Inside the Storm, Finding Oneself
One thing a person learns when reaching some level of recognition in the arts is that people are often curious about who you are, what is behind the art, what your life is like. Most of that curiosity is not threatening, and actually quite flattering. At the same time, people who have been in the spotlight a long time will advise you that privacy, and even personal security, can become more difficult to maintain as your popularity increases. So over the years, I have learned to find a good balance between privacy and my public profile. Recently my performance and production group has taken on a number of new artists who will be working with us. This is quite stimulating; of necessity, it has led me to be speaking out, talking about myself, and reflecting on my own experiences, much more than I was doing a year or two ago. The special challenge of opening up to new people like this is that I have to do it online, or through a mask which covers half my face. Meetings have to b