It’s been a busy few weeks for me, with two performances last week and some production work on the side. In the month ahead I am excited to be attending and presenting at the International Federation of Theatre Research in Melbourne next week, and then to visit family in Brisbane for two weeks after that. Unfortunately, I suspect it won’t be much of a break, but it will be good to escape the Canberra winter and be in a different space for writing up.

Apologies for the lack of any more detailed newsletter this month — I hope to have something more interesting for you next month.

Current Project Progress

Another chapter of the thesis done, and a bit more work editing the portfolio. It’s all coming together. This upcoming chapter is the one I am most concerned about, but once it’s done I am through the worst of it.

PhD thesis: 55%

Composition Portfolio: 80%

Question of the Week

“When do you know a creative project is “finished” rather than merely abandoned?”

Is a creative project ever truly “finished”? I think not. I think we reach a point with them where we accept it for what it is, and that it will be as good as it can be in its current form. It is always possible to keep playing with a piece, even if it is just clarifying notation. As they say, done is better than perfect.
Having said that, some projects are “abandoned”, but I would prefer to say “on hold”. Sometimes we have to leave something because it gets to big, is beyond our current abilities, life gets in the way, or any other number of reasons. I like to think these projects aren’t abandoned – they’re just waiting for us to revisit them when we have more time or experience. Sometimes I even like to take ideas from previous “finished” works which were good for me at the time but now I can do a lot more with. The creative process is about the journey for us, with occasional destinations to stop at along the way.