Student came and saw my show tonight

So just a little anecdote: a current student came and saw my show tonight.

The neat thing was one of my cast mates, upon hearing this, said that she thought it was pretty cool for the student, to be able to see their teacher outside of a school setting, performing on stage.

And for me, it just reinforced something I've believe since undergrad at maryland, thanks to a very awesome conversation with several of my teachers.

Over the course of the conversation, they asked me questions which encouraged me to really think about what I wanted to do with my life. One of them shared his own believe, that in order to truly excel as an artist, one had to not only perform, but to teach, and continue to be taught as well.

This recent experience just reconfirmed that, and reinforces my feelings against the misconception that "those who cannot do, they teach". I don't know where it came from, and I don't know why it seems to be particular to the arts world, but I would think that in most other sectors, you're learning from people who are still active and engaged in their field. Sure, some teach when they retire, but...I don't know.

I obviously don't have any statistical data to show, but it just made me happy that at least one of my students saw this connection, this side of the performing arts, which I in turn pass on to her.