Lighthouse Theory

I have never been to a lighthouse. I like them. I think they make for great landscape paintings. Regardless, I have never been inside one. I grew up in the midwest where we didn’t have much need. I don’t imagine in modern times they find much use, outside of a cool Air BNB or local historical site. Metaphorically, they are great for my point today.

I have been doing performances since I was a little kid. Plays, recitals, and more recently, comedy. As much as I enjoy being on stage and the center of the show, as I get older, I have found another side of the show I enjoy. The production side. The boring, the administrative, and possibly the least creative part of the work.

Since coming into production, I have learned one thing. No one who’s successful has done it alone. It’s impossible. Whether you are discovered or slowly grind your way to the top, you need someone along the way. It’s easy to sit on one side of that and feel used, but to me, it has a different place in the creative chain. You were a brick in someone’s lighthouse.

I believe that not everyone shines the same way. For example, I am not a touring headliner with a mass following, but at a local show, I am a stellar addition. So if I give a rising name a spot on my show and then three months later I never hear from them, it’s not personal, they are building a lighthouse, and you can help share their light. That may sound accepting of your place in the hierarchy, and maybe in some small way I am, but is that wrong?

I recently did a show with a lot of younger comedians and heard them talk about leaving this show to go to another, and if they hurried, they could catch an 11 pm as well. While I remember the days of bouncing all night from one show to another at nearly 40, the idea made me tired. While I am not some dinosaur yet, I can see where I have slowed down to some of the comics around me. It makes me hopeful that I can still offer something to the community by making the path a little bit easier for the next person.

So, where does that leave us? I guess ultimately, that not everyone can be a spotlight, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a crucial part of the scene you support.