
All the economic models are broken. Technology has radically changed the game.
It's crazy out here. And that isn't going to change anytime soon . . . if ever.
The house (the world/society/the system as it is) has a huge edge over any individual artist or arts organization.
It's your responsibility to reduce that edge. You can never eliminate the house edge . . . but you can use your skills and knowledge to reduce it.
The blackjack player learns what hands to always hit and what hands to never hit.
The artist learns the fundamentals of her art form . . . even if she plans on breaking all the rules later.
The artist understands and respects the business aspect because she knows that whole "money and organization is bad" thing is just another casino gimmick designed to cause her to lose focus.
The artist knows that if she gains the skills, builds the relationships and respects her craft then she may achieve her vision.
Of course she may also fail. That's part of the deal.
But she is giving herself a fair chance at success.
That's what breaks my heart about so many artists and arts organizations . . . they aren't giving themselves a chance.
-------------------------------------
Talk to anybody who has managed to build an authentic, successful career in the arts and they will all say the same thing . . .
The arts are serious business.
It's not a game. It's not a hobby.
If you want to make a living in it (as an artist or an administrator) you need to bring a lot more then a knife to this particular gunfight.
You can be successful. You really can have the career of your dreams.
But it's hard.
And if you don't have the knowledge, skills, strategy and awareness necessary it's damn near impossible.
But remember the house can be beat.
It happens all the time.
Comments