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2mATyDj
2mATyDj
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way <strong>of</strong> nurturing things he can see but that aren’t fully formed yet. And<br />
clarity in terms <strong>of</strong> saying what isn’t working. What things should be<br />
dropped to make way for behaviors that are more dynamic and truthful.<br />
In the playwright, I look for insights about where the characters and<br />
ideas came from. Guidance about what things are most important to a<br />
character.<br />
TS: How do you keep yourself inspired as an artist?<br />
MD: I try to pay attention to things. I try to learn new things. I look at art<br />
and watch movies and talk to people I like.<br />
TS: Students reading this interview will want to know what it takes to<br />
be a successful actress. What advice can you give young people who<br />
say they want to act?<br />
MD: Believe in yourself. Which is such a hard thing to do and so<br />
confusing because who is yourself anyway. I think it’s the most<br />
important thing, though, because it contains the idea that we are a<br />
work in progress. I don’t think it means unconditionally love everything<br />
you do. I think the belief part means you are not there yet. You are<br />
believing you can achieve something so, therefore, you are in the<br />
process <strong>of</strong> building it. So, I think the self you are believing in is the self<br />
that wants to learn, that is curious, that wants to do something it doesn’t<br />
have pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> yet. This is becoming a weird answer. I mean believe in<br />
yourself and keep learning. Take classes, study films and plays, learn<br />
about people, read a lot. Take all the opportunities that come your way<br />
and learn from them. One <strong>of</strong> my favorite quotes I read in Backstage<br />
Magazine—I don’t know if they still print quotes in the magazine like<br />
they did when it had more <strong>of</strong> a newspaper format—but it’s Thomas<br />
Edison’s: “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed<br />
in overalls and looks like work.”•<br />
IF I FORGET UPSTAGE GUIDE<br />
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