By Carly Cooper
I spent the last three years completing my MFA in Acting. In that time, I often found myself facing a deep sense of loneliness. It wasn’t that I was spending my days alone – most days consisted of 16 hours surrounded by classmates in the studio – it was the feeling of being isolated from the world. I cared so deeply about my work and milking it for all it was worth that I found myself overwhelmed by the idea of who I was as an artist and what my art had to say. My escape became my phone and the endless hours scrolling on social media.
We hear all the time that we are more connected than ever. I can speak to someone across the country in two seconds and I can consume the art of artists around the world in a few swipes. While I am inspired, I also find it paralyzing to constantly be analyzing the lives of so many people. I find myself asking “what, if anything, do I have to add?” Or, “what does my art have to contribute that hasn’t already been said?”
As an artist, I often find that I equate myself with my work. It’s been almost a year since I graduated, and I have to remind myself constantly when I’m asked what I’m currently working on that I am not defined by my answer. What I’m currently working on is connecting with those around me: showing up for my family, the company of creatives I work with, my former classmates, and my friends (to name a few).
I recently hosted a handful of my girlfriends from college for a monthly dinner party: I called it ‘April Showers,’ complete with dripping blue candles, a table of seasonal produce, and Maggie Rogers playing in the background. These are girls who I once shared a home with and in the last nine years I have watched them grow into women, each of us embarking on different careers and life paths. And yet, as we sat around the table laughing I couldn’t remember the last time I felt such a sense of connection. Social media and the ability to share our work and amplify our voices is powerful. But connecting with those around us is just as important. It takes time and effort to build a community; I’ve learned that when you take the time to be present with and fill the cups of those around you, they will fill your cup too. That, in my personal opinion, is what being an artist is all about.
Carly Cooper is an actor, writer and producer from NYC. She recently graduated from the Actors Studio Drama School with her MFA in Acting and holds a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Michigan SMTD. In December she performed in a remount of her MFA thesis, Five Times in One Night by Chiara Atik, at LTV Studios in East Hampton. When not on stage she is the company manager and an associate producer for The Neo-Political Cowgirls in East Hampton. Credits: Five Times in One Night (LTV & ASDS), Authorial Intent (ASDS). IG: @carlycoop
