Artists U 2013, standing (l to r) Makoto Hirano (facilitator), Sham-e-Ali Nayeem, Anna Drozdowski (facilitator), Leah Stein, Anna Rubio, Ben Camp, John Jarboe, Raphael Xavier, Christopher Sean Powell, R. Eric Thomas. Seated: Andrew Simonet (facilitator) Jacelyn Biondo, Annie Wilson, Rebecca Wright, Kate Watson-Wallace (facilitator)

This week I finished a year’s worth of development with Artists U, a phenomenal program with branches in Philly, Charleston and Baltimore. The past 12 months have been no less than revolutionary for me and much of the credit goes to this amazing program. I am able to think about myself and my work in a new way, I challenge myself to take my work seriously, to ignore self-doubt that tells me what I make artistically isn’t important. I came away from tonight’s final meeting with a new Artist’s Statement and a two-year plan, documents that are unprecedented and extraordinary for me. But I also came away with a respect for and pride in what I do. I have big goals and I know how to plot the small steps to reach them.

I’m so very grateful to the fellow artists who went through this year with me and the phenomenal facilitators who shared their experience, practice and wisdom. The people in this picture are already doing amazing things (check out The Bearded Ladies or Team Sunshine Performance Company or Raphael Xavier or Applied Mechanics or, really, just google everyone in the photo). I’m truly honored to have been included in this class and I’m excited to live up to the confidence that Artists U has shown in me!

More info:  Artists U

In other news:

Read this funny interview I did!

And, look: video from my first NYC storytelling appearance!

Love actually,

R. Eric!

Welcome! Here’s some things!

I started a Smash blog! Not recaps or anything, just collected thoughts, anxieties, tangents and things that remind me of The Wiz (i.e., everything)

In mid-November I recorded an episode of Kevin Allison‘s fantastic podcast RISK! with the one and only Janeane Garofalo!  You can listen to all it in all its NSFW glory here or download it on iTunes.

Also included in the lineup were Jamie J. Brunson, the phenomenal Bernardo Morillo and Becca Trabin who tells one of the most harrowing stories I’ve ever heard.

If, by chance, RISK! brought you here, you may want to mosey over to the Videos page to check out other stories I’ve told or check out a similarly revealing tale of mine from Hillary Rea‘s Tell Me A Story here.

Speaking of podcasts, every Wednesday you can catch an all-new episode of The World Exists, the roundtable storytelling podcast featuring Brady Dale, Hillary Rea, Jaime Fountaine, T.J. Hurley and me!  Each week one of us tells a story with comments, questions, pith and wittery from the others.  My next featured episode is the third week of January.

Reviewed!

Andrew Clark of The Edge wrote the best review I’ve ever received of my last show, Always the Bridesmaid, which you can read here!