Finding a Balance (Part 1)

I am an artist.
But I'm so much more than just an artist.
Something I've been struggling with lately is balance. Not the typical balancing struggles of a college student (studying vs. hanging out with friends, etc), but a heart-wrenching, can't sleep at night kind of struggle.
There are people in the world that are dying. Dying because they don't have food. Because they don't have basic medical care. Dying because they don't have clean water.
People are dying because they have no hope.
And what am I doing with my life?

I'm getting a degree for a profession that at times seems frivolous and unimportant. Not that I don't love theatre. Not that I don't think it's worth my time. But when I think about it, when I really think about it...
We spend our time and money on the material.
I spend hours every day making clothing that will be worn for one week...and then put on a hanger and tucked away out of sight and out of most minds, hoping that someday it will be used again.
There are people in this world who don't have shoes. And we have boxes of them. And we complain that we have nothing to put on our actors.
I had a four thousand dollars to spend on Cinderella. I spent four thousand dollars on one show. How many people in this world shiver on the streets in the winter because they don't have coats while my actors waltzed around on stage in my costumes?


We complain of inferior equipment. Always wanting better light fixtures, sewing machines, microphones, table saws, whatever.

There are people in this world that are dying. 

How do you balance loving your art...yet knowing that the amount of money you spend on every show could give water to entire villages?

And not just that. How many resources do we use? How much energy, water, whatever, do we use on one show alone? One night of one show? We in America make up so little of the world's population, yet we use more than we deserve.
How much does what we do in theatre affect that?
Are we being good stewards?

I know I'm a theatre snob. When I go to see a show, I judge the quality. I have standards. And my heart is filled with joy and excitement when I see a show that I can admire.

I'm not saying that theatre can't be used to benefit others. I am a firm believer that it can be one of the greatest tools a follower of Christ can have. Theatre has a way of touching people that nothing else can match. It can make people think and feel. I'm part of a drama ministry, I've seen how people have been affected by the message we present.

Theatre gives life in a different way.

What I'm saying is, how do you balance?
How do you justify spending as much time and money on a single show as you do, when the show could very likely be just as effective with a much smaller budget?

How do you balance loving your art with the way your heart feels like it's being wrenched out of you when you think of the quality of life of people in developing countries?

How do you balance?

Note: I am going to be doing a series of posts on similar subjects. Please ponder and comment if you read them. I really do want feedback.