Dear Artist, Stay the course.

Dear Artist,

When the inevitable moment comes, as it always does, and you’re questioning everything about your decision to become an artist at all, take a moment to think back to 15-year-old you, sitting in your bedroom, dreaming of the life you’re now living. 

It’s a privilege that only the very few get to enjoy. 

When I was a teenager, I would go to Galway every summer to learn Irish, and the college I attended had a motto: Is fiú agus is féidir — “It is both possible and worthwhile.”

Stay the course. You're living the dream.

– Aonghus Óg McAnally

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I met Aonghus Óg McAnally, a third generation actor and the artistic director of Rise Productions in December 2025 during my residency in Dublin.

We talked about the importance of creating your own work, self-producing, and regaining a sense of agency in a performing arts career.