I believe the creative act must, primarily, have a transformative effect on the artist himself. I make no pretensions of altruism. If others are involved in my efforts -- collaboratively as actors, writers, or technicians, or receptively as students, audiences, or patients -- it is because a relationship with others is a natural extension for me to make, in terms of my own development.

It can be no other way.

I have never expected broad mass approval on any of my artistic endeavors. That said, there are, thankfully, times when what I create has a certain resonance for others. But my aim is not to educate or convert; the history of civilization should be sufficient proof that the human animal has consistently failed to benefit from the successes or mistakes of anyone.

What I have found helpful, and in fact a necessity, for my own development, is learning through apprenticeships; learning through direct transmission. For me, the people I've been able to learn from taught with their very being, with their entire selves. They also, one and all, were learning right alongside of me. All of my teachers were also students. They were people who ventured forth into the great unknown. They embraced questions. They tackled mysteries: "Who am I? Why am I here? What do I serve?" Their work was to work on themselves. In the process, others were affected. I am one of those.

Through years of searching for a way to synthesize my interests in theater, psychology, and spirituality into a cohesive form, and to develop in myself the ability to serve these interests fully, I have found the necessity to work with others who have a similar aim.

For eight years now, this work has been the cumulative efforts of a community, and that community is called Dzieci. Our endeavor does not preclude conflict and struggle; strong work is hard work, but we have a few guidelines that help keep us in balance.

We work in the medium of theater, but we don't work for theater. We work to evolve as human beings.

If there is a way to do something more humanely, more organically, we make every effort to do so. There are no auditions in Dzieci and no one is ever asked to leave. Casting for productions is non-traditional, and we eschew sexual stereotypes. Our public performances are on a donation basis, as is our work in hospitals.

We take on a commitment of service to others, so we spend a great deal of time with disadvantaged populations. We find that people in hospitals are better served if what we do empowers them, and if we approach our interactions with humility. We see that a deep human contact is possible if we can be more essential, so we strive to strip away the layers of our personalities. Individually, this leaves us vulnerable, so we begin to value the strength we feel as a group.

This strength demands to be tested, so we take our work out to the public. In performance, we find that the audience demands for us to be even more honest, so we continue to work on ourselves.

As a group, we feel the organic need to place ourselves under conditions that test our limitations, so we regularly share in rituals and ceremonies such as the Native American practice of the Sweat Lodge. In order to responsibly continue our process of evolution, we see the need to be receptive to teachers who actively represent higher forces, so we find ourselves in a deeply resonant relationship with the extraordinary community of the Abbey of Regina Laudis.

Again, apprenticeship and direct transmission. As director, my personal wish for those I lead, is that they become leaders themselves. To do so, I must continue to work on myself.

The form of one's work is really not the point. The point is that the work is able to sustain an ever-increasing interest; that the work leads in unexpected directions, that it unveils us unto ourselves. We can tell we are heading on the right path when our work brings us closer to a valuation of life in all its forms. When this happens, we feel accountable for the work we do. It becomes more than us and we feel responsible to it. When we feel responsible, we sense how much we've yet to learn. And we burn to continue.

With blessings for the New Year,
Matt Mitler